“Passing the Cheer”

So, I got a free cup of Joe, today. Really. The guy in the vehicle in front of me at Starbuck’s paid for my drink, and the lady at the window told me she “I guess they’re doing some sort of thing.”

Some sort of thing? Maybe it’s called “Passing the Cheer,” like the cup sleeve says. I remember this happened on Oprah once, but this had never happened to me before this morning.

So I handed my debit card out the window to her and told her I’d like to pay for the next order. She said “the next order is two drinks” and she told me what they were and that the total came to $5 and some change.

Her supervisor or another coworker, over her shoulder, told her just to offer for someone to pay for one drink rather than the full order behind them.

“That’s how it stops, usually,” she said. “One person behind someone will have 8 orders of coffee and the person doesn’t want to buy that many drinks.”

Okay. That makes sense. Depending on my sensations of holiday joy and giving, I may or may not want to pay for 8 other people’s cups of coffee.

Then I got selfish. I thought, "what if someone doesn’t have somebody behind in line? Like the last guy at the end of the line?" I guess he would get a free cup of Joe but not have anyone else to buy for. Well, I guess it's then his choice as to how he chooses to further, “Pass the cheer.”

So, ‘tis the season for giving, even among strangers in line at the local Starbuck’s drive-through.