Search Results for 'popular' (3455 matches)

Two Little Hearts - Both For Sharing

I found a website that sells tiny pewter hearts which are not too expensive, so, I bought a batch and I keep a couple in my pocket most of the time.

Whenever I find the opportunity, when I am out in stores, at a yard sale or at work or anywhere really, I will ask the person I am speaking with to give me their hand. I put two of those little hearts in the palm of their hand saying, "Keep one and pass the other one on."

The responses I get are amazing! If I had won the Lottery there would not be bigger smiles or more excitement.  Everyone immediately wants to tell me who is getting the other heart; someone with cancer, their child who was grumpy this morning, and so on.  

A little sharing really makes people happy!

P.S.  In my other pocket I carry dog biscuits so even their canine friends can be happy!

From a Child to the "People Without Houses"

About a year ago, I was packing to move myself and my son in with my fiance and his daughter.  My son was finally weaning off baby foods, so as I was packing up the kitchen things, I packed up his old baby food. My step-daughter came into the kitchen to see what I was doing. When she saw me packing up her little brother's food, she squealed!  Why was I taking away all his food???!!! I laughed and told her that her little brother was big enough now to eat big people food, just like she does. I then told her that I was going to give all his jars of baby food to the shelter up the street. I explained that some people don't have jobs, clothes, food or houses and that she and her brother were very lucky that her Daddy and I make enough money to give them ... Read Full Story >>

In Her Time Of Greatest Need

  I used to work in a hospital as a Pharmacy Technician. As part of our duties we would make rounds of all the nursing stations to pick up orders deliver medication, etc.    On one of my rounds I met an elderly lady. She was sitting outside a room crying. People walked past and saw her crying but nobody offered to help. I stopped and asked if she was okay. She said her husband was in the room - dying.     I asked if I could call anyone or do anything for her but she said she didn't have any family near-by and they never had any kids. So, I just sat there a while, holding her hand and listening to her.    This went on for weeks, me listening and hugging, and her waiting and crying.    Well one day on my rounds I saw her sitting there, not crying. So, I went to sit with ... Read Full Story >>

For A Little Superhero

I was talking with a woman in my office who has a son near the same age as my little 5 year old boy. I was telling her how much my son loved his Superman pajamas with a detachable cape. She laughed and told me how much her little boy would love something like that. She looked for weeks and then asked me again where I got it. She was not able to find any more there.

She loves her son so much that I decided I would find another one somewhere! Sure enough, in the age of the internet, I was able to find one on-line and have it shipped to me. The other morning I put in on her chair so she would find it when she came in to the office. She was so excited and touched that I found one for her son. I was so happy to make her and her little boy smile.

I get updates all the time on her little superhero. I'm just glad I was able to find the outfit and make them both smile!

A Night With The Homeless

A Night With The Homeless by: Ellis Moore (Age 10)   Every Saturday or Sunday night my family and I go out and feed the homeless people in the city of Orlando. There are thousands of people across The United States without any food or shelter. My family and I have been doing this for several months.   We wanted to see what it was like in the life of a homeless person.  One special thing I like to mention is, my family and I do not eat before we begin our journey so we know how it feels to be hungry. All of the areas we go to are very dangerous. We go on streets such as, Orange blossom trail, Parramore, Gore street, Colonial Dr, and down town Orlando.   We all get together in the kitchen and prepare the food. Some of the meals are sandwiches and cookies and a bottle of water. ... Read Full Story >>

A Silent Connection in a Beautiful Moment

My attention was divided between the book in my lap and the people passing by when  I saw her walking slowly towards my parked car.  She had a bright blue saree, a large nose pin, orange marigolds in snow-white hair, a large shoulder bag and a face that showed every wrinkle of her 70 or so years of age.  She stopped and put a hand out to rest against the car’s hood, gently closed her eyes, took a deep breath and wiped the sweat off her forehead. The sweltring day was taking its toll on her slight frame, and the large bag seemed to affect not just her gait, but also her breathing.  She reminded me of a delicate bird, struggling because of the weight someone had added to its wings.  Was there a way I could do something, anything, to stretch those wrinkles around her mouth to a smile?  But then, I wondered, ... Read Full Story >>

