Can 25 Cents Cause a Chain Reaction of Connection?

Funny how one small quarter can make all the difference in your day.

Source: Carrie Knowles

He was maybe 5’ 10”, give or take an inch or so, but definitely not six feet. He was wearing one of those safari-type hats made of leather: expensive and softly well-worn. He was a tad overweight in a 60+ years old kind of way, walking with a swagger in his jeans and a down vest.

He was not the kind of person I would usually speak to. More like someone I would walk by quickly without making eye contact.

He watched me as I approached.

When I was just a few feet away, he spun his grocery cart around so I could grab the handle, tipped his hat, smiled, and wished me a good day.

I smiled back, took his cart, thanked him, and wished him a good day in return.

I also told him I’d pass on the favor.

What he’d given me was a generous 25-cent gift: a brief encounter that made a connection between two strangers. It wasn’t earth-shaking, but it made me realize, once again, how far we have drifted apart from each other over COVID-19 and politics, but how even a small act of kindness can make a big difference in how we feel about each other and the communities we live in.

All that for a refundable 25 cents.

Our local grocery store “locks” their grocery carts with a chain system that requires you to deposit a quarter into the connecting lock to use one of their carts. When you finish shopping and clip your cart into the locking system, you get your quarter back.

So, why give up your quarter?

Just because.

How It Started

One very cold day, right after the grocery store first opened, I was about to retrieve my quarter when I saw an elderly woman pull off her gloves to rummage through the bottom of her purse to find a quarter.

That was the first time I gave away my cart.

She thanked me and we talked for a minute about the cold weather and not much else, but we talked.

Talking is a first step toward feeling a little less isolated.

Since that first time, I have made it a habit, every time I shop, to find someone, a mother with young children, an elderly man, a teenager sent to the store with a list, and anyone coming along who just might need someone to say hello to them, to share my cart and relinquish my quarter.

Why Is Giving Away That Grocery Cart Quarter so Powerful?

1. A quarter is a cheap and very affordable giveaway. You don’t have to think twice about whether or not you can afford it. In fact, it’s so affordable that you can do it every time you shop.
2. It is a rare face-to-face encounter with a stranger that comes without judgment.
3. It’s a gift that can be passed on and shared many times over.
4. Because it costs so little and is easy to pass on, that one quarter has the ability to make a long chain of connection throughout a day.
5. If you think about it, it’s rather magical.

Giving that quarter away and sharing a grocery cart is what my friend Sharon would call a small joy.

It has gotten me thinking about what other small joys we could engage in that could help build a stronger sense of caring in our communities.

You never know when a small act of kindness, like helping someone find something in a store, holding the door for a parent pushing a stroller, or even complimenting a waiter or a cook for the meal they bring to your table, can build a bridge to a smile and a conversation with a stranger.

Sharing my cart and giving up that quarter is a brief moment of connection in, of all places, the parking lot of a grocery store.