Random Act of Kindness - to balance all the ranty threads, tell me of a random act of kindness that you have never forgotten.

[MmeLindor.]

There is a lovely thread in Classics about Random Acts of Kindness so I thought we could do with a lovely fluffy thread to distract us from the shooting and disembowelment going on at the moment.

I will start.

When DD was going through the "terrible twos", she had a tantrum at the supermarket. She lay on the floor and wept bitterly because I would not give her what she wanted it. I tried reasoning with her, I tried being stern, and finally I walked away.

The sound of her screams echoed in the supermarket, people were looking at us. I thought that they were judging me, thinking that I was a bad mother.

A man walked by with his two daughters - about 9 and 11yo they were. He stopped, patted my arm and said, "It is a phase. It passes. You are doing the right thing".

It meant so much to me, that I was not alone and that other people were not judging me but feeling sorry for me. And probably being thankful that their DC were past that stage.


Has a stranger ever done or said something nice to you that you still remember years later?

[racingheart]

Peppermint your story is stunning, so beautiful. A real tear-jerker.
Lions - that had me welling up too. What a lovely dog!

[garlicfrother]

yellowraincoat, I used to do that on London Transport. Then they banned it

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

Not time to read the thread so will come back later, but just wanted to post my story.

The night before Millennium Night DH and I were travelling back to London from visiting relatives up north and stopped off at Tescos to get some food in before we got back home. All of a sudden, and I mean literally out of of the blue, I started to feel terribly ill and by the time we'd got to the checkout I was collapsed on the floor while poor DH was trying to pack the bags as quick as he could and figure out whether an ambulance was needed!!

I made it past the checkout and sat down on a window seat facing everyone at the checkout, feeling like death and then proceeded to vomit everwhere (very embarrassing). Unfortunately DH had just left with the shopping bags to go and fetch the car from a distant spot in the car park so I was completely on my own splashed with vomit and on view of a big audience of shoppers (although I didn't really care at the time cos I felt so godawful).

A lovely, lovely lady who I shall never in my life forget, left her husband at the checkout they were at and came over with a bag of frozen peas and put them on my wrist saying they would help to cool my circulation down if I was feeling faint etc. There was vomit on my hand so a bit of it must have gone on her peas, poor lady. She asked an assistant if they could clean it up off the floor and sat with me till DH came back. She was an angel sent from heaven, I tells ya!

So - lovely lady in Colny Hatch Tesco by the North Circular in London, if you are reading this, I have never forgotten the kindness you showed me in a yucky and embarrassing situation and wished you were reading this thread so I could tell you how grateful I am (still, after all these years).

(for anyone interested, I had a bloody awful stomach bug and was in bed for days with awful cramps and sickness and missed out on Millennium Night completely! It was still memorable, though, because of the kindness of that lady!)

[CelticPromise]

garlic I still do that in London. I know it's officially not allowed but who cares?

[gorionine]

When I was in my early 20s I was doing a placement in a children's home and was spending the nights there. I used to go straight to my room after work. One night, I decided that instead I would go for a drink with a friend and went out completely forgetting about my keys to get back inside afterwards. Had a lovely time with my friend, walked her back to the station for her to get back home and made my own way back. To my horror I got there and could not make my way inside and got really panicked as it was mid January and really cold. I went back to the cafe to give myself time to think about what to do. The waitress there was surprised to see me again and asked if I had lost something. I told her what was happening and she invited me to spend the night at her house and the following morning her husband had to wake up at 5am to bring me back to work on time. I have never forgotten about them, to this day , no-one I ever met could match this amount of generosity.

[topknob]

I have another, when I went into labour with dd2 4 weeks early I had to be transferred from the local hospital to bigger hospital 40 mins away as I was bleeding ALOT ! Not only did the midwife stay with me for the whole ambulance journey and dd's very traumatic birth so did the ambulance crew who waited by the doors whilst she was delivered by ventouse but they also came in to see us both after :) They were all so very lovely x

[goblynn]

One from the United States--

When I was a little girl, we flew across the country (North Carolina to Oregon) to visit an uncle. On our return home, a flight was missed/cancelled, and we were moved to another airline. Problem was, we were all seated separately. My mother was a few rows aheadI've no idea where my brother or grandmother wereand I was seated between a middle-aged man and someone I cannot recall whatsoever.

The gentleman in the window seat chatted with me (about our trip, our home, where he was from, and so forth) and generally made me feel better about the whole strangers-on-a-plane thing. He was very kind, and I hold him accountable for triggering my adoration of British men. ;)

(Honestly, I talked about him for ages to anyone that would listen. I don't see why my parents/DH/anyone, really wonder how this fascination started.)

