I’m feeling the need to be uplifted and I would like your help. I was a witness to two Random Acts of Kindness in the span of about 4 hours one day and it made me happy for a week (yes, I’m that easy to please.) But this was a month ago and I’d like to have that sense of the wonderfulness of humanity once again. So please post your examples of RAoK. I’ll start off with these two.
There were four kids ranging in age from about 4 to maybe 6 in a corner store. They each wanted a pack of Sour Patch Kids. These things cost 50 cents apiece. The children had 50 cents combined. They were not to clear on the math.
The store owner started yelling, “Give it back! Gimme back the candy!” The children were puzzled. And then the next costumer-- a guy holding 2 40s of Old E, his gangsta pants pulled down way low below his ass, quietly motioned to the store owner that he’d take care of it. It was so unexpected and this guy did it without the children even knowing he did it. It was just a really nice thing to do for no reason at all.
On the train home that same day there was an Asian woman sitting in the corner, trying to weep quietly to herself. After some time, a black woman reach across the aisle to touch the young woman on the knee, “Are you all right?” she asked. When the crying woman lifted her face, you could see that she was really, really distraught. The other woman joked about how no man was worth it and spoke consolingly for a stop or two. Before the black woman left the train, she gave the crying lady her card. “I know you won’t call me, but here. . .” she said. The lady who had been crying stared at the card, stunned, for another 3 train stops.
Don’t kill me if the spelling and grammer suck. I’m at work and previewing is not an option.
3 years ago I lost my wallet on the Metro when I was out Christmas shopping. It had $70 in cash in it, pretty much my only money for Christmas presents. I called my family crying and told them what happened, they assured me that it was okay if they got no presents. Then I got a call from the MTA lost and found - someone had turned the wallet in, with all the cash intact.
People on my bus are really nice about giving up seats for the elderly, even when it’s crowded at rush hour and you are grateful for any spot on the bus.
When I got mugged last year (guy grabbed my bag and beat me until fell down and let go), a woman driving by saw the whole thing, stopped, drove me home, and waited in my apartment with me while I called the cops. She rode around in the police car with me while we tried to find the guy. She could have just kept driving and not gotten involved.
Several years ago, when I was a freshman in college, I lost my wallet and checkbook. I was in a blind panic: I didn’t drive, so I couldn’t get to the DMV to get a replacement ID card. I didn’t have my student ID, so I couldn’t write a check on campus. (Fortunately, my bank could compare my signature with the card, so I was able to cash a check.)
This went on for almost 2 weeks, when one day I received a small package in the mail, one which didn’t have a return address on it. Inside the package were my wallet and checkbook; the kind stranger had even left the $40 in my wallet before he/she mailed it to me. The kicker is that whoever sent it to me must have known me personally. I go by my middle name, and almost no one knows my first name; but the package was addressed using my middle name. I never found out who sent it, despite asking everyone I knew at the time.
Whenever I have the opportunity, I return the favor to the rest of the world.
I don’t wish to come across as a paragon of virtue (I’m not) but I think that returning lost wallets etc is more of a moral obligation than a random act of kindness. Leaving the money in the wallet when returning same is also a lot better than removing it which, in my opinion, would be taking the piss.
I was once walking near my home when I found several £20 notes on the grass verge. Looking further I found a wallet.
Returning home I investigated the contents of the wallet and found a number to call in the event it was found.
I called the number and left my phone number and address. An hour later a guy called round for the wallet. He checked the contents carefully (money, credit cards, other personal stuff) then said:
‘It’s all here.’
and left.
Well, it’s lucky I scoured the verge long enough to find all his property isn’t it? Otherwise I have the feeling I would have been accused of theft.
The random act of kindness here would have been for him to offer me a reward, to which I say ‘No thanks. Give it to charity.’
If I find this guy’s wallet again I’m going to keep it.
I wouldn’t call this a random act of kindness, but about a year ago my wife and I went off to a hotel for a couple of days vacation. When we went to check out, we were told that we were only to pay for one day - someone who wished to remain anonymous had paid for the other day. To this day we don’t know who it was (we don’t even know how the person knew where we were going).
I don’t know if this is an act of kindness, or a moral obligation, but I once saw a man clutching his chest and slumping right in front of me on a street. He fell, and I tried CPR on him until paramedics arrived. He didn’t make it.
lots of them. I’m a firm believer in performing same.
From my archives:
My baby bro when he was 5 years old was at a community “Easter Egg” hunt, after the alloted time, he came back with an empty basket. When asked “didn’t you find any?” “yep, I found lots but there was this little kid crying 'cause he hadn’t found any, so I gave him mine”.
