Stories of Kindness from Around the World

The Wayside Chapel

It was a hot afternoon and I was waiting for a bus. The bus stop was unusually quite that day. There was an elderly man, a middle aged lady and, of course, me.  The mongrels that are usually seen lazing on the footpath were also missing. I noticed they had taken refuge from the heat under nearby parked cars. A lone mynah bird hopped on the road.    I saw an old lady approaching the bus stop. It was a day of superlatives. First the sultry afternoon (the hottest in a long time), then the eerie silence (the quietest silence ever) and now this old lady (the oldest I have probably ever seen).    Bent and slouched she walked with the aid of a stick. As she approached the bus stop I took a closer look. Her face was all wrinkles. But one could tell that she'd had chubby cheeks long ago. She was tired, ... Read Full Story >>

A Perfectly-Timed Car Tag

My husband and I had won a certificate for the use of a new car for a weekend. We just did not get around to using it, though. 

Today, we were at a meeting and out of the blue, my husband said we should offer it to this wonderful lady who does so much for the community.  When we stopped her and offered her the certificate, she was absolutely shocked and delighted.

She pulled us over to talk to her husband.  They are planning to go away to the mountains this weekend, but her car has bald tires. They did not know if it would survive the drive.  She told us she hadn't been sure if they should take the trip, and then we appeared. Not only did she get new tires, she got a new car, even if it is just for a few days!

It is absolutely amazing to me how this worked out with such good timing!

Grocery Cart Chauffeur

Today, at the grocery store, I passed a very pregnant young lady. She was slowly pushing a shopping cart into the store. She looked miserable and in pain as she walked. It appeared as if she was going to have her baby at any moment. Obviously, there was not much I could do to help, except empathize in understanding how my wife felt during her pregnancies. As I was leaving the store with my groceries, I saw her again. But this time, she was riding on one of those motorized sitting grocery carts. She was also leaving the store, and going all the way to her car, which was pretty far out into the parking lot. I stopped at my car and watched her ride all the way to her car to load it with the few groceries she had. I sat there and thought: She is going to ride ... Read Full Story >>

Unexpected Ride to the Longboard Shop

The other day, I was in the check-out line at Home Depot. Ahead of me was a young man in his early twenties.  He had purchased a 10 gallon bucket of paint and some foam panels.  The part that caught my eye was that he was on a skateboard. I watched him leave the store assessing his transportation situation.  It would be a bit tricky to skateboard carrying a heavy bucket of paint and awkward panels. After I paid and left the store, I saw him sitting on the curb.  Initially, I walked right past him, but then I decided to go back. I asked where he was going and, since it was only a few blocks out of my way, I offered to drive him.   I think he was reticent at first, wondering: Why would I do this? Then, he seemed to decide it was okay, as he then jumped up, grabbed ... Read Full Story >>

Lesson from the Check-Out Line

A little part of me thought about going to another checkout line. This one had the shortest queue, there was only one guy in it, but he was in a wheelchair and there seemed to be some complications going on. Well, I stamped on that little part, and we stepped in behind him. At first, he seemed to be having difficulty getting his groceries onto the conveyor belt. But after a while, I realized that what he was actually doing was separating it into two lots. Still, getting the stuff up there was no easy task in itself. I offered to help, but he and the checkout lady had it under control. He asked Julie if she would mind putting his empty basket away. Then he reached for his wallet which was in a pouch on one side of his chair. The way he was positioned and the fact he only had ... Read Full Story >>

A Powerful Tool

One of my next-door neighbors is a sweet and frail-looking grandmotherly 92-year-old Polish lady who lives with three cats. She is a Holocaust survivor (and with due respect does not talk about that traumatic time), and has a daughter and grand-daughter who visit her every week.  She oftentimes brings us cherry tomatoes, comes over for chai, loves mangoes, and is in general a very sweet person. A few months ago, my friend and I drove down to LA to attend a dear friend's wedding, and came back home to the Bay Area the next evening.  As I was unpacking my clothes in my room, I heard a persistent, frantic knock on the door.  It was 10:30pm, and I wasn't sure who it could be.  I went downstairs and looked through the peephole, and saw that it was our sweet next-door neighbor. I quickly opened the door, and she seemed really distressed and kept ... Read Full Story >>

Holiday Shopping, and Giving!

When I was in my twenties, I would go to the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store with my friend during the holidays.