[PepeLePew]

My friend had a minor climbing accident in the Lakes - she could walk but was in shock and needed stitches. We couldn't get mobile reception to call a cab. A couple who were walking in the valley cut short their walk to take us to the walk in clinic. And a couple we met while we were waiting stayed after the wife had been seen so they could drive us back to where we were staying - it was about 10 miles away.

But the one that sticks in my mind are all the Virgin Atlantic staff and ground staff at Heathrow who rescued my son's beloved teddy and reunited him with it at our holiday home in the US within 24 hours, free of
charge. For that I will always be grateful.

[doinmummy]

My partner had left me and had cleared out our bank account leaving me with absolutley no money and a 9 month old baby. I went to the bank for £100 overdraft but 'computer said no' as I had no income. I mustered my last shred of dignity , smiled and said thankyou to the bank lady. As I was walking down the street , tears pouring down my face, the bank lady came running up behind me. She handed me a tenner and said the 'computer had allowed me to have £10'.
I took the money . I have never felt so ashamed and humble as I knew that the money had come from her own purse.
I will never ever forget her kindness.

[PaulaMummyKnowsBest]

last year my DD and I went to the summer time ball at wembley. After, we called into the little tesco extra for something to drink. On the floor was a wallet so full of £50s that it wouldn't close.

I didn't want to go through it so we handed it in to one of the shop workers.

I hope that who ever lost their wallet that night got it all back!

[FarelyKnuts]

Our wee puppy was only 14 weeks when she ran out into the road and was hit by a car in front of my neighbours house. My dp was not home and I had my 18mo dd inside and didnt want her to see it. My fabulous wonderful neighbour came running out as she saw it happening and sat with the puppy for the few seconds before she died (thankfully it was v v fast) and then she and another neighbour stood guard over her at the side of the road in the freezing cold armed with sticks to keep away our not so friendly neighbourhood fox while I frantically tried to get hold of my dp to come home. They stayed there for an hour so I could keep my child safe inside AND waited until my dp came home and then my neighbour got her husband to dig the hole in our yard to bury our puppy.
I will never forget their kindness and selflessness that day.

[all4u]

These make lovely reading and illustrate how these RAK's can transform a horrible situation into a really positive one! I used to run a project with schools and was used to the office staff being flat or even decidedly unfriendly and incipiently suspicious. I thought this was always the case. But now my DH and DD are at a high school where the office staff are just so nice that every phone call leaves me feeling really happy! They are so can do and ask how a sick child is and sypathise. The best ever was when the surly music teacher came in and said he could not teach my DD saxophone because a tiny rubber washer was missing. My musician DH had checked it so we knew it had been there. I rang the office and described this tiny black rubber ring about 6mm across. the secretary said 'hold on' went off and searched the carpet in the room used for music lessons and rang me back to say she had found it and popped it in an envelope and sent it to her form teacher for afternoon registration - and wasn't it lucky that the room hadn't been hoovered since? It made my day and cheers me up just thinking about it now! If I could afford it I would send them a huge bouquet every term .

[Homebird8]

Having emigrated to New Zealand We have been met with so much kindness we're still bowled over.
The first night, in a hotel at the airport, and with DS's awake at 2am with jetlag, a most amazing receptionist found cleaning things to deal with DS2's vomit and loads of random food to make him feel better afterwards. It wasn't a bug, just the upheaval ;0) and she knew just what to suggest. DH came back laden with yoghurt, and chippies (Kiwi for crisps), biscuits and cereal bars she'd found from little hideyholes all over the hotel.
The following day when both DS's fell asleep on the floor in the bank aged 8 and 6 the lovely bank lady found them pillows and hurried through the bank account and cards so that we could start our new lives.
Then I got a welcoming text from my boss to be inviting us all for lunch the following day with his young family. They have since become wonderful friends but I will never forget how much a friendly face and a real home helped in those first few days as we found our feet.

[CheerfulYank]

Am properly sobbing at these! And reading them to DH, or trying to- so choked up!

I remember when I went to visit DH (then my boyfriend) on a train about 7 years ago. I didn't have a cellphone, and had been dropped at a different station than the one we'd thought I'd be at. It was late and there was no one manning the station, no payphones and I had no cash anyone...not a very good traveler! I was exhausted and couldn't think what to do...I was in a strange city and didn't know if DH would ever find me, if I should try to walk to a police station, etc.

I just burst into tears and an older woman came up to me. She began questioning me in a heavy Russian accent. I was trying to tell her what was wrong and she just handed me her cell and wiped my tears away really briskly. She said "now, you will call this person, yes, and every thing will be fine. That's enough of that crying, now." I called DH and told him where I was. I said thank you about a million times and she just waved me off and walked away.

