A startling act of generosity

Thanksgiving has been transformed from a day of gratitude for our bountiful blessings to the launch of the holiday shopping season.
The unofficial start of the shopping season had typically been the Friday after Thanksgiving, known as “black Friday” because sales pushed many businesses “into the black” on their profit-loss sheets.
Now, the shopping season starts Thanksgiving Day. Before we even have digested our meals and expressed our thanks for our blessings, we are in the stores battling our neighbors for dibs on popular gift items.
The Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday sales seem to bring out the worst in us, as we fight tooth and nail for a “deal.”
Which is why it is so heartening to read about a couple who dropped a $500,000 check in a Salvation Army kettle in Rosemount.
The couple wishes to remain anonymous, but Salvation Army volunteers said the couple explained why they made the large donation: gratitude. And to set an example for others on stretching their generosity to help others.
According to a Salvation Army spokesperson, the couple also wanted to honor the memory of one of their fathers, who served in World War I and “was grateful to the Salvation Army ‘doughnut lassies,’ who brought soldiers free coffee and doughnuts.”
A Star Tribune article indicated the couple didn’t start out with roots in wealth. In fact, there was a time when they had to rely on discarded food from a grocery store to make ends meet.
“You get to the point in life where it’s time to take care of others, the way you were taken care of,” the couple said in a statement.
Exactly. Let’s hope we all can emulate their generosity to the best of our ability as we also reach that point in our lives.