I was bumming around Twitter a couple weeks ago when someone I didn’t really know (he goes by the handle @DocNasty) said that he had someone he’d like me to meet. Doc told me that he runs an internet radio station, and that I should get in touch with one of his DJs, because she does something pretty cool at her local Starbucks.
So I messaged @TheBluesLady on Twitter, and that was my first contact with Jan Carroll.
She gave me her phone number and I gave her a call last weekend. We spoke for about 40 minutes and it went amazingly well, considering I’m not a very talkative guy. It probably helped that she’s a DJ and knows how to carry on a one-sided conversation. 
Jan is a retired CNN and local news correspondent, radio DJ, and a few other jobs that she rattled off before I could write them all down. She does the internet radio gig right now because she loves people and music (in that order), and the part-time job enables her to connect with people and have a lot of fun.
Jan lives in Franklin, Tennessee, and gets her morning coffee at the Royal Oaks Starbucks on the outskirts of town. For the past 8-9 months, she’s been doing something very cool: when she goes to pay for her order in the drive-thru, she asks what the car behind her ordered, and she pays for their drink as well. She then writes a short note on one of her Krush Radio business cards and leaves it with the attendant to give to the next car along with their free coffee.
The Starbucks staff and Jan have a great relationship. She loves the service and products, and they enjoy facilitating her daily acts of kindness. One day after she had done her customary pay forward, Gerald Burnette, the manager of the store, called to tell her that the movement had gone back 14 cars that day. I find it so very reassuring that one little action can be enough to make another person spontaneously do the same for another, and so on down the line. Think about it like this: one person spent an extra five bucks, and 14 other people will remember and reflect on that act for a long, long time, influencing their own mindset and also other people as they go. I’d say it’s worth it.
During the course of our conversation, I learned that Jan’s mother had taught her from a very young age that there is always someone in a worse situation than you, so it’s a good idea to appreciate the things you do have, and lend a helping hand to others whenever possible. When I mentioned that it was a rare thing to find someone doing this kind of thing each and every day, she told me that “It’s nothing special; I just want others to be happy.”
I could tell that she meant it, too. I won’t go into the details here, because I know she wouldn’t want it to sound like she was patting herself on the back (which she certainly wasn’t), but I will say that she buys a good amount of toys and food for needy families every Christmas as well. Her generous spirit showed through time after time while we spoke, and I put down the phone extremely glad that I made the call.
The thing that resonated with me the most during our conversation was a phrase she used a couple times: “I’ve never met a stranger.” It sounded a little odd to me at first, and when I questioned her on it, she said that she always looks for the beauty in people, and tries to seek out the best in them.
From the happiness I heard in her voice, it seems that she always finds it.
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