She was so competent and nice to me...I can still feel her hands on my face if I think about it, silly as that sounds.

[CheerfulYank]

No cash anyway I meant. :)

[MsF1t]

What a great thread.

I have two, both from when I was much younger.

When I was very little (about 4), I was in hospital for an operation on my ears- gromets. My mother only came in to see me a couple of times, and didn't come in before the operation. So as I was on the ward waiting for the pre-op drugs to take effect, I was on my own and didn't understand what was going on at all. One of the other mothers noticed and took pity on me and left her own child to come and read to me until they came to take me to theatre. It made all the difference to me, I've never forgotten her kindness.

The second one, I was a 16 year old living in the Amsterdam in a tent (I know, madness!) when some junkie stole my only pair of shoes while I was asleep. I decided to leave that site and check my things in at the railway station while I found somewhere else. It was very busy at left luggage, and as I finally got to second in the queue, they announced that after the man in front of me, they wouldn't be serving anyone else. He pointed at me and said that he was checking in my things as well as his. He then proceeded to take me to buy a new pair of shoes. It really restored my faith in human nature. (I should add, he was a very gruff, tough American from LA- he muttered something about preferring to spend money on someone who needed it for a bit of good karma than just getting stiffed by a taxi driver.)

[BBisBBack]

I do readily subscribe to pay it forward, and this is making me bawl! So
Uplifting

[flyingspaghettimonster]

lovely thread. I have so many I am not sure which to include...

we had some hard times since moving to america on only my husband's grad student scholarships (no working visas). at one very low point I posted on craigslist asking if anyone had access to a church food pantry who could possibly deliver some food to me as we had no money, couldn't drive (and I hadn't eaten in 2 days as was giving dh and the kids everything I could rustle up). a lady asked for my address and showed up an hour later not just with the milk and bread I had asked for, but with eight bags full of meat, dairy products, loads of potatoes, fruit, veggies... even a huge cake, which she said was because it was valentines day and she hoped my kids would enjoy a treat. it more than carried us over till the next pay day and I was sobbing at the kindness of this total stranger, vowed to pay it forward by buying the food donation bags whenever I could afford the extra at the grocery store.

two years later I had saved up for a special present for my daughter for xmas. she wanted an american girl doll, which are very expensive, so I had found one on ebay that came with lots of clothes and accessories for almost $150, a collossal amount at that time. I was devastated when it never showed up... fed ex had apparently dumped it on my doorstep without a signature and someone nicked it. the seller tried claiming for it but it wouldn't be sorted in time for xmas. I turned to craigslist again, posting a photo of my stolen doll , asking that anyone who might get offered it for sale contact me as it was stolen. I wasn't expecting to hear anything, only hoping the thief might realize it was a child's xmas gift and return it.

a week later I got the strangest email asking me to contact a lady about the doll. that lady was anne, a complete stranger who collects american girl dolls. she told me she had searched ebay for the auction I had won and then contacted my seller to check my package had been reported missing. when she knew I was genuine she contacted me, asking if she could please make up an american girl package for my daughter. she said she knew how it must have ruined my christmas spirit and how hard it would be to replace, so wanted to show me there still were good folk out there. I was uneasy about accepting such a generous gift from a stranger, but she assured me she always chose a child each year to bless with a doll and some accessories, as it was good fun making up a girly gift when she only had a teenaged boy to buy for.

a few weeks later and I met anne for the first time when she delivered the gift items to me. I was shocked at how much she had brought... not only the doll, but also a whole wardrobe of clothes for every occasion, a fancy trundle dol bed, a doll suitcase to carry all the accessories, loads of doll sized hair accessories... there was a fortune in doll stuff there, over whelming. to show how deeply grateful I was, I paid it forward immediately. I organized a free toy giveaway, where local people who were clearing out kids toys to make space for xmas gifts could drop off there things to me... I sorted everything into categories and cleaned it up... then on the day of the giveaway the poor people who had posted on craigslist looking for christmas help, who weren't getting the salvation army help, turned up and took whatever they wanted for their kids. I was able to help a few people whose children had specific requests like itunes credit and an ipod for a 12 year old, link up with some generous people who had contacted me offering to buy gifts for the giveaway. we helped over 50 kids have a christmas, all thanks to anne's kindness.

it was more than a one off experience, it was life changing. anne became like a best friend/surrogate mother to me and we spent many happy days together since then. this last xmas I was unable to run Big giveaway as I had already given everything my kids had outgrown the year before, so I just picked one family to help. I picked a family who had lost their job and needed gifts and holiday food. I contacted a lovely old man who had donated to the previous giveaway... he met me at a grocery store and we went round together picking all the food people like and need at christmas, he paid for that for the family. I used my birthday money and some gift cards to buy toys for the kids off their wish list and make stockings. the family were lovely and the parents so grateful when I showed up with a carload of groceries and brightly wrapped gifts. I even got chocolates and beer for the parents.

