Thing to Count On and the Unexpected

When I fly, there are things I can be fairly certain will happen. I always ask for an aisle seat so I can count on my arm being banged by the drink cart. I know I will order tomato juice to drink.

Not to digress, but I heard that tomato juice is extremely popular with people in airplanes. Evidently it's something people don't often drink at home and when they see it offered on the plane they think "Hmmm! Tomato juice! I haven't had that in a while. Give me a tomato juice!". They then will associate tomato juice with airplane travel and order it every time because it then becomes a travel ritual for them.

Anyway, I know I will wear my Birkenstock clogs on the plane. I know I will forget that I'm in a pressurized cabin and will open my little cup of yogurt with it facing me so that it spritzes on my top. And I know that I will look forward to watching the in-flight movie but I will end up hating the movie.

It happens every time. It could be that it's merely coincidence that the feature film is of something not my taste. Past films shown to me as I cross the Atlantic Ocean have included The Parent Trap - the Lindsay Lohan one - The Avengers, Unbreakable, The Mask of Zorro, The Evening Star, The Manchurian Candidate - the remake with Denzel Washington. All of them - boring, annoying crap. Maybe it's the idea that I'm watching them while on a plane that makes them so terrible. If I were seeing them in the theater or in the comfort of my living room perhaps they'd be more to my liking. Or maybe not. The Avengers was such complete shit that not even watching it while in my jammies in my living room while eating Kettle Corn and drinking Coke could save it.

When I flew to the US in early 2001 I remember being somewhat pleased to see that Pay It Forward would be one of the films shown. I like Haley Joel Osment. I love Kevin Spacey. I generally can't stand Helen Hunt but maybe I'd get lucky and she would be the Helen Hunt of As Good as it Gets and not the Helen Hunt of Twister. Unfortunately Pay It Forward suffered the in-flight-film curse. I hated it. Really hated it. It was sappy, maudlin and Kevin Spacey was about as interesting as wet cardboard. I was so disappointed. I hated it enough that when it came on TV months later I couldn't give it another chance.

And yet the underlying message of the movie is one that resonates with me. The whole idea of someone being generous to you and in turn to "repay" that generosity you are generous to three others and so on. It's an idea that really can do a lot of good when it's put into effect and even the smallest acts of kindness are important. It doesn't matter if you do something as small as send a card to a friend or you make a generous donation to a charity - every act of kindness that gets passed on can make a difference in how people feel about themselves and the world around them.

A friend of Poppy's was the recipient of some acts of kindness by another friend and she's taken on the challenge to pay it forward. Poppy took on the challenge as well and now I'm doing the same. Here's how it works:

I will send a handmade gift to 3 random people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do if you like, is in return pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

That's it. If you'd like to participate in this challenge, leave a comment here saying you'd like to participate. I'll pick three people at random and they'll be getting a handmade gift from me. And if you'd like to continue to pay it forward, post this challenge on your blog as well and give three handmade gifts to those who leave you a comment. It doesn't have to be anything expensive or extravagant - just heartfelt and something that will make the recipient feel special. And if you don't have a blog, that's okay as well. Just pick three folks you know and give them an unexpected gift or card - anything to brighten their day.

Over the years I've lived in Germany I've been the recipient of very kind acts of generosity. Friend and family - even folks I didn't know all that well - have sent me cards and gifts when I didn't expect them. Those tokens of kindness made me feel less alone and less homesick and very well loved. In turn I've tried to think of others and repay them with acts of generosity and I hope it's resulted in them, in a small way, feeling better about themselves and their lives.

Pay It Forward is a great idea. Just don't make me watch that movie again.