What was your latest act of random kindness?

[Bundbuster]

Last week I saw a woman moving the entire contents of a rental truck into my condo building - alone. Having once done that cross-state, I vowed to never let anyone else suffer a solo move in my presence. So 3 hours later we were both sore but happy, and I was reminded of the benefits of altruism - probably made me feel better about it than she.

What was your most recent act of random kindness? Even just letting a car pull out in front of you on a busy street counts.

[AndyP]

1. lemme think

I think I tripped a republican the other day :)
just playin. Actually last night I helped change a tire for someone.

[HEyHEY]

2. Can't remember

Gave money to a unicef box?

[Jokerman]

3. Helped find a cat

My elderly neighbor told me a couple of days ago that her indoor cat got out. I saw the cat run under my storage barn at lunch today so I lured her out with some food, whisked her into a carrier and returned her to her home.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

4. $3 to the food bank...

Does that count?

[Bundbuster]

7. Certainly that counts - the gift of giving

Especially in these days of the neocons' "Starve The Beast" policies on all social/safety net programs. "Sorry, we just don't have any money left for that, what with all the military/anti-terra spending, and these tax cuts!"

[GoddessOfGuinness]

15. I gave at the grocery this afternoon...

This is a thought-inspiring thread, Bundbuster.

If I ask myself what I've done each day, it'll be easier to make a concerted effort to make the world a kinder place...

[BurtWorm]

5. I responded to this thread!

;)

Actually, this morning, I helped a woman who said she never took the subway alone figure out how many stops before her stop on the E train.

[Bundbuster]

8. Now THAT's kind, BurtWorm

"Keep threads alive!"

[Mobius]

6. sex with ugly person

but not a republican, id die first.

[Blue-Jay]

9. I didn't kill anybody at work today.

Boy howdy, I sure wanted to though. (That probably doesn't count)

[redqueen]

10. I gave my umbrella to a student

They were walking to school without one in pouring rain. I only have to walk from my car to the door, so I figured what the hey.

[southerngirlwriter]

11. in the freezing rain and wind blowing, an elderly lady

was shivering at a bus stop. I gave her a ride home. It was out of my way, but more than worth it to watch her warm her freezing hands in front of my heating vents. :-)

[Bundbuster]

13. You can pick me up anytime, sgw

That's a real class act, which probably made YOU feel great too.

If only the world were filled with people like you.

[VelmaD]

12. Yesterday afternoon I found a set of keys...

sitting on the table in the breakroom for a completely different agency that's on the same floor as mine. (Their breakroom has the vending machines.)

Anyway, I spent nearly 10 minutes trying to find someone who was actually at their desk over there to turn them in to.

[woofless]

14. A couple months ago I saw a young fella'

standing at the crossroads with a gas can as I went into the store. He was still there when I came out. I asked where he was going and he said he had run out of fuel "up the hill". We live way out in the boonies and the road goes another 35 miles from here and ends at the Mt. Baker ski area, and I mean ENDS. I took him about twenty miles up the road and dropped him off at his truck. Felt real good too. When I got back about an hour later than I should have I told Kathy why I was so late and she said "Cool". That was her random act of kindness for the day.

Woof

[Southsideirish]

16. At lunchtime Mass - I saw a homeless woman with all her

possessions in a clear plastic garbage sack. She was going up to Communion but I headed her off up to the priest and threw a $20.00 bill on top of her bag on the way back. When she returned to her pew her eyes got real big and she scooped up the cash in a flash, grabbed her bag and took off. I never told anyone that story before.

[southerngirlwriter]

17. P.S.

For this, :yourock: :yourock: :yourock:

Moving is a uniquely special form of hell. Helping someone who was stuck doing it alone, well, that makes you an O8)

[Fight_n_back]

18. A Berkeley story

stop me if you heard this one.

The McDonalds in Berkeley is haveing a 2 for 1 Big MAc sale so I bought 4 to hand out to homeless people.

