Flowers For a Gardner
An elderly lady who lives near me keeps her garden so beautiful. It has an abundance of flowers and colours. The weather is not too good here at the moment, it's actually raining. I drove past this elderly lady's house and the garden is showing signs of winter with very little by way of flowers or colour. I knocked on her door and she came out. She doesn't know me and I told her I had flowers for her. Dear love, she said she couldn't imagine who would be giving her flowers. I told her it was me and I was giving them to her because she works so hard in her garden and we all get to enjoy the beauty of it. She was totally gobsmacked. All she could say was 'I don't know what to say.' Her name is Elizabeth. Tears ran down Elizabeth's face and you would truly ... Read Full Story >>
- Posted by RoseMarie
- Nov 21, 2015
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A Baby Girl's First Act of Kindness
We had our first child in January and were so overwhelmed by all the love and kind wishes that people from around the world shared with us and our little one. She was showered with blessings, flowers and gifts from near and far and in some cases from people we didn't even know personally! :) My husband's business friend had a shirt made with her name on it for the football team he supports, another lady in Ireland (who we have never even met!) had candles made with her name on them, another friend in India had dresses made for her, our aunt knitted lovely hats and sweaters for her, friends bought her loads and loads of adorable clothes, another friend from New York had a blanket made with her name on it, another friend sent us cupcakes from a famous bakery that spelled out "Welcome Sareena," another friend gifted her ... Read Full Story >>
- Posted by sonrisa
- Jun 16, 2011
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How Much Are You Short?
A few weeks ago I walked into a Zenex Garage to buy some milk. When I turned around after taking milk out the fridge I saw an elderly man standing behind me with a small packet of mielie pap, a small bottle of Savlon, a small bottle of milk and a half loaf of bread. He was trying to hold everything and at the same time was counting his coins in his very shaky, bruised, cut hands. I walked up to him and asked him how much he was short. Stunned, he could not even talk. Almost apologetically, he told me he had not recieved his pension money yet and needed a few small things for his family(himself, his wife and two kids) for a week while he waited for his pension to come in. He did not know which of the items were most important to take but he clearly could ... Read Full Story >>
- Posted by Nini
- Nov 20, 2007
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They'll Smile At Me... They'll Smile Not :)
The first week into our recent visit to US while standing in a long check-out line, my daughter, Meera observed, “Mom, most people here seem to be so friendly. They smile even at strangers. Nobody does that in India”. She was right. Subconsciously I had noticed that as well, though had never vocalized it out loud. I asked Meera if she had noticed any similarities amongst people who smiled at her. She thought about it; I thought about it; and we recalled that most often it was the older generation that was more generous with smiles. Also that African-American store employees not just smiled at us, but also added, “How y’all doing today?” or “You have a good day now”. Taking an early morning walk in a park with my sister, I noticed that almost everyone muttered, “Good morning”, or acknowledged us ... Read Full Story >>
- Posted by AnuJain
- Jun 10, 2009
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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 >>
- Posted by babdiane7
- Jan 17, 2009
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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 >>
- Posted by gadgets
- Aug 4, 2011
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Signal to Help a New Mom
While shopping at my local Walmart I noticed a young girl ahead of me. She had with her what looked like a newborn infant in the cart along with diapers, formula, and other food items. This young mother wasn't the average mom shopping at Walmart. The pierced nose and tongue might have discouraged others from helping her. The cashier rung up her items and the girl gave the cashier her credit card. The credit card was declined and the girl looked at the cashier embarassed and horrified. The cashier gave the girl the option of keeping her items in the cart while the girl went to get the necessary money. I wasn't sure if this was the person I was supposed to help, after all there seemed to be a lot of stuff in her cart, and I am a single parent myself. The girl left, supposedly to go get ... Read Full Story >>
- Posted by Marianna
- Sep 17, 2008
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Pay It Forward Coffee Day
I don't drink coffee. It's not that I don't like coffee, because just the smell is heaven to me, but coffee doesn't seem to agree with my body. I can drink decaffeinated coffee every once in awhile if I'm lucky, but only on rare occasions. So this story is not actually about me, but about my husband, who definitely drinks coffee. In fact, he drinks so much coffee that he is on a first name basis with every employee that works at our local coffee house. They even gave him a Christmas card last year with a free coffee gift card inside. Well, maybe they gave him the gift card because he's such a friendly guy. :) Anyway, each Friday, the person behind him gets their coffee gifted to them. If there's no one behind him then the next person to walk in the door will receive the pleasant surprise. He decided ... Read Full Story >>
- Posted by adoulamom
- Jun 25, 2013
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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 >>
- Posted by lazyonsundays
- Jan 26, 2007
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A Lift That Gave Me Joy
Last fall, before Thanksgiving, I was making my way in my car out of the shopping center parking lot. I was all alone in the car. I noticed a woman laden with bags and her two boys, one carrying a pumpkin and the other another bag. I assumed that they were headed to the bus stop across the major road, since it was too far to walk with all those purchases to any of the nearby apartment communities. On a random impulse, I rolled down my window and asked if they were indeed headed to the bus stop. “Yes,” the mother responded. I asked "Would you like a ride?" "Oh yes!” was their excited reaction. I was delighted, and, after manoeuvering over to the side out of the way of other traffic, I stopped and the boys piled into the back seat. The mother started to push in beside them. I ... Read Full Story >>
- Posted by JeanneHo
- Nov 25, 2009
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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 >>
- Posted by paganmum
- May 18, 2008
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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 >>
- Posted by Smile Man
- Jan 14, 2006
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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 >>
- Posted by Jimpa
- Apr 1, 2011
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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 >>
- Posted by Popat
- Oct 24, 2007
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A Frustration Pinata
Someone I know was going through a tough time and feeling pretty depressed.
- Posted by kerryglass
- Mar 7, 2013
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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 >>
- Posted by momov3
- Mar 10, 2010
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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 >>
- Posted by twocents
- Aug 11, 2008
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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.
- Posted by davemurphy
- Sep 8, 2007
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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 >>
- Posted by brindlegirl
- Apr 23, 2017
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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 >>
- Posted by earthling
- Oct 21, 2007
- 25 Comments
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