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Random Acts of Kindness
wizard78
Member Posts: 3,144 ✭
We constantly hear about all the garbage going on in our everyday lives. Let's hear about some of the random acts of kindness you've witnessed or have done. If you're not willing to admit you did them yourself, just say "I witnessed" it. What brings this up is that I witnessed an act yesterday. It got me thinking and realized that there must be more. I was visiting with a friend, and an elderly stranger walked in and tried to sell my friend a coinset for about seven or eight dollars. My friend told him it wasn't worth much (not exactly in those words) but went into his own money and gave the stranger $5.00 and asked the stranger to hold onto the coinset too. The stranger was so taken and choked up by this kindness that he could hardly speak. It made me stop and think about the times I pay for strangers meals when I am at restaurants. I admit it. If I am at a restaurant and see a needy person. I pick up their check for the meal they are having. I know I'm not the best judge of character, but I sometimes spot people who are experiencing a hard time. It seems that there must be others out there. Come on, let's hear some of the good acts. Not the ones you've read about, the ones you've seen!
Comments
I know all of us here have helped friends and family out before. Maybe even helped a complete stranger with a car problem or gave money to a homeless person before. What I would like to know (if you dont mind sharing is if you have one thing you did that sticks in your mind as the most gratifying. I will share mine:
It was in the late 70's in San Francisco, my wife and I worked at BofA and commuted about 35 miles one way across the GG bridge. We used to wait for traffic to thin by going to a Mickey D's and eating in the parking lot looking over the bay. This one time while my wife was getting our food a homeless guy came up to the car and knocked on the window, he was ragged but you could see he was trying to do the best with what he had, he ask for spare change. As I gave him what I had I noticed that his hands were a little blueish red from the cold ( it is freezing in SF at times). He walked off after thanking me for the change, when my wife returned to the car I got this , lets say urge to give him my gloves, these gloves were expensive puppies and fairly new. But I got out of the car and walked back to the dumpster he was behind (trying to stay out of the wind) and handed him my gloves, he looked at me kinda stunned and I just said here take these and walked off. I got back in the car and was eating when he again knocked on the door, I rolled down the window and he ask me "Sir why did you give me your gloves?" I said "I dont know it just seemed you needed them more than me"
He looked me in the eye with a look I have never seen before, it was, I dont know how to say it, it was; gratitude, happiness, love , hell I dont know. Then he simply said: "Thank you sir I am very much warmer now" and turned away walked a few steps and stopped, turned back and said "God bless you sir" Those words and the calm way in wihich he said them went straight to my heart. He walked away. I never saw him again though my wife and I stopped there most every day. I can still remember the feeling I got from the words he spoke and the look he gave me. Though I have given many things to many people over the years I have never felt like that before and probably never will again. This is a memory I will take to my grave.
JuJu (not a soft touch)
Rugster
"Toujours Pret"
Glad to hear you are one of those "incurable romantics".
My wife and I have been blessed with a good life, healthy children, all parents still alive and kicking, in late 80's all, and the ability to satisfy our daily needs. Some of the rest goes to our Church and those less fortunate - through nothing of their own creation.
Annually, we list groups or org's that we donate varying amounts of money to - from scholarships funds to bypassing organizations and giving directly to the most needy and in amounts with no zero's to 3/4 zero's. However, when we contact these groups or drop funds off to them it is made perfectly clear to them we do not wish to see our names listed anywhere as a donor. By listing our names we will either request the funds be returned or they will never again be recipients (and for the past 5-6 yrs all have co-operated). We do it this way as we don't give to seek recognition. We do it from the heart and as long as our Lord knows what's in our hearts that's good enough for us.
So, sorry. No tales...well, just one. Over the past 15 yrs as a hunter safety instructor I have "loaned" shotguns and rifles to parents who otherwise couldn't afford to buy their kids a gun. I tell them to use it and when they turn 21 give me back my "loaner". But, I tell the parents when the kid grows up sufficiently to understand to tell them its' theirs to do as they will.
