Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A Trail of Shells


--by papaya, posted Apr 20, 2007
I live in Florida in an area that is famous for its shells. Many tourists wake up at 5:00 in the morning to find the best shells.

Living here, we have learned where to find the best shells and how to look for them. A lot of tourists spend time walking up and down the shore on the same beach and they don't tend to find very interesting stuff. And I figure, since I live here, there's no real point in looking for shells for myself since I already have a big collection.

So, whenever I find really nice shells (and sand dollars- those are not easy to find but are in high demand), I go out at night and scatter them along the beach for some lucky tourist to find.

Once I saw a family find a really pretty sand dollar I had left and they were so excited! It made their vacation. Plus, they were from Europe and they had traveled a long way for their vacation. I was so glad that someone deserving got my little gift!

I'll continue to leave more shells along the beach whenever I can!
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Readers Comments

margie wrote: Your story made my day! Thank You for the gift!
ieiblue wrote: wow!!! so nice of you to do that... big hug for you!!! :P
jan wrote: I think this was very kind and a spirited thing for you to do. Putting out the beautiful sea shells will certainly make a lot of people happy.
I enjoyed your story.
AiyaZaynab wrote: yaaaaay! i've found a couple sand dollars over here, they're pretty nice. (i live on the west coast, washington/oregon border). that is really awesome that you make so many people happy, and that such small things make people the most excited. :)
carey442 wrote: What an unselfish random act.
sg wrote: wow that is so incredibly selfless. like..if i did that i'd want to tell them it was me that found the shell and did it. that's really impressive!
Melissa wrote: What a beautiful story! It's awesome how such a simple act of kindness can truly change the lives of others.
Ginny wrote: WOW! You do all that work just to make some people have good day. What great idea and just think of all those smiles that you helped give those people.
warmth wrote: this is really thoughtful of u papaya. It is a great feeling to have soemthing after some hardwork. U help people have satisfaction. Kudos to u
PearlyShells wrote: Wow-Just think of the blessings you are passing along. How wonderful!

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