Search Results for 'popular' (3613 matches)

Giving Flowers That Give In Return

My husband and I were at a discount grocery store waiting in line.  We were behind a mother and her boy who was probably about seven years old. She had a beautiful purple bouquet in her basket. The flowers brought a smile to my face. I remarked to the lady how lovely her flowers were and she said her son picked them out. He just beamed at the compliment so I asked if he would like to pick some out for me.  He was off like a shot down the aisle to pick out a bouquet for me. When he returned he was so obviously pleased at having done a two-fold good job:  picking out nice flowers and helping an "old lady."  When I thanked him, he said a very loud and clear "You're welcome." So, by then Mama is beaming at her helpful polite son who feels great about doing a good deed. ... Read Full Story >>

What's In The Bag?

Sometimes I am witness to acts of selfless generosity that are nearly invisible and done with no thought that anyone would see them other than the person to whom the act is directed. Here's an example.It comes from our little artist breakfast group that we host every week. Taya, who is a remarkable artist, is moving to New Mexico. She's 75 and has decided she wants to start a new chapter in her life. So she has just completed the purchase of a property in a tiny community in New Mexico where she knows no one. She is leaving Oakland where she has lived for perhaps 25 or 30 years and, of course, leaving her circle of friends. This in itself is astonishing. One of our group, Edythe, had mentioned [only mentioned] how she is fond of the beauty of coins, not for their monetary value, but just for their beauty. This morning ... Read Full Story >>

Hats For The Homeless

A true kindness soul! ❤️Bless this man.

 A 91-year-old man fighting cancer is knitting warm hats for the homeless while bedridden in hospice care. Despite being weak and frail, with a mass on his kidney, Morrie Boogart, has knitted more than 18,000 hats.

An Unexpected Tip from an Unlikely Customer

This happened to me years ago when I was a waitress, but I still remember this specific incident so vividly. As the end of the night was approaching, fifteen minutes before our restaurant closed, a gentleman came in.  I was the unfortunate waitress who got to stay after closing to take his order and serve him his food. The customer was impeccably difficult was quite openly upset with how his food was prepared, slightly overdone, perhaps a medium rare when he had requested rare. He sent his order back twice. When it eventually arrived to his liking, he needed a pot of coffee brewed fresh. Meanwhile, my managers and our cooks were breathing down my neck, as they wanted the last customer of the day to finally leave so that we could close up shop and go home.   At this point I was frustrated and tired. I had stayed 45 ... Read Full Story >>

Advice From An Old Man

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and face shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. "I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. "Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." "That doesn' t have anything to do with it," he replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't ... Read Full Story >>

One Scary Man

I know that the title is little curious. But the scary homeless man is even more curious. I have lived in Mayport Florida for about three years. Every day, leaving work, coming home and running errands, I pass this homeless man with two shopping baskets full of his treasures.  Except for about 2-3 months of the year (and I'm not sure where he goes during that time), he is always around, never to be missed. Anyhow, the reason I call him a scary man is because my son and I are often together when we see this man and he's always talkin to him self and staring at people with an awkward look. He talks loud and much of what he says does not make sense. With his two carts filled to the top, he's there just talking away.  It's intimidating. My wife and I are always talking about his misfortune and how ... Read Full Story >>

Shopping In The Rain

Today it was raining really hard. When I went to the grocery store, all of the Shopping Carts were dripping wet. I managed to find a paper towel and wipe it down and off I went to do my shopping.

I only picked up a few items and was on my way out of the store. As I walked out I noticed a Mom struggling as she came through the store doors with a baby in her arms. It was raining so hard outside she was running in.  I quickly said she could use my cart as it was dry and she could put the baby in right away instead of looking for something to dry a cart off with. I just grabbed my bags of groceries out of the cart -- they were light -- and I ran off to my car without a cart.   The mom was very grateful to me for helping her out.

I felt happy knowing I was able to offer her my shopping cart and was able to help her with her little baby.

Be on the look out for opportunities.  They're everywhere, even when you're grocery shopping in the rain!

A True Santa Who Changed Our Lives

Shortly after my divorce, I had to quit my management job and take a factory job so I could spend more time with my three kids. I was only making 1/5 of what I was and things were getting really tight.  But I have never asked anyone for anything; my pride wouldn't allow it. I didn't really know how I was going to continue making ends meet. To make it worse, Christmas was coming up and I couldn't even afford a tree or any gifts for my children. I was behind on rent and the light bill was past due. I don't know where it came from or from who, but one day when I returned home from work, I was totally amazed. I just started crying and I couldn't stop.  Someone had delivered so much stuff to my house. Gifts for all three children. Clothes, School supplies, toys. Enough ... Read Full Story >>

Yard Sale Blessing

I passed by a yard sale and decided to stop and see what the lady was selling. The woman selling her belongings began to tell me about how hard times were for her. She was an elderly lady with numerous health problems.

I wanted so much to buy something from her because I could tell she was having a hard time financially. I was expecting to spend a few dollars until she mentioned to me that she had to take gas out of her sister's lawnmower to put in her car to get to the yard sale location. That broke my heart.

At that moment I knew I had to do all I could to help her. I asked her what all of her stuff would be worth that she was trying to sell to which she replied " $75.00."

I gave her the money and asked her to donate the items that she did not want to Goodwill. She began to cry and thanked me ever so much. That made my day. It felt good to be able to help her out.



