Acts of kindness

NeverAgain_2

I post on another much smaller forum, last year a member posted he was was desperately short of money and struggling to raise the fees to go bankrupt.

It wasn't an appeal as such, but a few of us lobbed in £50 or so, which raised the money and about £100 over, which he used to treat his daughter.

We knew he was genuine because he'd been posting for eight years on different subjects, and the story fitted.

He visited another member to show her his paperwork, and provided each of his benefactors with his bankruptcy details.

In_Debt_But_Smiling

About 10 years ago, I drove through a very deep puddle (without realising how deep it actually was) and my engine blew. Hydrostatic pressure it's called, where water enters the engine and the pistons are forced through the block.

Anyway, I was about 20, and when I got out of the car, the water was up to my knees - I was in a suit but couldn't push the car out of the puddle and no one stopped to help. Anyway, a lady came out of the house I was outside and invited me in whilst she called her husband who had a breakdown van. Whilst I was waiting for him, she made me a tea and even dried my trousers and socks in her tumble dryer.

Her husband didn't charge me to take it to the nearest garage but I did buy her some chocolates.

NeverAgain_2

...and even dried my trousers and socks in her tumble dryer...

Wonder what the husband thought when he came home to find his wife with another man who had his trousers off?

melezka

I'm sorry for those people whose friends have taken advantage.

We have never had much money and sometimes things have been really hard. An older friend of mine, who I was chatting with when things were tough and I didn't know how I would pay the bills, sent a cheque for £200 and said when she was at college she'd had an aunt who used to regularly send her "phone money", and to pass it on when I could, as she was doing. (She has a bunch of us ex-students who are like surrogate kids...)

A very dear friend, from the country I was brought up in, had similarly heard of my worries around Christmas time one year. I didn't know how I was going to get the kids presents. He and his wife sent through a cheque - for A LOT of money. The thing as, he'd looked up prices over here for things he thought the kids might want (listing them as examples but not as instructions), plus enough for a slap up dinner and gifts for myself and my husband. He said I was in no way to think of it as a loan or even as charity: he is a doctor and works a lot with people at a low ebb, and he said he thought it was really important for children to know that good things can happen in the world (still fills me up thinking about it). We are very old friends, but his wife barely knows me at all. I often think of it.

When we were planning our wedding we found that my mother was dying, so instead of the planned one we sold everything to travel to where she was (she couldn't fly) and get married there. We had a "wedding committee" who planned everything and did everything on the cheap (e.g. cordon bleu chef did the food for just the price of the ingredients, etc) - we just rocked up and got married!

And when mum was in hospital, on her last day, I finally realised why I had been feeling so odd...but I had no money for a pregnancy test. One of the nurses "found" one and I was able to tell my mum before she died that I was, indeed, pregnant (one of her greatest wishes was to be a grandmother and this was her first grandchild). Worth a lot.

Well I am still not yet at the stage where I can pass on money but I always make a point of telling customer services when people have been good at their jobs. The other day a checkout assistant put my shopping through so carefully I told customer services. The woman looked up politely but warily as I approached the desk but she had a huge smile as she made a note, saying people are so quick to complain, but they never tell us when things have been good...

(Last one) yesterday our head of IT services saw me and thanked me - he is so brilliant about emailing and explaining to us all why things are happening and the timescale, etc, etc - to me it makes a real difference to know these things and I always reply to the emails thanking the team - he said I was the only one who ever did but that it really made their day. It's a shame - so often we can feel like work is like wetting your pants in a dark suit (warm feeling but nobody notices) - it's nice to say thanks!

Sorry for the length - but I should say these are only a couple of the many examples I could have given of kindnesses people have done for me. I don't know if I believe in karma - a couple of evil people I've known seem to have gotten away with Very Bad Things - but I will keep trying to be positive!

Bobtgpe

Bit of a silly one, but this is something my Dad did recently when he was driving me somewhere.

