Good Deeds

[Independent Gal]

I''m doing some writing at an outdoor cafe (hooray wifi!). A guy who regularly comes around here asking for change just asked the man at the table next to mine for some money. Table-guy gave Panhandler some money, and then asked what he would be doing with the money, and whether he knew a certain place where there are free sandwiches for the poor. Panhandler said it was too far to walk. So Table Guy said ''C''mon, I''ll give you a lift,'' gave the man a cigarette, got in the car with him and they drove off together.

Now THAT''S a good samaritan. Imagine if we all went that far out of our way to be kind, even just on the rare occasion. That would be something, wouldn''t it?

Don''t mean to be so mushy and sentimental, but that really touched me!

 

[Skippy123]

I like that!!! I too am one of those people that enjoy feel good things.
I tried that once and it back fired on me; oh well.

Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[zoebartlett]

Wow! That''s pretty nice..much nicer than I could be. I''ve occasionally paid people''s tolls at toll booths and that''s a great feeling. One couple even got into the next lane after I had paid for them and waved and mouthed thank you. It is a good feeling.

 

[Independent Gal]

Oh Zoe, if only you had been there the first time my mom and step-dad came to visit me when I was doing my Ph.D. on the east coast of America. They flew in to JFK in New York, then rented a car and tried to drive to my town. They forgot (ARGH!) to get money for the toll and had to turn around and get off the bridge (I think it was the Triborough or something?). Then they got completely lost in New York trying to find their way back, and I mean completely because they didn''t really know where they were to begin with of course. And it ended up taking them an extra THREE HOURS to get to my place. I was worried sick! And they were pretty nervous and upset too.

So you never know what a difference you make when you do something as simple as pay someone''s toll!

 

[wolftress]

Wow, that''s a lovely story. I think people have become a lot more suspicious these days, especially in big cities. A little kindness goes a long way now more than ever before.

 

[luckystar112]

Is it bad that the first thing I thought of was "murderer"?
See what society and the news has done to me!?!?!?

Anyway, I love hearing nice things that people do for people.

I try to do nice things that most people have stopped doing--like opening the door for people, or saying please and thank you. But the other day I helped an old lady pick out a melon at the grocery store. That made me feel good.

Plus, I LOVE old ladies.

 

[wolftress]

Date: 9/3/2007 9:07:30 PM
Author: luckystar112
Is it bad that the first thing I thought of was ''murderer''?
See what society and the news has done to me!?!?!?

Anyway, I love hearing nice things that people do for people.

I try to do nice things that most people have stopped doing--like opening the door for people, or saying please and thank you. But the other day I helped an old lady pick out a melon at the grocery store. That made me feel good.

Plus, I LOVE old ladies.

Me too, luckystar!! They all remind me of my Nana and I have yet to meet one who isn''t sweet.

 

[Efe]

Date: 9/3/2007 7:06:04 PM
Author: zoebartlett
Wow! That''s pretty nice..much nicer than I could be. I''ve occasionally paid people''s tolls at toll booths and that''s a great feeling. One couple even got into the next lane after I had paid for them and waved and mouthed thank you. It is a good feeling.

When I was in high school (a long time ago) we would go to Ocean City, MD on a regular basis. One time, just for the heck of it, I paid the toll for the car behind me. They got so excited, and it made me so happy seeing them smiling and waving, that I decided to make it a tradition. In the last 25+ years, every time I have gone over the Bay Bridge, I have paid the toll for the car behind me and I still get a thrill out of it. I consider it money well spent.

 

[luckystar112]

Date: 9/3/2007 7:22:57 PM
Author: Independent Gal
Oh Zoe, if only you had been there the first time my mom and step-dad came to visit me when I was doing my Ph.D. on the east coast of America. They flew in to JFK in New York, then rented a car and tried to drive to my town. They forgot (ARGH!) to get money for the toll and had to turn around and get off the bridge (I think it was the Triborough or something?). Then they got completely lost in New York trying to find their way back, and I mean completely because they didn''t really know where they were to begin with of course. And it ended up taking them an extra THREE HOURS to get to my place. I was worried sick! And they were pretty nervous and upset too.

So you never know what a difference you make when you do something as simple as pay someone''s toll!

My goodness!!!!

One time I got on a toll road and realized too late that I didn''t have any money. All the lady did was give me a form, and I had to send the money somewhere within 10 days.

 

[Haven]

Indy--That''s a great story. It''s obvious that just seeing someone do something so good has an effect on the people who witness it as well as the person getting the free sandwich.