It is a store with a restaurant, so we would eat dinner, and then shop for a gift for the waitress.  After the meal, we would give her an ornament and thank her for serving us.

It was a joy to give the gift, and, of course, we still left a tip, but we wanted to see that it would add a blessing to her day.

A Motherly Connection

The other day, I was at the library. It happened to be closing early that day, and just before it closed, a mother walked in with her child. She hadn't realized that the library was closing early, and was very disappointed. She told me that she had taken a bus with her son, and it had taken them a very long time to get to the library. The little boy was downcast as well. I suggested that she take her son to the mall, which was maybe a mile from the library. Then I drove away. Once I exited the parking lot, though, I found her walking slowly with her son towards the mall. It was not the safest place to pull over, because of heavy traffic and I had a car full of people, but I just couldn't resist the urge to give this lady and her son a ride! So I pulled ... Read Full Story >>

The Best Meal I Never Had

As I was leaving the health club the other day, I overheard some older women talking about going to a nearby restaurant for lunch with some friends.

I happened to have a $25 gift card to that restaurant, and had been holding on to it for a long time.  It just happened that I had the gift card in my car, so I ran over, picked it up, and ran back over to the women in their car.

After I assured them I wasn't carj-acking them, they rolled down the window.

I handed them the card, and told them to enjoy their lunch on me! It was the best meal I never had! 

Beans And Scarves

A friend gave us a container of cooked bean soup for our dinner.  

The Shriek

The spectacular view of the harbour and the kid’s play area makes the café a popular place with families. Its proximity to some assisted living housing makes it popular with people with a variety of needs, and their careers. By the time we arrived there was barely a table free. We found one, ordered a late breakfast, and indulged in a little people watching while we ate. That’s when I heard the shriek.   Well, you don’t like to stare, so I looked casually around. There didn't seem to be anyone in distress. Then I heard another one. And another one.   Eventually I spotted who it was. She had been difficult to find, not because the place was so busy, but because nothing about her expression or her demeanor spoke of distress. But still she shrieked.   A little girl near us began to get upset and insisted on keeping her fingers in her ears even ... Read Full Story >>

A Smile Card Class On The El Train

Yesterday evening I was on the EL train in Chicago. Two men in their early twenties got on and one took the seat next to me. His friend was going to sit in another set of seats. I got up and said, "Oh, here. Take my seat so you can sit with your friend."  When I sat down he said to his friend, "She deserves a hospitality award."    I smiled, turned around and said, "Thank you, but not necessary." To which he replied, "It was cool a thing to do." He seemed so delighted by what to me seemed a rather small gesture.    I sat quietly for a minute and then had a 'BING!" moment. I reached in my wallet and pulled out a Smile card. I turned towards the young man and said, "Here, please pay it forward." He took the card. I turned to face forward in my seat and behind ... Read Full Story >>

An Opportunity in Traffic

Each season, I go through my kitchen shelves and clear out items that were purchased on an impulse to "try something new", or that were part of a 2-for-1 deal, or for a new recipe that I never got around to trying.

This morning, I gathered all of the items into a bag and took it with me to drop off at our soup kitchen downtown. The day turned out to be quite hectic, and I ended up running around for most of it. On my way home, I realized that I had forgot to make my food donation!

At that point, I was stuck in a long line of traffic. Cars were barely moving. I looked out of the driver's side window and noticed a homeless man very respectfully standing there with his backpack. Immediately, my mind jumped to the undelivered food.

I rolled down the window and asked if he would like a bag of food. He was so sweet and humble, and broke into the biggest smile. From his expression, it was as if he had won the lottery.

I handed him the bag and wished him a nice day.

Afterwards, as my car continued inching along at a snail's pace, I smiled. Grateful, for once, to be stuck in traffic!