I’ve done stuff like stick coins in meters that were about to expire. I sat next to a crying young woman on a plane one time, and found that she was grieving that she was leaving her sister, gave her some small toy (I carry them around w/me for such occasions), and it made her smile, seemed happier for the rest of the trip (or she was scared of the odd American Woman sitting next to her with small plastic things in her pocket)
One time I found a class ring from a high school about 150 miles away. I contacted them, told them the year and the engraved initials, wrote a letter to the school describing it along w/my address etc, the young girl whose boyfriend had lost it was very touched - oddly enough about 2 weeks later, I got a phone call asking me if I knew anyone with the names “mylastname” or “grandma’s maiden name”. It was some one who had found a medallion from my grandparents golden wedding anniversary.
I’ve gotten some other people’s mail at my rural mailbox sometimes, once it was (obviously) a check, the other time a big packet from an accountant, in both circumstances, I called the other party and made arrangements for them to get it that day. (ok, so it was a small gesture, they sure were grateful).
I’ll try and think of others.
In the little ol’ town of Brainerd, MN (where I live) we hardly have any homeless people. when we do, though, have a homeless person that wants to work for food, or whatnot, they go to a spot on the highway where you must pass if you want to get on the highway from Walmart or other assorted places (taco bell, Cub Foods, Video Update)
my sister and I were driving from Wal-mart onto the highway when we saw a man standing there holding a sign reading something along the lines of “Trustworthy, bad stroke of luck left me homeless, will work hard for food, thank you, God Bless”. My sister and I looked at each other, and I said “lets go to cub foods” and she said “we’re going to Cub”.
we pulled up, she ran in and grabbed a tuna salad sandwich, and 2 bottles of water, and came back out and we drove back by, and I hopped out and gave him the food. He looked at me and with the most sincere and happy look in his face I have ever seen, and said “Thank you, young man, God Bless you and your sister.”
Down off the Santa Monica pier one evening, I think around New Years, I gave a beggar about a buck in change when he asked. When my brothers and I came back around again, he asked again, not recognizing me. On an impulse, I emptied my pockets of change and put them in his hands. It must have been around five dollars of quarters and dimes. I still remember how surprised and grateful he was.
When I got home, I thought of the burger place we had grabbed lunch at and wished I’d gotten him some food.
Nostradamus, I agree that returning lost belongings is a moral obligation. And I’d never think of keeping any money in a found wallet, even when I was poor. But consider that the finder could have called me on the phone, or seen me around campus and handed the wallet to me. Instead, this person mailed it to me (at his own expense) anonymously, and remained anonymous even when asked. In my book, that’s a show of class.
Last fall, I was on the way home from work and stopped in a small Italian eatery for a sandwich. While I was waiting for my food to be cooked, I noticed two men getting agitated over something. They had finished their meals and desserts and several glasses of beer each, but one of them was waiting for a glass of water. He became enraged that the waitress didn’t immediately refill his water glass, and the two men stormed out of the restaurant without paying their tab. It was apparent to all of us left behind that the two men had never intended to pay their tab, and merely looked for an excuse to become angry so that they could walk out scot-free.
The waitress was badly shaken and on the verge of tears. Just after the men left, the owner called and she explained what had happened. I can only imagine from her reaction that she had gotten chewed out over the incident, which devastated her. As I waited, I could hear her talking to another waitress, asking how she was going to cover that tab, since it ran over $30. (You might think, as I do, that the restaurant owner was a bit of a shit for making her cover the tab.) When she came to the counter with my meal, I offered to pay the tab of the two men, but she refused my money. So, I put the cash back into my wallet, and paid for the sandwich with a credit card…and wrote in a $40 tip
When I was 16 I drove about two hours north to attend an event. On the way back, I took the wrong road out and ended up getting very lost. I went through a tollbooth and didn’t have enough money, and I gave the woman all that I had.
I pulled into the next rest stop in tears and not sure how to get home, but knowing that I would probably have to go through the toll booth again- now without any money at all.
I went inside to the help desk and asked the lady for directions. She showed me the best way to get home without hitting any tolls. Then she handed me two dollars just in case.
I know I’ll get flamed for my irresponsibility, but this was probably one of the most remarkable things that I have ever witnessed.
One of my many summer jobs while working through college was that of a bank teller. One day a Mexican woman came in with her two antsy children and was cashing a government AFDC check for about $700.00. I cashed the check, put the money in an envelope and wished her a nice day.
Shortly thereafter, the bank got ridiculously busy and the same woman with her two, now terribly cranky, kids came in and waited in my line. I looked up, saw her, and thought “great, no good can come of this.”
She waited patiently until she got to my window, handed me the envelope, and whispered “I think you’ve made a mistake.”
I opened the envelope, and sure enough, I had screwed up. I had given her $1700.00.
I couldn’t believe it! I was so stunned I didn’t know what to do. I took out the $1000.00, put it in my drawer, and thanked her.
I wish I could have told her then that she alone restored my faith in humanity.
I still get choked up just thinking about it. I’m sure there were plenty of things she could have done with that money, and she certainly would have never been caught.
