Pay it forward. Fifty-five times

A situation in a community north of Boston on Saturday takes the pay-it-forward craze to a new level. Generally, it starts when someone at a drive-thru pays for the food of the person behind them in line. It’s a nice day-brightener.

Consider this story from Amesbury, Mass., where 55 consecutive cars in line at the doughnut shop paid for the person behind them.

But maybe it works best when everyone isn’t doing it Assuming everyone ordered approximately the same thing — unlikely though it is — the only person who sacrificed money in the display of generosity would be the first person

Of course, that’s just the math talking. All of the 54 people paid it forward deserve accolades. But there’s still a special place in doughnut heaven for the first person, who — it turned out — could least afford it; she had just lost her job.

“It was the best $12 I ever spent,” she said.