I got turned down by someone who didn't trust me and another person who was a Vegan (?!) but four others were very happy to get protein.

It took me one block to give away 4 burgers and get rejected twice. And this is the most liberal town in the United States.

[Skittles]

19. Yesterday I mailed Linkin Park's latest CD to Iraq

to soldiers I don't know, along with Johnny Cash's LIVE AT FOLSOM PRISON and a buttload of junk food. :D

[BigDaddyLove]

20. I broke up a fight between two Racoons.........

I've also been shoveling the snow in front of my neighbors door and walkway.

[Habibi]

21. You know what?

This is a *great* thread and I love reading the responses, and I almost chimed in with a couple of my own things, and then I remembered that the act itself is the reward, so I'm not gonna say anything. But you guys are cool, and kindness is the best medicine for this troubled world, innit?

[Eroshan]

22. well I work in a nursing home

and I make it a point to visit with the folks that are getting ready to pass. Most of the time we can tell, if you have been in health care long enough you will know what I mean. I just go in and brush their forehead and talk to them. A kind word. It seems that touching the forehead is as comforting for most as holding their hand. And the men don't feel uncomfortable about it, as I am a male. But so many of them have no one by that point, and I cannot imagine having to die alone.

[Bundbuster]

23. One that's been "going around" for awhile -

If you ever drive on toll roads - in the manned booth lane, pay the toll for the person behind you. It will always remind them of positive humanity instead of daily pettiness & grudges.

[kdmorris]

25. Someone did that for me once...

I was shocked. I was the only one to let him over into the lane he needed to be in (he was stuck in the exact change lane and everyone was honking at him). When I pulled up to the booth, she said "That guy paid for you. Go on through."

Thing that touched me so much is that the guy couldn't have been older than 20. People always talk about how "teenagers" are so "insert some crappy thing here", but I'll always have that memory to remind me that that just plain isn't true!

[Bundbuster]

28. A well-invested 50 cents

It really is an act of kindness that the receiver will ALWAYS remember as an example of the everyday good folks.

[northofdenali]

24. My sweetie and I pushed a stuck car out of a snowbank -

it was a rental and had two Japanese tourists in it who did not speak English and I am notably lacking in Japanese. It was 38 below and a way out of town; they were on their way to Chena Hot Springs Resort and slid off a corner.

I hope they enjoyed the Aurora that night - the lights were AWESOME.

[kdmorris]

26. I helped a couple who didn't speak English

figure out how much change they needed to use in the pay phone. Not sure if that really counts, but they were pretty happy. I really wished at that moment that I spoke Portugese!

[Lostmessage]

27. An elderly lady lives in my bldg

She sits in the lobby all evening long and she is around 80 years old.
I know that she is lonely and poor because she has a rent reduced apt. in this building and she talks about going hungry.

When I go to the grocery store I always bring her something small back and I give it to her.

The smile on her face is worth a million bucks to me. If I can make one person happy each day I feel good for that person and not myself.

I love that little old lady. If you sit and chat with her she will tell you about Martin Luther King over and over again and how it was during the civil rights era and when womens lib came in.

She hates Bush and she tells me she is a Christian women and she shouldn't hate but he is evil.

She is so old that the door man takes her up to her apt. every night.

We all love her she is very dear to us.

[AlFrankenFan]

29. A teacher I know...

....was feeling really sick and my friend and I brought her flowers and Sees chocolates.

I have also held the door for a lot of people lately, like an elderly woman carrying a bunch of things.

[Esurientes]

30. At a Clark speech today

A young man behind me couldn't reach the bumper stickers and he asked the crowd in general where they were. I was right next to them, passed him a couple, and then took it on myself to get a handful and take them to the back of the crowd and give them out.

Believe me, I'm not usually this kind of unselfish person (probably lost my chance to shake Clark's hand by moving away from the host table).