Carol Walker says her friend, Linda Fairfax, is all about family. She cares for her own, including her adult son with severe developmental disabilities. She also looks out for those without local families, including Walker.
Every year, Fairfax hosts what she calls "Orphan Thanksgiving" and Christmas dinners, and even buys presents for the attendees.
"She invites different people that don't have family members in town or don't have family members at all and feeds them and gives us a wonderful time," said Walker.
When Walker's mom died, Fairfax was there.
"She helped me go to the funeral home, picked up my family members, stayed with me whenever I needed it," said Walker.
Walker's mom's house was also a mess, so Fairfax helped her clean it every weekend for three months, preparing for an estate sale.
So Walker wanted to say thank you.
"I've recently been laid off myself, so you know I haven't had the finances that I've had in the past and I try to do whatever I can to help her in any way I can, but financially it would be great," said Walker.
To help pay her son's mounting bills, Fairfax recently left retirement. She now works at the post office inside the Apothecary Pharmacy in West Los Angeles. Fairfax didn't expect to see her old friend as a customer.
"I had an opportunity to give something back to you for all that you've done for me. This is just a token of what you've meant to me, Linda," said Walker.
The women embraced as Fairfax held back her tears.
"I just don't know what to say, I'm so grateful! I'm just really grateful," Fairfax said.
Fairfax says she was brought up to pay it forward.
"My mother was a giver. That's what she left me. She didn't leave me no money, she didn't leave me no house, she didn't leave me no other kind of inheritance, but she left me something in my heart, which I love to give," she said.
Because of that, she's always enjoyed watching the Pay It Forward segments on Eyewitness News.
"I said, 'Man, I wonder if that would ever happen to me?' And I said, 'Who would ever give me something like that and why?' But I never thought it would come from you," Fairfax told Walker. "I never thought it would happen anyway. Now, I believe those things really do happen!"
Fairfax says she's going to spend the money on her son's mounting medical bills and to invite more people to her holiday feast.
