A simple smile...

Nearly every day I wait for the bus at the same station at pretty close to the same times.  Every day the crowd is a little different, some familiar faces, some new.  One face is always there though.  Each and every time I'm in the station a large beggar woman comes up to me

"Hey young man! Can you afford to spare any change for a lady today.  Just a few cents? Makes a world of difference in my bones, those pennies!"

Nearly every day I legitimately have nothing to give her but admiring her persistence I can usually manage a smile and a cheerful "sorry" with a shake of the head.

Without fail, her reply is:

"No worries young man.  A smile is more than I usually get.  Warms my soul"

and she meanders on to the next group waiting for the bus. 

This simple exchange never fails to leave me smiling and often wondering what the world would be like if we all went about our jobs with cheerfulness and simple gratitude?