Elementary school teachers have long been accused of having eyes in the back of their heads and even an uncanny sixth sense that enables them to know everything you do in the classroom. Everything!
Face it, it’s almost impossible to slip anything by a teacher.
That’s why Ruth Reed, a former third-grade teacher and now a substitute, was (more than a bit) skeptical when a man at the convenience store introduced himself as Keith Urban.
Ruth was standing in line at the WaWa store in Burlington County, NJ when she noticed the gentleman at the register was short on cash and unable to complete his purchase. The apparent penniless shopper turned to an acquaintance and asked to borrow some cash.
It just so happened that Urban, who was in the area for a show at Camden’s BB&T Pavilion popped in to the store to grab some snacks at the same time Ruth was there. Urban even talked about being in the area during his fan chat. But Ruth was unaware Urban was performing nearby and had not seen his fan chats or even suspected the man might be the Aussie singing star.
Boston, MA • 8.4.18 • #GraffitiUWorldTour pic.twitter.com/5ZvjYyxL0r
— Keith Urban (@KeithUrban) August 5, 2018
A Resolution Fulfilled
Ruth said she’d made a resolution for the past few years that she would treat someone at WaWa at least once a week, if not more. The night before, Reed’s friends had given her the extra cash from their trivia game to use at WaWa during her good deed.
So, when the teacher heard the man ask a person with him for some money, Reed jumped into action.
Obviously, Reed had no idea who the man was, or at least she didn’t recognize him. He was just a guy who was short on cash.
“I jumped in and said I would pay and explained why,” one of Reed’s students quoted in a post on social media. Keith thanked her and asked her name. In turn, she asked his.
My favorite story of the day is how my 3rd grade teacher thought @KeithUrban was down on his luck and couldn’t pay for his wawa snacks so she bought them for him. What an angel. pic.twitter.com/mJccVOQWtp
— Olivia Rose Prouse (@liverdiverz) August 4, 2018
When the hungry stranger identified himself as Keith Urban, Reed did not believe him. She asked him where Nicole Kidman was, believing she was busting some practical joker.
Urban finally urged the doubting teacher to ask his bodyguard.
“It was then that I realized what an idiot I was. He graciously allowed me to get my picture taken with him,” Reed shared. “Another Ruth Reed moment!”
Olivia Rose Prouse, a former student of Reed’s shared the story on social media so everyone would know what a sharing person her former teacher was in everyday life such as paying it forward and helping those who are or even appear to be unfortunate.
It became national news, and a woman even wrote a 10-minute tune about it on the former radio show Ty, Kelly & Chuck.
https://www.facebook.com/10MinuteTune/videos/1108077912692587/
That good deed certainly paid off!
Has anything like this ever happened to you? What do you think of this incident? Sit back and enjoy Keith saying thank you in his own special way.