Stories by integrity (10 matches)

Re-keying a Home

A friend of my fiancé’s called in a bit of a panic.  She needed the locks on her doors to her home replaced or re-keyed that evening.  We drove over and checked everything out.  While the two friends chatted, I went to the local hardware store with her cash in hand and purchased a set of same-key front and back door locking knobs with deadbolts.  I purchased them with my check card.  I came back, installed the knobs and deadbolts, and handed her the new keys.   While I was installing the locks on the back door I thought it would be a good idea to take the cash she gave me for the locks and slide it under one of her fridge magnets along with a smile card.  I almost made it out of there before she found it.  Not so anonymous.   She hugged me for about a minute and she was weeping.  ... Read Full Story >>

We Got Tagged Ourselves!

My fiancé and I were having breakfast at a neighborhood diner Saturday morning.  When were requested our check the waitress said that “our friends” paid for our breakfast.  We asked who and she smiled and walked away.  We looked around the restaurant to see if maybe someone was smiling at us but we didn’t catch anyone’s eye.  So we assumed they wanted to be anonymous.  My fiancé looked at me and said, “Wow those smile cards really work”.  We both laughed and smiled at each other for awhile.   We have really enjoyed dropping smile cards on unsuspecting folks.  It has been fun and it has put a smile on our face more than once.  It was an odd feeling to have someone do it to us.  It was just a little strange to walk out of that restaurant looking around like, ok…who dunnit?  :)   What a beautiful world we live in.  Thank ... Read Full Story >>

Goodwill for my neighbors

My next door neighbor’s 11 year old son just recently passed away from leukemia.  They had been dealing with it for about 2 years that we knew of.  He was a friendly boy, always waving to us as we worked in the yard or pulled drove by in the car. We tried to be as useful as possible, offering meals and buying inexpensive toys for the boy and the other children to keep them occupied as he was restricted to their home for the last few months or so. About 1 week after his funeral a letter came from the leukemia & Lymphoma Society asking me if I wanted to raise money for research in my neighborhood.  What a miracle I thought. So I ordered the package and set out to raise funds.  I was a little nervous at first because there were a couple of our neighbors that I hadn't met yet.  But ... Read Full Story >>

A Rejected Smile Card

As I passed through the toll booth of the bridge I pass many smile cards on, the toll booth attendant refused to forward my card to the car behind me. 

I then tried to give the smile card to the attendant because it was obvious to me that a smile is what she needed.  But she also refused to accept it. 

So I politely took my card back and wished a wonderful and happy day.  I hope she had a better day after that.

A Tall, New Fridge

My mother in-law who always puts others ahead of herself had a pretty broken down fridge.  My sister purchased a new one and was trying to get rid of her old one.  I transported the fridge across the Bay Area to deliver it to my mother-in-law.  When we arrived we realized that it was 3 inches to tall.  So I learned a bit about cabinet making in the process.

My mother-in-law is very happy about her "new huge" fridge and I am very tired from the ordeal but very satisfied.  It's funny how second nature it is to go out of my way to help a perfect stranger but I sometimes "have to make time" to help my own family.  I'm glad I did.

Bridge Toll Bandit Strikes Again

We were on our way to visit my mother-in-law and I paid for the car behind me and left the toll booth attendant with a smile card for him. 

This time, however, the person I paid for actually passed us on the road.  It was a young man (apparantly college student, Saint Mary's) he waved and smiled as he passed. 

It brought joy to my day. 

Bridge Toll Tradition

My finace and I were approaching the toll bridge that we cross often as we go to visit her Mother. We paid our toll and the toll of the car behind us which we did not know. This is a custom that we had adopted from my mother that passed away in 2003. But I got tagged with a smile card the day before at the light rail staiton and had it in my front pocket. So we asked the toll attendant to please take our money for the car behind us and give them the smile card as they passed through. We hope they pass it on. I ordered cards and plan to use them to chear up staff at work and pass the message to as many people as possible.

Toll Booth Kindness Bandit

This seems to be my calling.  I have thought of other ideas for passing the smile cards out, but paying for the car behind me at the toll and forwarding the smile card has been really fun.  Hope to post something different next week.  If not, just call me the toll booth kindness bandit :).  Peace and Love!

Vacation update

Out of Cards :)

Miles of Smiles