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By: JMertlich,
10/24/2008
Free gas? West Linn resident says it’s the least he can do
By Kara Hansen
The West Linn Tidings, Oct 16, 2008, Updated Oct 16, 2008
Dave, a West Linn resident who requested that his last name not be printed, recently inherited a large sum of money, offers to buy the gas of a patron of the Chevron station on Eighth Court.
Five years ago, Dave lived at the Dignity Village homeless camp in north Portland.
Last week, he was buying gas for customers at a West Linn Chevron station.
Dave, who requested that his last name not be printed, who moved to an apartment on Blankenship Road three weeks ago, said he couldn’t have overcome the challenges he faced without the kindness of others. He’s hoping his generosity will encourage others to “pay it forward,” echoing his good deeds.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t had the same thing done for me,” he said Friday afternoon, the second day he and his wife, Annie, spent several hours picking up people’s tabs at the gas station on Eighth Court in the Willamette neighborhood.
With the death of his mother, Dave said he came into “a little more money than a guy like me should have.”
While he considered donating to a nonprofit group, he ultimately figured doing good deeds could multiply the benefits.
“If I buy people $50 worth of gas and five of those people reach out and touch five more people, the world will be a whole lot better,” he said.
It was unclear how much cash Dave spent at the gas station last week, but he likely filled anywhere from 10 to 30 tanks in one day alone, said Alma Lopez, an Oregon City resident who works at the Chevron.
“Nothing like that has ever happened here before,” she said. “We were amazed.”
He even bought the station attendants pizza Friday night — then filled up the delivery driver’s car. Willamette resident Jennifer Waggoner was among the first round of surprised customers on Oct. 7.
“It was such a great thing and so touching to see somebody doing something like that,” she recounted Friday.
While she may not have been desperate for the charity, she acknowledged the help may have been more than a welcome surprise for some people in these tough economic times.
That was the case for Liz Spooner of West Linn, who pulled into the Chevron in a rental car. She’s in the process of buying a new car; her old one caught fire because of engine problems.
With a quick nod of his head, Dave signaled to the pump attendant he’d pick up her bill.
“Your whole life is straight and narrow and then something happens to disrupt it,” Spooner said. “His doing that today is really awesome.”
West Linn resident Marie Larson was so overwhelmed by the random generosity that tears streamed down her face as she thanked Dave on Friday. She said the kind gesture was especially meaningful, given her 3-year-old daughter spent a week at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital recently with a kidney infection.
How will Larson pay it forward?
With toys, she said. After leaving Doernbecher, her daughter requested they go back and bring the other children gifts.