Generosity Chain Reaction

My mother and Murray would often strike up conversations with people sitting nearby at restaurants and when the spirit moved them, they would quietly pick up their tab as they left. I think they enjoyed imagining how the recipients reacted - even more than seeing the reaction live. In the years since Murray died, I’ve seen Mom continue the practice - and love seeing the joy it brings her when she delivers an unexpected and anonymous gift. This weekend, Bari and I pounced on an opportunity to follow their example … and it was so much fun we wanted to share it. Lnk to you Mom/Bubbie/Auntie Gracie/whatever.

This weekend, Bari and I went to see Come From Away which tells how the community of Gander, Newfoundland hosted nearly 7,000 travelers when planes were grounded after the attacks on 9/11. The outpouring of generosity is truly inspiring and provided an unexpected catalyst for Bari and I to share with strangers (and friends … but that’s still to come).

We returned to NYC from vacation on Saturday morning after an overnight flight but strangely felt like we should buy tickets to a play. We’d heard great things about Come From Away so got on Stubhub and bought some tickets. When we looked at the email confirmation, we realized that the seller had sent us five tickets instead of the two we purchased (or intended to so we called Stubhub. We wanted to be sure we weren’t overcharged and we wanted to make sure the seller could try to find another buyer for the three remaining tickets. The call to Stubhub took almost an hour and was incredibly frustrating but we finally confirmed that we’d only been charged for two tickets and they told us they would cancel the extra tickets so we didn’t have to return them. We also corresponded with the seller who didn’t seem concerned about the extra tickets (she probably decided it was too late to find another buyer?).

When we arrived at the theater, we received our tickets - all five of them - and immediately wondered if they’d really cancelled them. Bari thought we should try to find someone on the street and offer them free tickets - but we were a bit worried about giving away (potentially) cancelled tickets and embarrassing the people we gave them to or worse, getting them in trouble for trying to use them. At that exact moment, we overheard a couple talking to each other - that the show was sold out. So we turned to them and invited them to get in line with us. We explained that we weren’t sure if the tickets were valid - but if they were, they were welcome to use them. They were stunned … and probably thought we were joking. That is, until the tickets scanned, and they were sitting next to us!

What fun! They had only been dating for a couple months and we heard from Jeanine that this was Anthony’s first Broadway show! They insisted on paying for the tickets - and we were firm that they were a gift. But Anthony persisted and I eventually told him that we’d be honored if he would make a donation of any amount to Eye to Eye … which he immediately agreed to … and when he learned about our work, shared that his own son has his own learning differences in school. Wow!

But the story isn’t over … Of course, I posted the picture on Instagram and it was seen by Amber Soutra, whose husband Marcus is the President of Eye to Eye. Seriously? Did she know that Anthony and Jeanine were donating proceeds from their tickets to Eye to Eye?

Let’s review … we received five tickets … we used two and gave away two - but this left one extra ticket. And it turns out that the theater allows you to exchange an unused ticket for a future show (subject to availability). Which leaves one extra ticket …

So who do you think should get the extra ticket … and close out this chain reaction? Bari & I are sending the ticket (and complicated rules for exchanging it) to Amber and Marcus and hope they’re able to find a date to take themselves (at least partially) on us!

So many coincidences … it’s hard to think the Universe isn’t somehow listening … and smiling. We certainly are … smiling!

Happy New Year!