Thursday, November 24, 2016
Thankful for the honesty of the kind young woman
On Nov. 2, I unknow- ingly dropped my wallet in the parking lot of Giant Eagle on Route 224 in Boardman. After getting in my car I realized it was missing and immediately retraced my steps, twice.
I decided to drive home and begin the process of canceling credit cards, driver’s license, checks, insurance cards, etc. I was angry with myself (my husband reminds me constantly to zip up my purse), afraid I’d be too late to stop the damage that could be done to our credit, and praying that whoever found it would turn it in at the service desk.
By the time I got home I was just beside myself, but, by the grace of God, and a beautiful girl named Alexa, I needn’t have worried. One thing I’m truly sorry for is that I didn’t ask her last name.
Alexa not only found the wallet, but she opened it, found my name and address, and then delivered it to me, and, can you imagine, apologized for having to look through it to find the information she needed.
We thanked her over and over, expressing our sincere gratitude for her uprightness, honesty and her decision to do the right thing in the face of temptation. We pray that God will bless you always and give you the desires of your heart.
We hope that Alexa sees this letter and that if she doesn’t, someone she knows will see it and pass it on to her. Thank you again Alexa; we all need people like you in our lives.
Denise Nespeca, Boardman
Young shopping-cart retriever merits praise
I enjoy giving a compli- ment when appropriate. That opportunity presented itself last week at Giant Eagle on Doral Drive in Boardman. While pushing my shopping cart out to my car, I passed a Giant Eagle employee coming my way pushing a row of carts back to the store. That person had on the high-visibility yellow vest they wear. As we passed, it took me a moment to realize, “Hey that was a girl!” I have never seen a girl pushing shopping carts.
After unloading my groceries, I returned to the store, and asked Jill, a store floor coordinator, who was straightening merchandise in the foyer, about this girl who I just saw pushing carts.
Jill said yes; her name is Maria, and she had applied for a job. What we had available was returning shopping carts from the parking lot. She said, “I want a job, and I’ll take it.”
Wow, was I impressed! We have all heard of people riding the gravy train of government hand-outs. Here was a young woman who turned her back on freebies, and was working at a tough entry-level job.
She had returned to the parking lot to get more carts, and I had to walk a good distance to find her. I don’t believe she was 20 years old.
I stopped her and said, “I admire you for your dedication to working to help yourself. You are a real winner.”
She was very pleasant, smiled, said “Thank you,” and went on pushing. It did my heart good to see someone who is part of the solution. I just had to give her a compliment.
And thank you, Giant Eagle for providing her the job.
Tom Page, Boardman