M
"the difference between the almost right word and the right word is like the difference between a lightning bug and a lightning bolt" - Mark Twain.
Without thinking about it much i drove my truck up as close to the porch as i could get and jumped up up on my cab and took the baby and his brother off and then the mom.
By the time the fire dept. got there the house was about half burned down.
I dont believe it. From what I hear you dont shoot good enough to hit anything at 100 metere, much less 800.[;)]
JuJu(who thinks DWS is an incurable romantic)
JuJu(who thinks DWS is an incurable romantic)
So true. I wept in Sweet November.
TOOLS
General TOOLS RRG
Don't go blaming the beer. Hank Hill
So much Ice, So much Beer. So little time. Shooter4
I don't have an anger problem. I have an idiot problem. Hank Hill
When I was a child, I thought as a child. But now that I am grown, I just wish I could act like a child and get away with it.
It made me stop and think about the times I pay for strangers meals when I am at restaurants. I admit it. If I am at a restaurant and see a needy person. I pick up their check for the meal they are having.
Heh-heh, so that was you, Wizard. Thanks. I've worked that scam for years.
Clouder..
quote:Originally posted by juju
JuJu(who thinks DWS is an incurable romantic)
So true. I wept in Sweet November.
Hey! That was a damn good movie!
"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long..."
Had my tools in the truck anyway so when I saw a woman broke down on the side of the road I stopped and offered to fix her car. She locked the doors and said she was calling the cops.
Hylander
"I choose battles I believe to be just."
quote:Originally posted by wizard78
It made me stop and think about the times I pay for strangers meals when I am at restaurants. I admit it. If I am at a restaurant and see a needy person. I pick up their check for the meal they are having.
Heh-heh, so that was you, Wizard. Thanks. I've worked that scam for years.
Clouder..
You're welcome, Clouder. All you ever have to do is ask.
Hylander, a lot of states are making it easier for doctors, emt and nurses to help, by passing "good samaritan" laws. In the past, there were many law suits when someone tried to help the injured. Under the new laws, you can't be sued if you stop to help in an accident.
Tools, he has a heart of GOLD doesn't he?
R/
Dave
How different the world would be if we could consult the veteran instead of the politician. - Henry Miller
Rugster
"Toujours Pret"
I've often though , If I had cash to spare, how I might brighten someone's morning by handing the tollguy /gal a ten and saying, "The next 20 cars are on me".
Ten dollars. Big deal.
I was glad someone beat me to it, it only increases my endeavor to do the same...
Pay it forward....
JOIN PETA! (PEOPLE EATING TASTY ANIMALS) I didn't climb to the top of the food chain to have a salad and spring water!
Personally,my most memorable is finding a hunter,near death,in the state forest near Gladwin,MI in 1980. Seems he'd driven up from Flint the night before,intending to meet his partners. He drove his Datsun down the wrong "fire lane" and got it stuck in a huge,partially-frozen mudpuddle,submerging the car's rear-end in the process. He left the car running to stay warm and was soon overcome by carbon monoxide.
I found him the next morning. Face badly burned from the cigarette in his mouth,which ignited his beard. Death rattle is the only way to descibe what was coming from his lungs. Urinated/defecated himself,making for a very unpleasant picture. The key was still on and the radio playing. Luckily,the car ran out of gas before he died.
Realizing there was nothing I could do alone I ran the mile or so to the hwy and managed to flag down some cars and with their help got an ambulance and got the man to Gladwin hospital. He was then air-lifted to U of M hospital where he was placed in the hyperbaric chamber for several days and received other treatments. He stayed in a coma for some time and one day just woke up,completely normal,with no lasting,permanent damage except his wife said later that his bad temper was gone. Also found out his wife was pregnant during the ordeal and they named their son after me! Poor kid.
After the ambulance left with him I figured end of story and went back in the woods to hunt. Several months later I got a call from a reporter from The Flint Journal(newspaper) and he was doing a story on the miraculous recovery of this man. The reporter got my name from the police report filed months earlier. That's how I found out all this other info. Got a nice writeup in The Journal and a few others and many calls from his family,friends,well-wishers,etc. That was my 15 minutes of fame. Wish I could find some links to the newspaper article.