Best Looking Yard in Town

My husband and I own a lawn care company and so many times we would pass this house that was very unkept as far as the lawn was concerned. Last week, we decided to stop in and see if we could help.  Nobody would come to the door for the longest time.  Finally, a little old lady came to the door, very reluctant to open the door.  We explained to her that we did not want to harm her in anyway.  After a few minutes of talking we asked her if we could cut her grass for her?  She was quick to answer, "I cannot pay for my grass to be cut, my sister is living with me dying of cancer and it takes everything we make combined to pay for her medicines etc."  We had indicated to her that we would just like to do this for her and her ... Read Full Story >>

My Son, My Hero

Just after his first birthday my son Cameron was struck down with a rare blood illness.  In the following years he has needed four courses of chemotherapy, multiple blood and platelet transfusions, harsh immunosuppressive treatments, suffered a thrombosis in his leg and over 800 hospital visits, including stays of up to 3 weeks at a time.  All this has led to him now also being an insulin dependent diabetic. Cameron is now 9 years old and raised over £71,000 to support other sick children.  He has equipped his beloved children's hospital with books, televisions, game consoles, arts and crafts items, toys and games.  To the hospital school that taught him how to tell the time, he also gave laptops so the most poorly children could work in their beds, along with a music station, a libary, paints and crayons. A couple of years ago he found out that his hospital was closing and a new one was being built.  ... Read Full Story >>

Free Hugs in Paris

It is said that we need four hugs a day, just to maintain our sanity. Many of us are not meeting our quota. I didn't think that was right. So I began to share and organize Free Hugs Around the World. Free Hugs make people smile and feel good. Hugs release endorphins. Through these free hugs, I've noticed that people often share deep details of their lives.  We are desperate to connect to each other.  My most powerful hug ever, was from a severely autistic boy in Paris. He saw us hugging and asked his mom what we were doing. To our relief, she did not say we were crazy. Instead, she explained that we were hugging people and it was very kind. They left. A few moments later, that boy came running towards me, leaped into my arms, hugged me tight, and looked me right in the eyes. Then I saw his mother.  She was crying. I gently set ... Read Full Story >>

Free Money At Walmart

I hand-designed some of my own Smile cards. One is for "hiding" money in unexpected places. It basically says I hope that this will be found by someone who really needs it.  So, I went to a local Walmart here in Hawaii and placed a $20 bill with the card behind a product. I then went to another aisle to see who found it. I so wanted to see how they reacted!    After a while a lady found the money and the note. Then she looked around to see if she could identify who left it. To my surprise she put it back! I guess she really didn't need it. She then went to another aisle to watch who would find the money!   After about another seven minutes a lady with a young boy found the money. They too started looking around and even at the ceiling! I guess they were looking for ... Read Full Story >>

Lost in the Airport

I was at the airport enroute to visit my parents over the holidays and was on the train heading to my terminal resting easy knowing that there was plenty of time before my flight. On the train I noticed that there was a gentleman helping a young mother who was travelling alone with a baby and didn't seem to know where she needed to go. The man asked me which gate I was going to and after realizing I was headed in the opposite direction decided he would help the mother. At our stop I realized the man had two young boys and his own share of carry on baggage to deal with, but he was still trying to help the mother so I offered to take her from there. The mother showed me her ticket and I noticed that her flight departed in 10 minutes and she had a ... Read Full Story >>

Overwhelmed by Unexpected Loving Kindness

The car went through the stop sign and into the intersection. With no where to go or time to get there, my taxi hit the car dead on. For the next three months I was out of work. I had no savings to speak of. No family to help me. I was in dire straights to be sure.  The lady who ran the stop sign had little insurance, barely enough to cover the medical expenses with little left over to pay my living expenses. Just after the accident Justin came to see me in the hospital. We had been co-drivers with the taxi company. We knew each other and worked well together. We were not what one might consider to be friends but we liked each other. He asked me what was going to happen and I told him I didn't know. I was in deep trouble financially until a settlement ... Read Full Story >>

Life is Like Hot Chocolate

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired.  During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives.  Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate. When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.  While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of ... Read Full Story >>

1:30AM at the Grocery Store

I'm in line getting some groceries at the 24-hour grocery up the road from me.

The woman in front of me looks to be about 72 years old, and very much reminds me so much my grandmother!  Her bill was about 170 , she halls out a stack of $5.00 bills and is about 22.00 short.  She starts trying to decide what she doesn't need and starts putting things back in her cart. 