I have an easy way to help out for anyone who lives in a big city with a lot of homeless people--buy gift cards for two or three dollars for big chain restaurants (McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, Burger King, Starbucks, etc.) to hand out when people ask for spare change. When I was little my parents always stocked up on those McDonald''s gift certificate booklets (they had coupons for a free coffee, a free burger, etc.) and handed those out, but I don''t think they make those anymore so now we just buy gift cards.

Also, if you regularly see the same homeless person, you can befriend them and take them for a quick meal every once in a while. I met a great man named Rod when I was in undergrad, he was always hanging outside of the Walgreens where we bought our toiletries, and one day he complimented a pair of funky pants that I was wearing. I asked him if he wanted to grab a bite at the Arby''s around the corner, and then after that I bought him dinner once a week until the middle of my senior year when he vanished. I don''t know what happened to him, but he was a great guy, and it was really nice to be able to spend the teensy bit extra I had buying him a meal. One of the local fraternity houses had a huge raised porch and that''s where he lived, so every little bit that people help really does make a difference.

Thanks for sharing that story, Indy!

 

[angeline]

This thread is great. You guys are all so sweet, the things you do. Great ideas too, with the gift cards etc. thanks!

a

 

[Regular Guy]

Date: 9/3/2007 10:27:39 PM
Author: angeline
This thread is great. You guys are all so sweet, the things you do. Great ideas too, with the gift cards etc. thanks!

a

I agree.

And...call it something of a non-sequitur...or just on point...

IG...what I noticed from your post is the style in which it resembles a commercial I''ve seen lately. is it from an insurance company?

It''s usually several scenarios...each quite brief...where a) someone does something nice for someone (stops a ball from going into the street, holds an elevator open, etc), and then b) someone is seen noticing this.

Like you.

It''s like the moment is more clearly framed when we see it is observed. Not sure, but maybe that''s it.

And...yes...hopefully, with threads like these (maybe gift cards?), we can entertain best practices. Of course, taking someone in for a meal. And regularly. That is largess to admire.

Regards,

 

[Regular Guy]

Sorry for single-handedly putting a halt to this nifty thread.

My audio's off, but I'm pretty sure this will be a link to the commercial...

It's Liberty Mutual..

.

 

[mercoledi]

Date: 9/3/2007 9:31:47 PM
Author: Haven
When I was little my parents always stocked up on those McDonald''s gift certificate booklets (they had coupons for a free coffee, a free burger, etc.) and handed those out, but I don''t think they make those anymore so now we just buy gift cards.

Wow, what a great idea, and what a great example your parents are for you! I tend not to give to pan handlers because I am in a big city, and some of the local ones have pretty nasty reputations. I do try to support the homeless that sell papers (spare change news, hard times, etc). I''ve never paid anyone''s toll (umm, no car) but I do try to be courteous and hold the door for people, expecially those who appear to be mobility impared or are struggling with bags/strollers/carts.

Once after a really bad snow/ice storm DH and I were crossing the icy icy street when I heard a faint "help, help me" behind me. It was an older man who probably doesn''t walk easily in fair weather who was stuck on the curb. I walked back and gave him my arm; we only got to the middle of the street before the light changed! By then DH had backtracked to meet us and did his best to deflect the traffic around us. To this day I can''t believe no one stopped. At the next ''walk'' signal we finally made it across. I wonder how long that man has been standing there before we got to him. Sadness. I see him now and again and wave, but I don''t think he remembers me.

Horray for PS samaratins!

 

[Independent Gal]

I've had people go out of their way to help me - a complete stranger - a few times.

Once I had flown into New York after a long trip abroad and I had 2 HUGE suitcases I could barely lift. I had taken a bus, and then had to take a train from a station in Harlem to complete my journey. I was so tired. Like DEAD tired. And it turned out the elevator to the platform was broken! I started laboriously trying to carry one of the suitcases up the steps one step at a time, and immediately, three guys came over and said 'Hey Lady we'll take those for you!' and just lifted them up and carried them up to the train platform for me. Lordy, I can't tell you how relieved I was. I'd been on the verge of tears. You know, a 'last straw' kind of situation after a long journey.

Another time, I had been having a terrible day and was caught in a HUGE rainstorm on my way to an event at a friend's club. I was waiting at a bus stop getting pelted (no umbrella) and the bus just wouldn't come. Not a taxi in sight either. Then it came and drove RIGHT past me, splashing me with a tidalwave of water. There was literally water pouring down my face. Everything was soaked... my computer bag. Everything! A man in a VERY chi-chi expensive boutique (think 10K evening gowns) that had just closed for the night ran outside in the rain and said 'Come in come in! For heaven's sake!' He and the security guy brought me a towel, plastic bags, for my stuff, and cup of hot tea, and had me sit there until they called me a taxi. I was so relieved!

