Random Acts of Kindness

[axxell33]

Today I was on my way up to the city of Baltimore to visit the Tandy Leather factory. I needed new supplies to keep these key chain orders going.

On the way, I had to go through a toll. So, I pull up up to the line and not so patiently wait for my turn. I get to the booth and roll my window down and hold a $5 bill out for the attendant to take it.

She then waves me off and says that the person in front of me paid for it ($2.00). I thanked her and drove away.

No matter how simple that was, it really made my day. So, on the way back through (yes, the state of Maryland charges you to go both ways), I decided to return the favor. I pulled up, and once again handed over my five.. told her I was paying for the lady behind me, and she handed me a dollar bill back.

I could see the lady in my rear view mirror.. a young black lady driving a mini van. I'm sure she has several children. I just hope that I made as big of an impact in her day as someone else did in mine.

Do you have a story to share?

[41bigdawg]

Thanks for sharing that AX...that is Awesome ;) You have restored my faith in humanity today and that makes my day !!!

[Alberta Gal]

Yes, thanks for sharing that. It's heartwarming to hear such examples of kindness for the sake of kindness.

[Strat HD]

meow

[tibadoe]

A good deed for sure. Something that happens to few and far between.

[B-Man]

Brad, very nice thing you did!! I did that one day at Burger King! I paid for the ladie'smeal who was waitin behind me! It does make ya feel good!!

[Strat HD]

meow

I was away from the puter and my daughter posted this without reading. Arrrrggghhh. Kids... Geez..

[Strat HD]

Here's an old post from around Thanksgiving. Rockerbox1 started the thread on HDF. I need to do more Brad. Thanks for reminding me.

Oh, what the hell. The house that I built 12 years ago is under forclosure. I'm in the middle of going through bankruptcy. Just ain't a good time to be a framing contractor.

About a half block from the lawyers office yesterday I saw a couple with a child walking there. I recognized them from my last appointment. I thought to myself at least I have wheels, these people are walking with a child. So I stuck around after my appointment and gave them a ride home.

It was real crowded in my pickup but no one complained. Turns out they had to sell their car to survive. So yes I am thankful for what I still have. There's alot of people in worse situations. This economy won't get the best of me. I'll bounce back.

[WideOpen]

Yes, I have a story to tell. It's a story about how taking the time to do a small kindness can have a big impact. It's also a bit of a motorcycle story. About 5 or 6 years ago my son took a job with a company that makes prosthetics. He was a couple of years out of college and had worked as a plastics engineer for an auto parts supplier for a couple of years since graduating. He was supposed to work as a production engineer but they had him doing product engineering instead. He got to work with some Iraq veterans with missing limbs and that was cool, but ultimately he felt a bit out of his depth and it wasn't the kind of engineering he wanted to do, and he left for another job, where he has been very successful.

Flash forward about 30 months. My friends cousin who lives nearby is headed down the road on his scoot about 10:30 on a Summer night, lady friend on the back, and another couple riding ahead of them. The guy in the pickup approaching from the other direction has a seizure or something, crosses the center line and slams Cuz and his lady into the guardrail. The lady isn't injured too terribly, but Cuz has an ear torn loose, sternum crushed, and looses a leg at the knee. In the hospital for over six weeks.

The truck drivers insurance balks and tries to blame the bikers, and social security tells Cuz he may have to wait 2 years to get a leg through them. In conversation a few days later, I relate this story to my son. He calls me a couple of days later and says have Cuz call this number and talk to this guy, at the company where my son worked for less than a year. The outcome was Cuz gets into the R&D program and they supply him with a leg and therapy. I saw him walking to his mailbox yesterday. Because two people who didn't know him, one who said "Can you help?" and another who said "Yes I can".
No gesture is too small to matter.

[ruby4me]

This happened at the grocery store about year and half we were in line in front of this older lady and I was just staring up and around and I saw the lady searching there her purse and she told the cashier that she had to leave the food in the cart,I looked at Betsy and she shook her head yes and we paid for her food, I dont think she ever did understand what happened because she kept telling the cashier that she couldnt pay. She was somewhere around 70 or 80 and she finally took her groceries to her car and I followed and helped her load them. Was glad that we could do it! Karma works!!

