Good deeds should go unpunished

This morning in the car my daughter and I talked about how often when someone does a good deed something bad happens to the good-deeder and that’s not fair. Last week a friend of hers helped out a co-worker who was having car trouble. The co-worker needed her kids picked up and a ride home. The friend got pulled over by a cop because she is a new driver and can’t have that many people in her car. Now she has a big fine to pay. She also got her car taken away for a few days for disobeying the rules — all because she was helping someone out who really needed it.

I told my daughter that kind of thing happens to me a lot. As one example, I let someone drive my car and he ran a red light and now I’m driving around with a smashed-in passenger door. (I only have liability insurance.)

After dropping her off at the high school, I entered the drive-through line at Bagels & Brew. I ordered a large coffee and whole wheat bagel. I handed the server my money and she said my order was free today because someone had “paid it forward.”

That was a nice day brightener. Maybe good deeds are rewarded — it’s just not immediately.

Now I have to think how I will pay my free coffee and bagel forward. I’ll be on the lookout for a way to do that and hopefully I will emerge unscathed.