And there I was dripping all over their 10K gowns and ruining the chi-chi upholstery on their chair and everything. And so far from blinking at it, they were ridiculously kind.

Awww.

Hurray for the kindness of strangers.

 

[Regular Guy]

Two items:

1) more on LM

2) While at my first real job, away newly from home in Chicago, on my own in rural-ish Pennsylvania, near Bellefonte (pronounced...Bell font)...I was driving over the mountains when I got a flat tire. It was late, raining, I was in a suit, and clueless. Moments later, two guys come from out of nowhere, and begin to change my tire for me. It happened all pretty fast. They shared that it was better than they get themselves dirty and wet, vs me in my suit. They fixed the tire...and then they were gone.

Such a selfless act.

 

[luckystar112]

Yesterday FI was outside working on our fence. His truck was full of lumber, so when he ran out of screws he had me to go home depot for him. While I was there, he called me on my cell phone and asked me to pick him up a 2x4x10 treated board. A whaaaaaaaaatttt?!?!? So I walk over to the extremely scary lumber section of home depot. Two workers are standing there, chatting it up. I ask them where I can find that specific board. One of them points. Yes. Points. Doesn''t look at me, doesn''t say anything, just points down an aisle. I''m like "HELLO!!! Young, obviously clueless girl over here." Anyway, so I walk down to where they pointed, got completely confused, had no idea what I was doing. And two men who were customers stopped me and helped me find what I was looking for. Not only did they help me find what I was looking for, but they brought the board to the checkout for me, helped me walk out to the car and fit it into my toyota corolla. (lol...that was fun.)
I just thought that was so nice.

 

[Independent Gal]

Here''s one that happened to FI. Don''t ask how he got into this situation in the first place, it''s a looooong story.

FI and his elderly father (I think he''s 75?) were driving in backwoods Caucasus (Georgia?). Of course there are no streetlights. There aren''t really even any roads. In fact, there are huge potholes in the dirt path that passes for a road. It was slower going than they expected and it starts to get dark. They''re determined to reach the next town though so they have somewhere to sleep! That''s not teh safest part of the world to, uh, sleep in your car. Bandits are all over the place and there are lots of guns around from the recent conflict. Never mind being 75 isn''t really conducive to sleeping in the car! It starts raining. Raining raining raining. Now the road is MUD! FI is driving very carefully, but then WHAM the car slips into a pothole the size of THE CAR! And it''s full of water, and filling up more, fast. Mud, rain everywhere. They climb out and he tells his dad to wait by the car. FI walks back up the road for a few miles in the dark and the rain in backwoods Georgia until he sees a couple of houses they past a while back. He pounds on the door until finally a man comes. FI is scared, wet to the skin, and speaks not a word of Georgian or Russian. He finally manages to make the man understand what has happened and the man wakes up all his sons and some neighbours, and they all head out with a farm tractor in the rain back to the car, drag it out of the mud pit, then invite FI and his dad to stay the night. Complete with vodka and a hearty breakfast in the morning.

Now THOSE were strangers. And that was kindness.

 

[lizardofaz]

Date: 9/4/2007 5:06:50 PM
Author: Independent Gal
Here''s one that happened to FI. Don''t ask how he got into this situation in the first place, it''s a looooong story.

FI and his elderly father (I think he''s 75?) were driving in backwoods Caucasus (Georgia?). Of course there are no streetlights. There aren''t really even any roads. In fact, there are huge potholes in the dirt path that passes for a road. It was slower going than they expected and it starts to get dark. They''re determined to reach the next town though so they have somewhere to sleep! That''s not teh safest part of the world to, uh, sleep in your car. Bandits are all over the place and there are lots of guns around from the recent conflict. Never mind being 75 isn''t really conducive to sleeping in the car! It starts raining. Raining raining raining. Now the road is MUD! FI is driving very carefully, but then WHAM the car slips into a pothole the size of THE CAR! And it''s full of water, and filling up more, fast. Mud, rain everywhere. They climb out and he tells his dad to wait by the car. FI walks back up the road for a few miles in the dark and the rain in backwoods Georgia until he sees a couple of houses they past a while back. He pounds on the door until finally a man comes. FI is scared, wet to the skin, and speaks not a word of Georgian or Russian. He finally manages to make the man understand what has happened and the man wakes up all his sons and some neighbours, and they all head out with a farm tractor in the rain back to the car, drag it out of the mud pit, then invite FI and his dad to stay the night. Complete with vodka and a hearty breakfast in the morning.

