It amazes me that every time I start to lose perspective on how kind people really can be, I’m reminded via some odd circumstance that there are really great, amazing people out there.

On Black Friday, I was one of the insane masses eagerly hitting the page-refresh button on the Walmart homepage at 3:00 am waiting for the online version of their sale to begin. I was lucky enough to score Rock Band at $50 for my nephews’ Christmas present.

When I placed the order I set the delivery to my parent’s house, who happen to live in the middle of Amish Country in Ohio, a.k.a. the middle of no-where. I spent the next week tracking the order in anticipation of their receipt of the package via FedEx, and then a few days ago, the FedEx site, read that the package was delivered and that “S[insert my last name]” signed for it.

One problem, I’m about 500 miles away and my parents never received the package. After spending an hour on the phone with FedEx explaining that it was not delivered and receiving all of the typical promises of “we’ll investigate it,” I hung up the phone feeling disappointed and angry, expecting the worst, wondering if the package was stolen rather than delivered.

The next day, I received a sort of bizarre phone call that just seemed like one of those cosmic reminders on faith. Apparently, on the same country road as my parents, a second Samantha [insert my last name] lives with her parents. She’s a young pre-teen who answered the door to the FedEx delivery man, surprised and elated to sign for Rock Band, thinking that her father ordered it for her Christmas present.

Honorable as he is, he called around town to find a contact number for my family, finally reaching my brother’s wife. He dropped off my nephews’ present with a smile the next morning citing that it was just the right thing to do. A simple act, not very significant in the scheme of things, but it struck me as I realized that in my dejection over the loss of the package, I immediately assumed the worst in people. Perhaps it’s time to make a change in my perceptions.

So, to Mr. [insert my last name] who lives on the same isolated country road in Amish Country in the middle-of-no-where-Ohio, thank you. Merry Christmas.

In a related note on the spirit of the holidays, as I’ve begun in my revenue share experiment, I’ve noticed one thing about all of the articles I’ve submitted. The two on giving to children in need and Christmas charities have performed better than all of the other articles that I am tracking by sheer search volume on Google. Another gentle reminder of the giving spirit of my fellow Netizens.


If you’re on the search for Christmas giving to those less fortunate please check out:

Don't Let Santa Forget Christmas for Children of Domestic Violence Victims

Amazing Christmas Charities for Children in Need

Christmas Gift Giving Guide: Children and Families in Need