 

No Better Time Than Now To Be Happy

"We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we're frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We'll certainly be happy when they're out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire. The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D. Souza. He said, "For a long time it had seemed to me that ... Read Full Story >>

Making Over A Room With Love And Kindness

I wrote earlier about my gift home makeover project - Etseth and I would like to tell you about a very special family that I have recently done a makeover for! The mum of this family, was a victim of severe domestic abuse 12 years ago. After years of the being subjected to violence, she summoned enough courage to leave, she moved from England to Wales with her three children and moved into a woman’s refuge. Further down the line, she met someone, got married and they eventually had two more children.  Their two oldest have moved out so they are left with three children who are 14,11 and 9 years old. My project was to plaster the lounge/dining room. Whilst I was doing this project, their oldest daughter returned from serving in Afghanistan. Unbeknownst to the family, the daughter had spent lots of her army pay to take the family away for a 2 week holiday. As the ... Read Full Story >>

Husband's Act Of Kindness A Week Before Holidays After Losing His Job

We have had bad news this week, my husband was made redundant (laid off/no job anymore) from his job on Tuesday. I am thankful we are better off than most, and will be able to stretch our finances until he finds another job.

Amongst all of my stress, trying to stay strong for both of us...my husband gave me $100 cash and said "go on, go out and buy some coffee cards and Subway cards, lets take them to the hospital for the staff, they work hard" My eyes filled with tears, and I was so proud of my husband. I don't often have to say we can't do things because we need the money ourselves, but that was my first thought. He said "we will be okay, we need to look outwards not inwards" what a very special man.

Moved By The Tears Of A Mother, She Helped A Boy From Further Being Bullied

I was talking with a mother of a young teenager and she was telling me how bad it was for her son at school because he is in a school uniform that doesn't fit as he's outgrown it, but since her husband and she both lost their jobs in the last couple of years and have been searching and interviewing persistently, I know for a fact that they just can't afford a new one. She wiped away tears as she told me that she is slowly trying to buy a new shirt, then trousers, then it will be the blazer and then shoes. I know her well enough to know that she was not manipulating me for sympathy or help, she's never asked for anything from me, ever. She was just telling me the honest truth. I felt moved to go to the bank and come back with a bit of ... Read Full Story >>

Thank You For Caring When No One Else Did

My friend who I caught up with last night shared this story with me: My friend lived in an apartment that overlooked a busy street in sn inner city. On Christmas Eve, from her window she saw a woman, alone, upset and in distress. She went out and down to the street and asked if she was okay. My friend could see that all was not well. She invited the woman into her apartment, and the woman asked if she could shower. My friend said she could, gave her a fresh towel, and clean pajamas to wear. The woman showered.  About an hour later, she emerged. She said she was alone in the city and had nowhere to stay. My friend said that she could stay on the couch for the night. My friend felt that being late on Christmas Eve, it would be impossible to get social agency assistance, and it ... Read Full Story >>

Take A Smile

My husband was away on detachment with the Royal Air Force. My parents were away too and although I have some good friends on this particular day I felt totally alone. 

Anything helps!

I was just stopping by the grocery store yesterday when I saw a guy outside with a sign that said, "Anything helps". As I turned my car around and he was just about to pack up and leave. I asked what he needed in the store. He asked for a can of ravioli. I picked him up ravioli, spaghetti, and beef stroganoff in the car. He seemed to be appreciative when I gave them to him. 

Mending Hearts One at a Time

I visit with patients at a local hospital to talk. I am part of a cardiac support group called Mended Hearts. To belong to Mended Hearts and to visit patients you must have had a cardiac problem. I had a heart attack a while ago and by spending time with cardiac patients I can offer comfort and advice as to what I went through which offers some help to people who are about to undergo surgery or are recovering. It is very gratifying as so many patients appreciate the visit. - Mike 

Paid in Full with One Glass Of Milk

One day, a poor boy  who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry.  He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However,he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it so slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?" "You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us never to accept pay for kindness."  He said, "Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart." As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in humanity grew stronger as well.  He had been ready to give up ... Read Full Story >>

A Day Full Of Blessings

Some days are just so full of blessings you don't know what to do! Today was one of those. My neighbor needed to avoid a utility shut-off, so I helped her round up the money to cover it. It was mutually beneficial and not really a favor but she appreciated the help. (I bought some stuff from her that she had no use for but I would have probably purchased anyway.)      When I got home I found a wet $20 bill plastered to the ground in the street.    Another friend had coupons and rewards and treated me to a good movie and wonderful dinner at a little cafe. At the diner, I saw a man and his three adorable little girls having a frugal meal. He looked a little stressed, so I used the $20 bill I had found and paid for their meal.    The waitress was so surprised by this that she ... Read Full Story >>

Magnetically Attracting Kindness

I found a twenty dollar bill on the ground the other day. I've been on a tighter than usual budget the last month so thanked my lucky stars for the opportunity to spend more on others. First few bucks were spent opportunistically: anonymously adding to the funds of an older man who went into a gas station counting bills and asking for ten dollars if gas. That kind of thing.   Last night I walked down the street after work and saw a woman selling a newspaper published for homeless folks. She also had some fridge magnets for sale. "What's your most popular magnet?" I asked. "Oh, probably the Bob Marley. This John Coltrane one is really nice too," she said. "I'm surprised it hasn't gone yet. They're five dollars each."   I counted the remains of the cash. "Here's nine dollars," I said.   "Which one would you like?"    "I don't need one myself, but the next person that ... Read Full Story >>