Now THOSE were strangers. And that was kindness.

Wow, now THAT''S hospitality! Of course, now you''ve got me curious about how your FI got into that jam in the first place!

 

[curiopotter]

Have you ever tried to be a good samaritan and had it backfire?


I was on my way to see my dad at work, and I stopped to get some gas. This girl in a wheelchair (with three other guys around her) asked me if I could spare some money for Church''s chicken. They all looked dirty and deshevled. I didn''t have any cash, so I said, "No, sorry" I went inside to pay for my gas. I noticed there was a Subway next door to the gas station, so on my way out I said, "I don''t carry cash on me but if you guys are hungry, I can get you guys some sandwiches and drinks."

The girl says, "From where?"

"Well, Subway.. I was going to grab a bite to eat anyway, what do you guys want?"

"Uhhh... We were going to get chicken. Subway doesn''t make their sandwiches right."

I''m thinking to myself, "But you get to pick what you want on the sandwich...... "
and I say,

"Oh... aaaalrght."



That left me with a weird feeling... almost embarassed that I even offered. Go figure.



At school, sometimes I''m forced to park in the metered parking. Well, EVEN if you have a tag, you get a ticket if you don''t pay the meter, and it''s like $25 bucks if you get caught. SOoo.. sometimes I get there when the parking meter guy is coming around, and i''ll slip an extra quarter in the ''other'' guy''s meter if it''s expired, so he doesn''t get a ticket.

 

[Haven]

Curio--a similar thing happened to me in London! I was in college, walking around the city with some friends and a young girl came up to beg for change. She was probably around 14 years old, and the site of her really broke my heart, so since we were on our way to dinner I asked her to join us. She asked where we were going, and I forget where it was now but her response was "Oh, but I''m a vegetarian." So I said that of course there would be some vegetarian selections on the menu, and she then said "Well, even so, I''m not so fond of that place. Just give me the cash instead." Well, I didn''t have cash, so she ended up staying behind but I just kept playing the scene over in my head thinking "What just happened there?" And yes, I also felt silly for even offering in the first place.

And who turns down Subway? Subway is everyman''s sandwich shop!

 

[luckystar112]

One time I was walking into a convenience store and a homeless man stopped me for a dollar. He said that all he needed was ONE MORE DOLLAR and he could get a value meal. I only had a $20 on me, but I gave him a dollar bill that I got with my change on the way out. So, I''m standng there pumping gas watching him ask everyone that walks into the store for a dollar, each time claiming he only needed one more. lol. Nice.

 

[Jewels305]

Curio and Haven-

Your stories remind me of a good samaritan act that backfired on me. I was in Barcelona and my friends and I walked by a woman who was asking for money. She was very thin, so instead of giving her money we thought it would be nice if we bought her a meal. Since none of us spoke Spanish well enough, we didn''t ask her to come with us, but we went to a local place that''s kind of like a Subway and got her a combo meal. We gave it to her and she looked at us like we had 18 heads. Then she set it on the ground and spit on it! So strange! We were upset but we walked away and when we saw her a little while later, she was eating the sub, so it wasn''t a total waste! Looking back, I think maybe the reason she didn''t like us giving her the food was because if people saw that she was eating, they might be less likely to give her money. I don''t know, just a guess.

 

[perry]

I adopted a practice long ago (at about age 19) of offering to buy a meal for anyone who wanted money claiming that they needed to buy food.

I have made that offer hundreds of times.... I have only bought 3 meals for people (in like 30 years).

In a variation of this theme I once cleaned and bandaged a wound and provided sufficient first aid supplies to last about a week of daily bandage changing. The person was very gratefull.

Most of the people arn''t really hungry for food; but need money to support their alcohol and drug habbits (and perhaps other things).

I stop along the road and help people all the time, and still pick up hitchikers.

In the end; you cannot enjoy the joy of giving - unless you really give. Getting personally involved - if only a little bit has huge rewards.

Perry

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 9/3/2007 9:07:30 PM
Author: luckystar112
Is it bad that the first thing I thought of was ''murderer''?
See what society and the news has done to me!?!?!?

LOL. I hear ya on that one. I''ve seen too many hitchhiker movies as well.

I keep granola bars in my car so that when people panhandle for change, I give them food instead. At least I know how it will be used. I think.