Letter from the Editor

As we headed back to Tacoma from Gig Harbor over the new Narrows bridge, we got our money ready for the toll-booth operator. As my husband stopped and handed the operator the cash she said, “You’re good, your toll has been paid for.”

We were confused. Apparently the driver ahead of us had paid our toll. We had no idea why, and hadn’t even noticed her. By the time we made our way past the booth, we couldn’t locate the thoughtful driver. We hoped to at least give her a quick wave and mouth the word, “Thanks.”

In the midst of our conversation about how there are indeed some good people left in the world, our teen in the backseat chimed in and said, “She was paying it forward, duh.”

I’ve heard of the fictional book by Catherine Ryan Hyde called, “Pay It Forward,” but I hadn’t read it. I’d hear of the movie that followed, but I hadn’t seen it. I recall Oprah challenging her fans to pay it forward and giving them some cash to go out and make a difference.

In the book, the character has an idea that if one person does a good deed for another, that person would owe three good deeds to three more people. Eventually good deeds would spread like wildfire, making the world a better place. Apparently the novel, released in 2000, inadvertently started a real life Pay It Forward movement that is still being felt today, according the author who has since launched a Web site and the Pay It Forward Foundation.

“I didn't write the novel expecting a social movement, but it’s certainly been exciting to watch it grow,” Hyde wrote. “The purpose of the Pay It Forward Movement Web site is to bring together, in one place, as many real stories as we can.

“It brings much-deserved recognition to those doing the work, and puts the results of their efforts out in the open so others can be inspired. It’s also a source of some good news for a change, a way to renew your faith in human nature.”

According to my calculations, that one random act of kindness has put us into do-gooder debt. We owe at least three good deeds to complete strangers and we’re going to pay it back soon. Next time you’re traveling over the new Narrows bridge, who knows, maybe your toll will be on us.

Just remember to pay it back to someone else. Or shall I say, forward?

Lisa Patterson
Editor in Chief