On Thursday, I was waiting in the takeout line at Dairy Queen for my order of fries.

While I was sitting there, a group of young people began leaving the fast food establishment and crossed in front of me.

I was a bit curious about the group because they looked too old to be high school students but were still obviously young. They were all making their way to a van that sat adjacent to the restaurant.

I tried craning my neck around to see if they were from some school or university traveling through Vicksburg, but my eyes were not good enough to make out the logo on their ride.

Vicksburg has many tourists coming through town, so I guess they could have also been visitors who were checking out all of our historical sites. Who knows?

Anyway, as I waited, one of the young men in the group started to make his way back in the direction of the restaurant, but before he got there, he squatted down by a young tree and emptied the contents of his drink.

I thought, how intuitive of him to share the liquid with the sapling. Our weather has been so dry, any type of moisture would surely be appreciated. As he rose and made his way towards the trashcan, he stopped midstream and bent over to grab a piece of trash that was lying in the drive thru. And if that was not enough, he walked a little closer to my vehicle and picked up a second piece of garbage.

He then made his way to the outdoor dining space of Dairy Queen and dropped everything in the garbage can.

When he walked back and was close enough to my car, I could not help myself but to roll down my window and say thank you. His random act of kindness had impressed me, and I wanted him to know someone saw and appreciated his good works.

As I drove off, I thought how nice it was to see someone doing something good.

In the egocentric world we live in, it seems like there are more times than not that people disregard their surroundings and just walk on by when they could in fact make a difference, if only a small one.

After getting my food and leaving, I too wanted to do something kind.

Therefore, after making my way to Hobby Lobby, I saw that there were some empty shopping carts in the parking lot. Many of us have encountered a runaway buggy and know the damage it can do to a vehicle, so I commandeered the pair and rolled them into the store.

It was really nothing terribly taxing on my part, and I may have even burned a few extra calories, which was certainly needed after eating French fries!

Once inside the store, I began to think how contagious this young man’s behavior had been. He had inspired me to pitch-in.

And then I thought, what if every day I did just a little something that could possibly inspire someone else to do a little something, what a difference it would make in the world where we live!

Whether bad or good, our actions are noticed, so I challenge you to consider the latter, because random act of kindness do make a difference.

Terri Cowart Frazier is a staff writer at The Vicksburg Post. You may reach her at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com. Readers are invited to submit their opinions for publication.