Not sure if this qualifies as a random act of kindness. More like being in the right place at the right time. Just not sure why it was me. Then again,why not me?
Other than that my only random acts of kindness are trying to feed the cat on a regular basis and spanking the wife occasionally...[;)]
I have learned that when the stuff hits the fan it is never evenly distributed.
I believe that random acts of kindness separates us from those other subspecies.
Each time I do a random act of kindness, I think that it could have been my family or my friends that were in need.
People often offer to pay for these and I really do say: "Just do the same for someone else sometime when you get a chance."
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
~Abraham Lincoln
Other freedoms are IN COURT NOW and under attack. Click to read latest report.
Hey! That was a damn good movie!
"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long..."
"Our finest tribute to our fallen dead would be to convince their sons that we were not Rambo and neither are they. -Gus Hasford
I, and most of the people living around me, feel and do exactly the same as you. I don't know how many times I've said very similar words to somebody - "No thanks, just do the same thing for the next person you see who needs your help. That's all the payment I require".
We even leave our house unlocked at all times in the winter so if somebody is stranded, they don't have to break in to keep from freezing to death. Life on the Northern plains is a bit different, isn't it?
Ben
I root for the
I think the right hand is not suppose to know what the left hand is doing. Do those acts in secret and be rewarded without fanfare.
"Save the Whalers, they need jobs too."
Chorkie
Yes. You can not hide nor can you run on the Northern Plains. No matter what you are, people see you.
I will not let the wife lock the house when it is below zero. Keep thinking about that girl that somehow lived after being stuck in the snow, walking to a farmhouse and the owners found her the next morning frozen stiff on their porch -- she could not get in. They put her in the car and hauled her to the hospital -- had to leave the window down as she was too frozen to bend. Somehow, by a miracle she lived.
In the summer it is the heat. In the winter it is the cold. You leave a person in trouble, you might be signing their death warrant.
I like the Northern plains. The people that live here are for the most part some pretty good people.
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
~Abraham Lincoln
When the war broke out, nothing sold - period. One day, a couple of months later, he was going to check on one of the houses and there was a young woman with a newborn and a 2 year old walking around the house looking it over. He asked if she was interested, and she replied yes. he gave her the tour and in the process of the conversation found out that she was a widow. He said he was sorry to hear it and asked if she had family in Tulsa. she said she didn't, but liked Oklahoma, but couldn't live where she had been living. After many more questions, my friend found out that her husband had been one of the soldiers killed in iraq in the taking of the baghdad airport. She said she couldn't live around the base because of the memories - everytime she saw a soldier she would think of him.
When she asked the price, she couldn't believe her luck, as this was the cheepest home she had seen - he tell her the price was $10K less than his cost. He also built her the fence around the lot at no cost and the day she signed the papers, he had a large flag pole installed in the yard with a big American flag.
This was the first home he had sold in months and he look a lose. until today, no one knew this story but me - i'm proud this guy is my friend.
friends stand behind you.... true friends stand shoulder to shoulder with you.
Ben
now in the position im in, several people, companies has helped me out. 1 Example is Buckmasters [ BADF ] with the help of their sponsors sent me a rifle rest and trigger device so i could get back to shooting/hunting again.
i still help folks when i can but its rare not much you can do from a chair [:(]
"When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe
~ Jesus Christ [Luke 11:21.6]
Mauser Central
MidwayUSA, if your not signed up for the Eblast alerts you are missing some great deals !
Great people!
I can also say that I've learned that this is some of Americana. Since becoming a member of this board, I have received great acts of kindness from folks all over this great country of ours. From the dreaded New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, California, Soth Carolina, North Carolina, North Dakota, Alabama, Georgia, Louisanna, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Colorado, Alaska, and many more that I just can't remember. Not to mention Peter in Iceland! Lots of good folks in this world![:D]
How you doin'!
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded by
UNITED STATES MARINES!