What's 50 Cents?

Kim was at the grocery store the other day and a young boy, maybe 10-12, was in the self check out line right in front of her.  She noted how he was disheveled, wearing ratty clothes and an old worn and torn coat.  She imagined he and his family probably didn't have much money.  He was trying to purchase a notebook, perhaps for school, and had just, painfully slow, put into the self-check system a few crumpled up dollar bills he pulled from his pocket.  He was 32 cents short and after announcing a few times that he didn't have enough, Kim took two quarters from her purse and offered it to him.  Without looking at Kim, without saying a thing, he took the 50 cents, loaded it into the machine and completing the transaction.  He grabbed his newly purchased notebook and the change that slowly rolled out of the dispenser and simply walked out of the store.  No look back, no thank you, no giving Kim back the 18 cents remaining.  He just walked away.

Later, Kim and I discussed how he showed such poor manners.  "How could he just take the 50 cents without even looking at me once, the person helping him out, much less saying thank you?"  I replied,  "Perhaps he was embarrassed to have to ask for more money?  I know I would have been.  Perhaps, his home life isn't so conducive to the manners we work so hard to instill in our own boys?  Perhaps, we will probably never know."

Regardless, we began to discuss how giving something to someone, the act of 'Being Kind and Compassionate', is not really giving if its wrapped up in all kinds of expectations about how someone should or shouldn't respond or when we expect something in return.  The important thing is, he got the notebook he needed so much more than we needed our 50 cents.  I wonder what things we can give today and do so anonymously?