A Man Without Shoes

Today, as I was riding a transit bus from Unicity to downtown, I did not realize that I would be a witness to something amazing. The ride was, as usual, long and uneventful, until we reached the corner of Portage and Main Street. That's when the driver pulled over. This, of course, surprised all of the passengers on the bus. But, what happened next still brings tears to my eyes. The bus driver jumped off the bus to chat with a man that looked to be down on his luck; by all accounts, a homeless man. I first thought the driver was going to offer the man a ride until our driver took off his own shoes and gave them to the man on the sidewalk. That is when I realized that the man the driver was chatting with was barefoot. The bus was dead silent. I think we were all stunned and ... Read Full Story >>

How I Spent $100 on Smiles

Thank you, HelpOthers, for the opportunity to share smiles with flowers! Several life glitches have slowed this down, but the kindness keeps going. Below are a couple stories of ways my family and I have gotten to tag others! Act #1: Doorstep Smiles This evening, we are going to leave potted flowers on a wonderful lady's stairs, with a smile card and ribbons. Though she seems lonely to me when I see her sometimes, she always shares a smile for others. So I thought it perfect to leave her some smiles in return. Update: My ganddaughter, hubby, and I walked over this evening, and the timing was perfect. We reached over the gate that leads to her stairs and left the potted mum flowers on the steps, along with the stick, smile card and ribbons tied to it. Another pot below that stair, and the last below that. I have to say, this was so ... Read Full Story >>

The Sandwich that Changed My Life

It was the Greek shopkeeper in a small corner shop in London. She taught me about the disarming power of an act of kindness, which has motivated me to give. I was a student, single and very poor. I would work early mornings and late nights to pay for my studies, and I was tired– really tired– all the time. On the day I went to that shop for the first time, I was sick with a virus and a very high fever. I had been off work for a few days, and I had run out of food. Because I had been working so hard since I had moved to town, I also had no friends nearby who could help. So I ventured out to get some food. Normally, I would have gone to the supermarket, but on this occasion, I went into the Greek shop because it was closer. I picked up ... Read Full Story >>

Breakfast with Strangers

Recently, my husband and I were visiting a dear aunt in another state. My aunt cannot leave the house.  She loves hamburgers and fries, but only eats them when they somehow find their way to her through kind visitors.  While we were visiting, we told her that we would go get breakfast and bring back her favorites upon our return.  At the restaurant, we were seated at a booth and ordered.  The booths had very low dividers, so people could overhear conversations or converse back and forth with neighboring tables.  Next to us was a family of four: a mother, father, daughter and son.  The boy was younger, so he was kind of busy, moving around, smiling when our eyes met, and just generally sweet.  We started a conversation with him and found that this was the first day of school for his slightly older sister, so they were celebrating by going to ... Read Full Story >>

Refills, Smiles, And A Blessed Day

Yesterday my husband and I stopped into a Whataburger for lunch. As we were sitting waiting for our order to come I noticed an older man in a wheelchair roll himself over to a table.   He was all by himself and he sat there a few minutes, looking around, smiling all the time. No one seemed to notice him but me. I got up and went over to his table and asked if I could get him something to drink.     He smiled and said, "Oh yes! And thank you so kindly. I'd like some rootbeer please."     When I brought his rootbeer I told him my name and said if he needed anything else to just wave and let me know.   We were in the Whataburger a good 30-40 minutes. The man just kept smiling at everyone and looking around the restaurant as he quietly ate his burger and fries.   As we were ... Read Full Story >>

A Free Ride To Scotland

I was employed as a Housing Officer, dealing with housing and homlessness issues.    A young man aged 18 came into our office in Yorkshire, England. He had been visiting the area with friends when his wallet was stolen. Now he couldn't get back home to Scotland. He asked for help.    My job was assessing housing applications and dealing with homelessness, not providing money for travel. When I explained to the young man that we couldn't help him he stated to cry! He said his mother was disabled and didn't know where he was. His phone had been stolen with his wallet and he hadn't contacted her for the past two days.    I asked him to wait outside until I finished work at 5.30pm. Then I tried to think of a way to help him.   After work I drove him all the way to Scotland! We arrived at his mother's house at 10.30pm. She was ... Read Full Story >>

The "Junker" Samaritan

My mom's car broke down on the highway after visiting my house. She was alone and this was before she had a cell phones.    She was stuck and elderly and it was getting dark.    Her car broke down close to an overpass. She decided to walk to a gas station and use the pay-phone to call for help. As she waited for a chance to cross the busy highway lots of cars sped by. And many of these cars were very nice automobiles. And many of the drivers were very clean-cut, well groomed people. They appeared to be the types of people one would be comfortable accepting assistance from. But, they did not offer assistance. They continued on their way.    And then along came a "junker," a pretty beat up looking car with a pretty rough looking fellow behind the wheel. He was unshaven and disheveled, but he stopped and offered mom a ... Read Full Story >>