I was a teenager – just a little kid, really. It was 2003 and I would often co-present the Youth Show on Brisbane community radio station 4ZZZ. Part of the job was to read out the weekly all-ages gig guide, at a time when there was lots of live music to discover.
Beck, one of my favourite artists, was coming to play at Festival Hall a few days before my 18th birthday. The show was all-ages, so when I read out the event details I cheekily joked that someone should buy me a ticket for my birthday. I was a uni student whose casual wages all went towards petrol and books for uni, with little left over for fun, so buying my own ticket was out of the question. Not that I actually expected anyone to buy me one – I was just being a brat!
But when I returned to the radio station the following week, my co-presenters mentioned that a man had called up to say he would buy me a ticket to Beck. He had left his number for me to phone him back.
I didn’t really have any sense of stranger danger at the time. So of course, I called him right back. He sounded older and said that he wanted to meet at his work in the CBD. We arranged a date and time that I would meet him downstairs from his office. I probably shouldn’t have gone alone, but I did. I wanted that ticket!
I was starting to feel a little bit apprehensive as I waited for him to come down, wondering if perhaps this man had ulterior motives. But when he came to meet me, he simply handed me an envelope and wished me a happy birthday. He said that he and his wife had tickets for a show around the same time that had been cancelled. So when they heard me on the radio, they decided to use the refund to buy me a ticket to Beck for my 18th birthday. He wanted nothing further from me and swiftly went back up to his office.
As I walked away, I opened the envelope and inside was not only the ticket, but a birthday card signed by him and his wife. I was stunned and touched.
I went to see Beck – alone, because none of my friends could afford to come with me – and had a wonderful time. A few days later I turned 18. Now I am much older and realise how differently that meet-up could have gone. But I’ve taken the spirit of this selfless act with me into adult life, taking many chances to pay it forward.
That couple not only gave me a ticket to Beck, they also gave me the joy of giving. They taught me that you don’t need a reason to give someone something. You can do something just because; just for the chance to delight another human being.