06/10/2025
I gave my last $3 to a stranger at a gas station and woke up owning a business empire.
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I'm Colton, 43, father of three. Last year, we lived in a tent behind a gas station. Job gone. Medical debt. Wife gone. Survival was day to day.
One night, I had just enough coins for a can of beans. That was dinner for me and my kids.
At the register, I saw an old man shaking, begging for water for his pills because he'd forgotten his wallet at home. The cashier mocked him, and people yelled: "HURRY UP, OLD MAN!" "GET LOST!"
I don't know why, but I dumped my coins on the counter. "HERE. I'll pay."
I handed him the bottle and smiled. "Don't worry."
He whispered, eyes wet: "You'll never know what this means."
Later, back at the tent, my kids huddled around cold bread. The old man showed up. He saw everything—the tent, the wrappers, the bucket of water we used to wash.
"Why help me," he asked, "when YOU NEEDED IT MORE?"
"Because nobody else would," I said. "Sometimes kindness is all we've got."
He nodded, asked my name, and left.
This morning, as I split cold fries three ways, a BRIGHT RED SEDAN pulled up. A man in a tailored suit stepped out and walked straight toward us. ⬇️⬇️⬇️