Florida Man Deliberately Scuttles Another 'Pay It Forward' Starbucks Line

How it started:

A nice man, we'll call him John, loved the simple joy of giving. He was well-known in his community for his acts of kindness, always looking for ways to brighten someone's day. One morning, inspired by stories he'd heard, John decided to start a "pay it forward" chain at his local Starbucks Coffee Shop. He paid for his coffee and for the order of the person in line behind him, leaving the cashier with a smile and instructions to keep the chain going.

For hours, the chain continued, each person "seemingly" touched by the gesture, deciding to pass on the kindness.

How it ended, according to ABC News: 

A Florida man put an end to another “pay it forward” streak at a local Starbucks because he said he thinks people were participating out of “guilt,” not “generosity.”

Peter Schorsch, a blogger, drove to the Starbucks drive-thru in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Thursday after hearing about the pay it forward phenomenon there that ended with customer No. 458, a woman, the day before. After he ordered two Venti Mocha Frappuccinos, the barista told him his first drink had been paid for by the previous customer and asked if he would like to pay for the next customer.

“I told him no,” Schorsch, of St. Petersburg, told ABC News. “When the barista asks you to pay it forward, it is no longer spontaneous.”

“I’m really not trying to be a Grinch,” Schorsch said. “I know things are hard for baristas and I am willing to help people.”

“I just don’t want to be forced into doing something." ...

When baristas ask customers to pay for the next customer, some patrons simply oblige out of guilt, not generosity, he said.

But before you go thinking all generosity was lost, story ends on a good note ...

Though Schorsch didn't pay for the next customer at the drive-thru, he said he tipped the barista $100.

If we were to peek behind the drywall in this room and notice that all of the vertical studs had been removed, and there were only horizontal beams, we would leave the building as soon as possible. And likewise, if the building only had vertical studs and no horizontal beams, we would feel unsafe knowing that the building was not stable. We'd run for the exits!

Likewise, if we took a piece of fabric and pulled out all of the vertical or horizontal strands, we would be left with nothing but a handful of strands and dangling threads in either hand. The piece of fabric only exists because the strands run in different directions, giving body and support, and form to the cloth.

Sometimes life is just so random. Take for example the “accidental” good fortune ($10 million worth!) of LaQuedra Edwards of SoCal, whose random collision with a stranger resulted in the haul of a lifetime.

As UPI reports:

Edwards had just put $40 into a lottery ticket vending machine at a supermarket in Los Angeles when "some rude person" bumped into her, causing her to accidentally push the wrong number on the machine.
"He just bumped into me, didn't say a thing and just walked out the door," Edwards said.

Edwards was quire resentful at first, because she had just put nearly all her cash into the machine, and was now committed to a lotto ticket that was not of her choosing. 

She usually purchases cheaper tickets, but the accidental button push meant she'd bought a $30 200X Scratchers ticket. 

Her annoyance and frustration was quickly turned to exuberant disbelief as she began scratching the ticket, only to find that she just won the $10 million jackpot!

Edwards said. "I pulled over, looked at it again and again, scanned it with my (California Lottery mobile) app, and I just kept thinking this can't be right."