Substitute Teacher Offers Keith Urban Cash to Pay for Items at New Jersey Wawa

Urban was short $5.

Written by Lauren Laffer
Substitute Teacher Offers Keith Urban Cash to Pay for Items at New Jersey Wawa
Keith Urban and Ruth Reed; Photo courtesy of Medford 08055 Facebook Group

It always pays to “pay it forward” as one woman discovered on Friday, Aug. 3. Ruth Reed, a substitute teacher in South Jersey, was shopping at a Wawa in Medford when she ran into a customer she thought could use some extra cash.

After making a resolution to help out fellow Wawa customers, Reed offered to pay for the customer’s items after seeing he was short several dollars, NorthJersey.com reports.

“Three years ago, I made a resolution to treat somebody at Wawa once a week,” she told the outlet. “I have done that ever since. It is the best. I would encourage everybody to do it because it makes you feel good about you.”

That cashless customer turned out to be Keith Urban, who was scheduled to perform at Camden’s BB&T Pavilion later that night. When Reed overheard Urban ask for five dollars from a friend, she decided to step in and help him out.

Keith Urban

Keith Urban; Photo credit: Andrew Wendowski

“I argued with him that he was not Keith Urban,” Reed recalled. “I said, ‘Yeah, well if you’re Keith Urban, where is Nicole (Kidman, his wife) and who is that woman you were with?’ He said ‘It’s my sister, let’s go ask her.’ My snippy words were, ‘Yes, I’m sure she wouldn’t lie to an old lady.’ I was so sure he was just yanking my chain.”

It wasn’t until Reed caught sight of Urban’s bodyguard that she believed his story.

“He was so gracious,” she said. “He was just so nice. He was awesome.”

Reed went on to get a photo with the country superstar before parting ways. The moment was one she won’t soon forget.

“This was out of the blue,” she said. “Being at the right place at the right time and too stupid to recognize Keith Urban when you see him. But we always tend to notice what people do wrong and we don’t notice the good.”