Last weekend, my 14-year old daughter and I were shopping at a local store, and it was evident that the young checker was new, inexperienced, and very flustered by the long lines.

As she neared the end of our purchases, the scanner began acting up. She gave me the total and I paid, and I immediately looked at my receipt, and realized she had inadvertently not charged me for the last three items. Looking back at the long line behind me, I quietly moved to the line at customer service. My daughter asked me what was wrong, and I said I needed to pay for the items the checker missed. She stood quietly as we waited and then proceeded to the counter, with another flustered worker. When I explained the problem, however, his demeanor changed. He was very surprised that we had stood there in line a second time to pay for items she had already put in our bags and with which we could have easily left the store, and thanked us profusely.

My point in writing this is that the Christmas spirit is about more than giving and receiving gifts. It’s also about honesty, integrity, and helping others. To me, walking out would have been stealing, and it was very telling to me that my daughter never questioned me about what I was doing. What has been surprising to me in retelling the story that others have told me I should have left the store and considered it an early Christmas present. I’ve heard comments like, “The store could afford it.” “They’d never have missed it.” “It’s not stealing if they give it to you,” and on and on.

We should all remember that the spirit of Christmas is how we act, the example we set, especially for our children, and how we treat and respect others. I’d like to think everyone would have done the same, but I’ll settle for knowing that my daughter would. Celebrate the holidays with the right spirit and Merry Christmas!



Business Roundup

There’s a new store in the Lake Park Outlets called Koret. It’s a ladies’ apparel store, and they opened a couple of weeks ago, according to a reader.

There is a new establishment on North Valdosta Road called Rum Runners. It’s next to the Cactus Mart, across from the new Pipkin Hyundai, which looks closer and closer to opening.

There’s a sign on the strip center that borders both Ashley and Patterson Streets that says it’s now Budd Plaza, and a sign on one of the store fronts that says Roger Budd is opening an office there.

On Northside Drive where the new doctor’s office is being built, construction workers got into the holiday spirit this week and put a Santa on top of the building and wrote a happy holidays message on the roof.

And a special thank you to the gentleman who is preparing to go on his world cruise on the QE2 for calling me this week. We had a wonderful chat and he’s promised to take photos and let us do a story when he returns in April.

As always, if there’s anything I missed, please let me know!