Springfield kindness continues

Monday, I wrote about how Springfield-area folks seem nicer than most on the whole. Today, enjoying my off-day from caddying for the week, I was lucky to experience a few more examples of this 'Springfield kindness.'

Consider...

-Shortly after leaving my hotel this morning, I got caught at a red light. I'm not sure what happened, but I zoned out and wasn't aware when the light turned green. When I looked up, the car directly in front of me was now more than 100 feet in front of me. It must have been a few seconds, at least.

Despite a line of at least 5 cars behind me, nobody honked their horn in anger. In Buffalo, the honk usually comes after even a one-second delay, two at most. The occurrence caught me off guard, to be sure.

-During my round of golf today, I found a wallet on the 14th tee box. I looked through to see if I could find a phone number, and saw $22 with a few credit cards. I grabbed the wallet and hung onto it as I finished the round, eventually turning it in to the pro shop at the end. When I walked outside the pro shop, I overheard a few guys talking about the lost wallet. I told them I had just turned a wallet in at the desk, and one of the guys went inside to grab it - telling me to wait outside for him.

When he came back out, he was incredibly appreciative. He thanked me over and over, and gave me the 20-dollar bill (leaving him with only $2 in cash, I believe). Now, I know he had the credit cards, but still - a kind gesture.

-Twenty minutes later, I went to Long John Silver's to grab some dinner. I ordered my food and then waited in front of the counter, for probably 5 or 10 minutes. I thought nothing of it - sometimes fast food takes a little bit longer than expected. No big deal, by any means. I was certainly in no hurry.

But then, the guy at the counter came over to be, all apologetic for the wait. He then asked if I wanted anything 'on the house.' I told him 'no, thank you,' but he asked again, and I told him I would take a 99-cent side of hushpuppies - but that I would pay.

When I pulled out my money, he refused to take it.

So a few minutes later, I got my food - a 2-piece chicken tender meal with fries and a drink, along with the hushpuppies - thanked the employee, and went back to eat at my hotel.

When I opened the box, I found more tenders than I expected. Not one extra, not two extra. Five extra tenders...seven, when I ordered a two-piece meal. All for a ten-minute wait at the counter, which is essentially the norm for Long John Silver's.

Fast food service at its finest.