I only hope that it’s true, and what goes around really does come around!
I’ve had a couple of cars pick up the tab of the guy behind them in drive thru before.
A few weeks back, someone found a wallet in the ladies room and turned it in. There was no money, but tons of credit cards and ID cards and such. I checked the ID, and saw that the lady was from New York. Figuring she was probably a tourist on her way somewhere, and that the likelyhood of her remembering which McDonalds she stopped at along the way was pretty slim, I decided to track her down. I called 411, got the number, left a message. Her husband called back later that night, and I gave him directions to the store from where he was coming from. When he came to pick it up the next night, the guy had the nerve to ask if there was any money in it when I found it…“Actually, yeah, there was a couple of hundred in small bills, but I took those as my finders’ fee, you don’t mind do you?”
Dork…
I had just turned 22, and was spending the day with my brother and father skiing. Somehow, my jacket pocket became unzipped, and my wallet tumbled out on one of the slopes. Naturally, when I discovered this, I panicked. I went down to the lodge front desk where there were a few staffers.
Upon seeing me, these strangers all burst into ‘Happy Birthday’.
They’d found my wallet, checked the ID and noted my birthdate, and recognized me when I approached.
Still one of the finest, strangest moments of my life so far.
One day while running the register at work I saw something that restored my faith in humanity.
A woman came through my lane with a lot of stuff. After the stuff was totaled she pulled out a wad of gift certificates. She said she couldn’t believe how lucky she had gotten to win them. After counting the certificates she found out that she was almost $30 short of paying for the food.
It was obvious that she wasn’t one of my usual rich customers. (I work in a very affluent area)She got all embarrassed and asked if she could remove some of the items from the order.
The gentleman behind her pulled out two twenty’s and handed them to me and said that it should cover the rest. I finished ringing up her order and got her on her way. She thanked him at least 10 times. I thanked him too. I managed not to start crying until after he left. (I’m a big softie)
I’ve tried to do little things here and there to be helpful when I can, especially for co-workers or friends (Offering to have them spend the night if they have a long ride home, inviting them to dinner when I know they have no job and no way of actively supporting themselves, etc.)
But the biggest one I remember was about 6 years ago. The future Mrs. Dragwyr and I were driving down the highway and it was a torential downpour. Nobody would have wanted to be out walking in this type of rain. As we were driving we saw this car pulled off the side of the highway with a woman sitting in the passenger seat. Her husband had just gotten out of the car and was walking toward the nearest exit (over a mile away) with a newspaper over his head. Mrs. Dragwyr and I looked at each other. I pulled over and backed up to the guy and gave him and his wife ride to the nearest gas station so they could make a call. He gave me his business card said to look him up sometime and he’d buy me lunch. I have never seen him since.
It was just the right thing to do.
I am glad this thread was started. There just aren’t enough people in the world who do this sort of thing.
While my boyfriend was driving one time we spotted a young boy walking a dog on a semi-busy street. The next thing we knew the dog had gotten away and was heading toward a busy intersection. We quickly made a U-turn to see if we could help, but by the time we had at least 5 other cars had already pulled over and people from shops had come out to help. A man ended up grabbing the dog and returning it to the boy. I was just stunned that so many people actually stopped and were concerned. It restored my faith in human kindness, for a week at least.
This happened a few weeks ago, but it was so sweet and thoughtful, I think it should still count. My youngest son and I were getting gas at a Chevron station here in Atlanta. There was a very elderly white man talking to a black man, who was probably in his thirties. They were standing in the doorway, so that we had to pass them to go in.
The elderly man’s truck had run out of gas, and he was there to buy a gas can plus the gas. The black man stopped him, telling him that he had a gas can that he could use.
I actually thought they knew each other, except for the look of amazement on the cashier’s face. Curiousity got the better of me, and I just asked, ‘what happened?’ The two men DIDN’T know each other. The younger man, just heard the older one shopping for the gas can, and griping to himself about his ‘dagnabbed truck.’
Billy and I watched, while the younger man DROVE the older man out onto the highway, protecting the empty truck with his car. He had to ‘spike’ the carb to get the truck to start. They shook hands afterwards. Isn’t that neat??
It may seem strange to Dopers who read my posts that I’m known IRL as a somewhat cynical person (I’ve been called a tree-hugging, everybody-love-everyone type of person more than once here. Although not by anyone I’ve tangled with in The Pit.)
I’m really quite pragmatic. There is ugliness in the world. Ugliness stays with you. It stays so long sometimes that it begins to feel like ugliness is the norm. Ugliness sticks in a way that random acts of kindness can never compete with. RAok slide around us unnoticed most of the time. But they are everywhere. Sometimes they catch us by surprise and we are startled into acknowledging that they can effect us just as strongly.
Anyone who thinks I’m getting too mushy can bite me. Excuse me while I hug a tree.