We were going down a fairly narrow country lane, and a car had broken down just in front of a train crossing. There was a giant queue of people behind this car, and as it was a landrover the man in it was unable to move it himself and his wife was sat in the car clearly distraught, as all the other cars behind were honking their horns and yelling as they managed one by one to get around this car. We were going in the opposite direction, and could have driven past without delay, but my dad stopped next to the car, wound down the window and asked the man if he wanted help to push the car out the way. The man obviously thought at first that my Dad was about to yell at him for being in the way, as I'm guessing other people had, but he was so grateful. We had to drive a little down the road to find somewhere to park, but ran back and managed to push the landrover over the little hump that was the train crossing, and into a little layby - I say I helped I'm pretty small and very weak so I was pretty much just walking with my hands on the car while they took all the weight. The cars waiting behind (there was easily 20 cars) just watched us helping so that they could get on their way! As we walked back to our car, they were all honking, waving giving us thumbs up. But why on Earth hadn't a single one of them offered?? There were about 3 big young men in a white van, but my 50 year old, slightly overweight Dad was the one that helped. The guy whos car had broken down said they had been there 20 minutes! They even offered him cash as a thankyou but he turned it down.

People can be stupid, but it reminded me how lovely my Dad is, and how easy it is to help other people.

WickyWickyWa

Hi, nice forum.

I have only just read it and it has already inspired me to 3 acts of kindness.
1. I read it at work and popped out of the office half way through. Held the door for someone to go first (I would normally go first and hold the door behind me).
2. On the way back I said hello to someone I don't really like and would usually snub (he snubs me, but that's not really an excuse I guess).
3. Signed up to the bone marrow register which is linked to here. If I can find the poster, I'll try to get it put up around work (there's about 400 people here, so hopefully some will do it).

Acts of Kindness from the past:
A long time ago when I was about 15, I helped an old man on a mobility scooter whose battery had run out - I pushed him home. He and his son said thank-you.
More recently my wife lost her purse in France. About 2 months later we got a letter in French from the police explaining they had found it or it had been handed in. After a few phone calls (and help from a friend who speaks French), they eventually agreed to send it to an English police station who forwarded it to us with everything still inside.

One that I witnessed was when my Nan (Mum's Mum) was in hospital, my Dad took the time to chat to an elderly man in the same ward who didn't have as many visitors. He found out that the man was upset because he couldn't remember how old he was. My Dad chatted to him and helped him work it out, which I'm sure he was very grateful for.

organised_chaos

This has made a grey and grumpy morning blue skies and smiles. Thank you to everyone posting for reminding me how wonderful this world and the people in it can be.

caxia

What a lovely thread. Stopped me doing any work this morning!
When I was pregnant about 12 years ago I found a lovely diamond solitaire ring lying in a car park. I rang the local police to tell them and about an hour later a woman rang to claim it. When she came round to collect it it turned out she was in her 70s. The ring was her engagement ring from her husband of 50 years. They had been giving a lift to an elderly neighbour who was frail and as it was a cold day she thought it fell off as she took her gloves off to help this lady out of their car.
It was lovely to give her the ring back (she later brought a lovely doll around for my 3 year old daughter) but felt even better as she had been helping someone else when she lost it. Karma babes. Karma!!

Claireabell

The first Christmas in a new home as a single mum with a 2 year old on benefits. Washer or something had broke, so ended up using savings to get it fixed which was my xmas prezzie money!

The week up to Christmas, a hand delivered envelope was shoved through my door with my name on it... with £50 in it. To this day I have no idea who it was from!

Honey13

When in Japan on holiday a couple of years ago, my husband and I were walking from our hotel to a restaurant at rush-hour time. It started to rain very heavily, but we didn't have macs or an umbrella for protection. However, we had been walking for about 10 minutes and were soaked, when we passed a large bus queue of people obviously on their way home from work, and one lady called something out in Japanese, which we didn't understand, and then when we didn't stop, grabbed my arm. When I turned to her, she was offering me her umbrella! I said 'no, thank you very much', but she insisted. I tried to say that she would get wet instead, and she gestured to a bus approaching, which we gathered meant she was about to get on it. She was insistent we take it, and I was humbled by her generousity and act of kindess. I kept that umbrella, a fairly old and well used one, for the rest of the holiday and wanted to bring it home, but was not allowed to take it on the plane, as a reminder of how wonderful others can be. But I don't need a reminder, as I think about that lady often and wonder if she will ever know how she touched my heart.
Incidently, I make sure I repay that random act of kindness by comitting my own whenever I can. What a wonderful place the world could be if we all did this as much as possible.