Where do I begin to describe the ambiance of the city and the genuine kindness and generosity of its citizens? Well, how about start at the beginning. Now, don’t get me wrong. I was born and raised and spent most of my life in the Chicago area. The Midwest is also known for its hospitality and friendly people, but Texas is kind of like the Midwest, but without the snow.

   When we arrived in McKinney in ’04, we were warmly greeted by neighbors, shop owners and total strangers. There is something special about a friendly tip of the hat with that little southern drawl saying,”Mornin’ ma’m.” Folks at the grocery store like to chat and talk about the weather and the lady in line in front of you at the post office likes to tell you how adorable your children are. These are strangers, but they talk to you like family. I guess McKinney is almost like one big happy family. But, the amazing part is most people look out for one another, strangers and family alike.

   I have many stories of random acts of kindness that I would like to share with you, but I’ll only describe a few that come to mind.

   Just recently the city of McKinney lost one of their firefighters in a tragic accident before Christmas. I received an e-mail from Carey Coleman, a friend, nurse and geriatric care manager asking if anyone might be able to help delivering meals to the local fire stations after the funeral and help with donations for the family. I sent out an e-mail to a few neighbors and friends with this request. Within two hours, I had over $200 at my door and a couple friends to help with deliveries. Neighbors stopped by throughout the week with tear filled eyes with cash in hand. After a few more days, I had collected another $500 for the family. None of these people knew the family personally, but they were from McKinney, so they were family.

   New Year’s day, a family lost their home and all their belongings in a fire. An e-mail was sent out and neighbors and friends gathered clothing, toys, household goods and cash to try and give a little support to a family in need.

   Last week I was visiting some seniors and one of the ladies was sharing a heart-warming story. She said that she drove her friend to Wal-Mart to get a few things. Her friend has to use a walker and moves very slowly, but was determined to get the items she needed before Christmas. She had dropped her friend off at the front door and went to park the car. When she met up with the elderly friend, she had a big smile on her face. She said a strange woman came up to her and just handed her $100 and said, “Merry Christmas,” and walked away. Both ladies could not believe this generosity. It could not have come at a better time, both financially and spiritually.

   When you hear a charming story like this, it tends to move you and motivate you to analyze your fortunate life and wonder how you can “pay it forward.” So, yesterday, when I was meeting a friend for lunch at Panera, two elderly ladies in front of me in line were ordering their meals. They were smiling and digging out their dollars and quarters and looking forward to lovely lunch and leisurely chat. I walked up and handed my credit card to the young man taking their order and asked him to put their meal on my card. The charming ladies said, “Oh no, honey, that’s all right. You don’t have to do that.” I just replied, “It’s my pleasure and Happy New Year ladies.” Well, their smiles could have stretched from here to Oklahoma. It wasn’t so much about the money. It was about a stranger doing something nice for a stranger; a random act of kindness, paying it forward.

   The young man also smiled and said, “I don’t think I’ve seen that happen before.” He was young. He’ll see it plenty as he gets older and he’ll pay it forward every now and then. That’s how it works. I know this because, when I placed my order, he charged me for my food and said the drink was on the house.

   Yes, he got the message and will continue the idea of random acts of kindness. That’s how it works.

   This happens all the time in McKinney. People help one another. It doesn’t matter if you are a friend or a stranger. In McKinney, YOU are family.

    If you have heard some heart-warming stories like these, please take out a little time to share them with all of us. We would love to hear them or if this story moves you to pay it forward, share with us that wonderful feeling you get when you perform a random act of kindness for a stranger. We can make the world a better place, a little bit at a time.