it didn't end there either... the old man had met my three kids at the gift giveaway the year before, and said he had something for them in a big box... when we opened it we found over 200 hallmark ornaments, all carefully stored in their original boxes, dating from the 80s and 90s. there were all different animals, sitting on cookies, dancing mice, skating bears, unicorns etc. basically his family's whole collection of childhood ornaments.he wanted my kids to enjoy them as his family had outgrown them. I was so touched... and the kids drew him pictures of the ones they liked best. the boxes still had prices on and were worth a lot of money, and he have them away without a thought of their value just to brighten my kids day. we will keep them until our kids outgrow them too, and continue to pay forward whenever we can. I have found it is a very popular idea over here in the states.

those are just the biggest things. every day there seems to be some small kindness... compliments and smiles abound...I can't go out without someone being friendly...the shop assistants remember your name and ask after your kids, a barista from the local starbucks offered me a ride once when it rained and she was driving by... took me ages to work out where I knew her from, to my shame, though she greeted me by name. those are the reasons I love it here in virginia.

[DoubleNegativePanda]

When dd was six we were flying home from visiting my mom. Grandma had given her a snow globe as a gift, and foolish me allowed her to have it in her backpack for the journey instead of packed in luggage. Going through security there was a soldier in line behind us who looked exhausted and after polite hello I left him alone. At the security check they took away dd's snow globe as it was over four ounces of liquid. I felt terrible and she sobbed her heart out. As I sat her on a bench to put her shoes back on the soldier came and knelt down next to her and asked could be give her another keepsake to replace the globe. I said of course, and thank you. He took off one of his dog tags and handed it to her, telling her it had travelled the world with him and had a lot of memories in it. She was quite interested and distracted by him and forgot about how sad she'd been.

She has it still, hanging on a nail in her bedroom.

[Sunnywithachanceofshowers]

Panda I am now crying. That's lovely.

I lost a friend to suicide some years ago, and briefly saw a bereavement counsellor. He turned up one day and I was in a bad way. He asked me if I'd had a hug that day and I said no. I soaked that poor bloke's shirt with tears.
He was a volunteer for Cruse, and he brought me back from the brink.

[Tw1gl3t]

It's about the anniversary of our random act of kindness: We were invited to a DearFriend's Wedding in the middle of no-where. They very kindly paid for our overnight accomodation, and my ex who was on his way past there the following day had agreed to pick us back up.

All we had to do was get there.... We worked out a tortuous route by public transport (a train and three busses) which got us to within spitting distance. We had the phone number of the local taxi firm which we decided we would splurge on when we got there. Only to discover that he'd retired the previous week, meaning there was no practical way to get from the village to the venue.

As we were sitting dejectedly on the bench outside the post office trying to work out how to walk there, a lady, her mum and her little boy drew up in a car and tried to explain the most direct route (only about two miles); but then she changed her mind....turfed her Mum and little boy out of the car and whilst they waited on the bench drove us to the wedding.

So to that wonderfull lady (a costumier for a ballet company) who must have reponded to the International call-sign for fellow costumiers in distress: I would like to thank you. We had a wonderful time, and you made it possible.

[marcopront]

The couple who took my postcards from Goa and posted them to my family in the UK.

The lady in Durham cathedral cafe who came and asked if I was alright when I was crying after an argument with my ex.

The couple who gave me the dollar I needed to get from the US to Mexico, where bus tickets were much cheaper.

All the people who helped me when traveling alone from Kenya with my 9 month old daughter. I had lived there for three years so had a lot of luggage.

[marcopront]

And I'd like to share one I did.
My flight from Orlando to Amsterdam was delayed by about 18 hours. I was put on the first flight from Amsterdam to Heathrow. There was a young man who was on the same flight from Orlando, but he was on the later Heathrow flight. The only thing was he was due to attend a reception before starting his first graduate job that night. I let him take my place on the earlier flight. I imagine his Mum saying, "I told you, you should have left a couple of days between arriving back and starting work."
I hope his job went well.

[RabidAnchovy]

BEAUTIFUL THREAD

[ilovemydogandMrObama]

most recently, the nice woman who turned in my wallet/purse that I had left in the trolley . She refused to leave her details, otherwise would have thanked her, but she left the £40.00 in tact, so thank you.

The man who offered to move on the NYC - LAX flight so the DCs (one of whom didn't have a seat as was booked to sit on my lap) could spread out and sleep. A tall man, he had to sit in the middle of 3 seats.