[yochanon]

There's an old man, probably in his mid 60's, who literally walks to and from town to grocery shop. Thing is, he lives about 8 miles one way away. He's really messed up physically as he walks twice as bent over as me and has a limp worse than mine too. One day I saw he was walking back toward home (I assumed, since I saw him earlier walking the other way with no bags in his hands). I couldn't stand it any more and stopped 20 feet ahead of him, on the main road through town (stopping traffic too), got out and asked if he wanted a ride home (I had no clue where he lived at the time and didn't care). I put his two bags of groceries in the back of the pickup and helped him in the passenger side. I was just waiting for someone to honk so I could rag the ever lovin' shit out of them, but no one honked or yelled or anything...lucky them. This old man stunk, but not too much worse than I probably ever did after a day on a construction site, so it didn't bother me. Found out he lived on the way to my home, so it wasn't any hardship gas-wise. I was able to do this a few more times before I had to give up the truck and have only the bike as my sole transportation. He's...'slow'...and I could barely hear anything he said, but he was thankful and it felt damn good, since all the religious Baptists in this town seemed to see something more interesting somewhere else when they drive past this guy all the time. Chaps my ass and I'd like nothing better than to pop into a church some day just to give the hypocrites a daily ration of my foot up their lame asses.

I can't help the old guy anymore now that I only have the bike, but at least I know I did the right thing before it was beyond my abilities anymore to help.

[Crocodile56]

That's paying it forward!!! Good deal........

[toorglide]

thanks to kurt warner (cardinals quarter back) and an interview i saw about him once......when his family is out eating they will choose another family in the restuarant thats looks to be in need of help, and he pays their bill....i thought what a great way to help someone annonomously and afford them to use that $40-$50 on the utility bill or whatever....me n the OL have done that about 5 times now, twice we waited outside to guage the reaction on peoples faces coming out.....both times they had looks of amazement, humility and gratefulllness....maybe those folks payed it forward in some other manner, dont know, it certainly gives you a sence of compasion

[Dimoncutr]

This happened about 16 years ago and I was in my late twentys. It was around Christmas time and I was putting a equalizer in my truck at some local radio shop. In that neighborhood there was a few group homes around and you learn who a few of the residents are. I'm waiting for my truck to get done and one of the patients from a home comes in and says he needs to take some money back for a part he had in lay away. He got back aboat 2-3 dollars. He then left. I asked what that was about and was told what I just told you. I asked what he owe'd for it. Was like 25-30 dollars. I don't remember. I said here's the money to pay it off. Give him the part and reciept when he comes back next. The kid behind the counter said that was the coolest thing he every saw anyone do. It has paid off in karma. I don't have alot of things or alot of money. But I have the best family a guy could ever ask for.

[steveston]

Fantastic to read of nice gestures in this time where disgruntled and unsettling people often take the forefront...Well Done Herd...Lets keep it up.

[ruby4me]

MooooooooooMoooooooo!

[Alberta Gal]

I was away from the puter and my daughter posted this without reading. Arrrrggghhh. Kids... Geez..

I thought it was sweet!

[Ironhead]

I've got one, and it's funny.....embarassed me at the time, but funny now.

A few years ago, I was at a store witha cart full of stuff. was stading in line at the checkout, and the guy in front of me was very carefully working thru stuff in his head as he placed his items on the counter, he stopped the cashier several times to ask how much he had there now.
when he had everything out of his cart, he had to tell her he couldn't afford everything he had, so he put back a box of trashbags and something else (about $6 woth of stuff, no big deal)
as soon as the cashier started to ring up my stuff, I told her to ring up the items that guy left behind, she did, I had my boy take them over to the man and he thanked us for it.
the twist to the story, as I got all of my items rang up, their computer system rejected my check. I threw a fit, they said it was because they could no longer accept checks from out of state over $100
(this was before I ever had a debit card)
so as we left the store, I was still pissed till I remember, hahaha, now the store didn't get paid for the stuff we had rang up for the old man....HAHAHAHA!

[Dimoncutr]

I've got one, and it's funny.....embarassed me at the time, but funny now.

A few years ago, I was at a store witha cart full of stuff. was stading in line at the checkout, and the guy in front of me was very carefully working thru stuff in his head as he placed his items on the counter, he stopped the cashier several times to ask how much he had there now.
when he had everything out of his cart, he had to tell her he couldn't afford everything he had, so he put back a box of trashbags and something else (about $6 woth of stuff, no big deal)
as soon as the cashier started to ring up my stuff, I told her to ring up the items that guy left behind, she did, I had my boy take them over to the man and he thanked us for it.
the twist to the story, as I got all of my items rang up, their computer system rejected my check. I threw a fit, they said it was because they could no longer accept checks from out of state over $100
(this was before I ever had a debit card)
so as we left the store, I was still pissed till I remember, hahaha, now the store didn't get paid for the stuff we had rang up for the old man....HAHAHAHA!

Nice! LOL

[gruss]

maybe a bit off topic, but as i read these great stories, the reminder of the Veterans stories over on the H-DF kept popping into my head.
So, i'll thank the Veterans past and present for their Kindness, and the willingness to give the ultimate sacrifice for us.....R.I.P. Soldiers.......
I Cant think of a more Random act, that is more kind than that....g