I felt so bad for this woman that I gave the cashier 25.00 and told the lady not to worry about it.  She wanted my name, address, phone # to pay me back but I wanted nothing to do with it.  I just told her that the next time she's in a restaurant, or coffeeshop, perhaps she can pay for someone's order behind her and just to pass it along.

She got all teary eyed and wanted to give me a hug, so I said "why not". :)  It was a great hug, as if I was hugging my own grandmother.

This just made my day.  And it also made me wonder why there was a 70 year old woman at the grocery store at 1:30am in the morning.

The Smile Card Exchange

About a month ago, while in the drive through at Starbucks, I noticed a woman in a car behind me who appeared to be having a bad day. There were two kids in the back who looked to have too much energy at 8am on a Sunday morning.  The line moved slowly and at one point while pulling forward, the woman behind me bumped my car. I could tell this worried and concerned her. The entire time that I waited in line for my coffee this woman didn't smile. Looking back at her I could tell she was looking at the side view mirror wondering "Why me? Why today?" When I pulled up and paid for my coffee I requested that the Starbucks barista give the woman behind me a Smile Card and paid for her muffin and latte. Just 30 mins ago I was again waiting in line at the Starbucks. I heard a car door ... Read Full Story >>

The Girl Who Gave Me Apples

August 1942. Piotrkow, Poland. The sky was gloomy that morning as we waited anxiously. All the men, women and children of Piotrkow's Jewish ghetto had been herded into a square. Word had gotten around that we were being moved. My father had only recently died from typhus, which had run rampant through the crowded ghetto. My greatest fear was that our family would be separated. 'Whatever you do,' Isidore, my eldest brother, whispered to me, 'don't tell them your age. Say you're sixteen.' I was tall for a boy of 11, so I could pull it off. That way I might be deemed valuable as a worker. An SS man approached me, boots clicking against the cobblestones. He looked me up and down, then asked my age. 'Sixteen,' I said. He directed me to the left, where my three brothers and other healthy young men already stood. My mother was motioned to ... Read Full Story >>

Just Doing The Right Thing

I was on a walk with a friend yesterday when I found a BlackBerry cell phone in a puddle of melted snow.  I picked it up and it still worked!  I started scrolling through the contact list and calling numbers to see if I could figure out whose phone it was.  Unfortunately, only one person answered and she didn't recognize the number that I was calling from.  She made a comment of "It is just so nice that you are trying to find out whose phone it is."  Since that lady didn't know whose phone it was, my friend suggested that we go back to the street and the house that we found the BlackBerry in front of.  I knocked on the door and two college-age people answered.  They hadn't lost their phones, but as I told them the story and mentioned some names on the contact list, the young man said that he had those names ... Read Full Story >>

She Ran To Give an Elderly Man Back His Walking Cane, And Received Far More In Return

I met a man yesterday. Didn't get his name. And I'm confident, I'll probably never ever see him again. And that's ok. The purpose of our meeting, it's destiny, and it's fate, was fulfilled in the 5 minutes we spoke. He was an elderly man. Quite elderly. I'd say with no more than a few years left in him, on this earth. If he's lucky. I didn't see him at first. Had to search for him. Search for the owner of a very worn and old wooden walking stick, which was left half hanging outside of a shopping cart. I called out to a man who was walking away. I knew it was his. Had to be. It was. And he returned (slowly) to get it. I was in a friendly mood so started a conversation. And that's when it happened. That's when this man blessed me, with his story. And what a story. I ... Read Full Story >>

A Frustration Pinata

Someone I know was going through a tough time and feeling pretty depressed.

Pass The Buck!

Few months ago, a friend of mine handed me an envelope. Intrigued, I opened it and found a dollar bill.. A dollar? For what? My friend launched into an animated articulation of how he received a gift of $20 and he decided to split it up and give a dollar to 20 of his friends to do random acts of kindness. Multiply all the goodness that comes with an offering twenty-fold! Last week I was walking in a nearby downtown to keep a baby entertained while the  rest of the family watched a movie. The downtown is really small so we ended up pacing up and down the same street many times over. There was this small ice cream shop, half-way between 2 blocks, that kept drawing me. I saw two girls, about fifteen years, doling out cones and cups with a great smile and attitude. The line was long and so ... Read Full Story >>