The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

Good-Deed Pranksters Spread Joy With $200 Tips

A prank usually leaves someone shocked and embarrassed. But a duo of good-deed pranksters decided to give food servers a terrific surprise, a $200 tip. YouTube personalities Stuart Edge and Andrew Hale stopped by several diners in Orem, Utah, to record the recipients' shocked reactions, and they are pretty awesome. The jokesters start out by asking their servers what is the largest tip they have ever received. And then they leave each a $200 tip while the camera secretly records the server's reaction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=Q4enUE8qt_Q

The video has been viewed more than a million times on YouTube, and it's leaving commenters with a warm and fuzzy feeling. One commenter wrote, "Now these are the kind of pranksters I like." In the video, one of the waiters says that he makes only about $2.13 an hour, so the tip is gladly welcomed. A female server's co-worker tells the guys that she was recently hit by a car while on her bike, adding, "Thanks for making her night." In the end, it seems that Andrew and Stuart got more out of the good-deed pranks than the servers. The only thing left to do is to pass it on, people!

[kuhio98]

Minnesota DQ manager's good deed gets attention

MINNEAPOLIS — Joey Prusak was appalled when he saw a customer at the suburban Minneapolis Dairy Queen store where he works pick up someone else's $20 bill and slip it into her purse.

So when the woman got up to the counter to order, Prusak refused to serve her unless she returned the money. When the woman refused, the 19-year-old store manager went a step further: He gave the visually impaired customer who hadn't realized he'd dropped the money $20 out of his own pocket.

"I was just doing what I thought was right," Prusak said Thursday as he recalled the incident from earlier this month. "I did it without even really thinking about it. ... Ninety-nine out of 100 people would've done the same thing as me.

"Even so, Prusak has received loads of praise since a customer's email about him to Dairy Queen was posted online.

Now, people are calling the store, thanking Prusak and even offering him jobs. Customer traffic at the Hopkins Dairy Queen has doubled, and many people are leaving large tips — money that Prusak says he will donate to charity.

Prusak said he even got a call Thursday from billionaire Warren Buffett, whose company owns Dairy Queen. "He called and thanked me for being a role model for all the other employees and people in general," Prusak said.

Prusak has worked at the Hopkins Dairy Queen since he was 14. He's trying to save money to go to school for business management and has managed the store since the spring.

The visually impaired customer who dropped the money during the Sept. 10 lunch rush was a regular. Prusak said he thought the woman who picked up the $20 bill would return it. Instead, she looked at the man, then put the cash in her purse.

"I was appalled," Prusak said. "I didn't know what to do or say."

Prusak thought for a moment, and when the woman approached the window, he asked her to return the money. But she claimed it was hers. The conversation went back and forth. Finally, Prusak recalled, he told the woman: "Please return the $20 or get out of the store, because I'm not going to serve someone as disrespectful as you."

Prusak said the woman stormed out, and he served the other customers. He then went over to the man eating his sundae and gave him $20. Prusak didn't tell anyone about it, other than the other employee in the store.

But another customer saw the incident and sent an email to Dairy Queen. The email was forwarded to store owner Dave Pettit, who posted it at the store. Another employee took a picture, which has been circulating online.

Dean Peters, a spokesman for International Dairy Queen, said the company is figuring out how to reward Prusak.

Prusak said when he saw what happened, he just couldn't keep quiet.

"I was going to say something no matter what," he said. "If she would have returned the money, then I would have served her."

[Karen]

Good for him, standing up for what is right, regardless of expense to himself.

[kuhio98]

Random Acts of Everyday Angels
It's too easy to overlook the small kindnesses. But where would we be without these Earth Angels?

By Colleen Hughes, New York, New York

Ask me if I’ve ever seen an angel, and my quick answer is, No. I just love to help bring to life the angel stories people tell us. And that’s what I was doing the other day when the phone rang. “Hey, Colleen, it’s Angelo. Your Subaru’s ready to go.”

Every morning I jumped out of my car and ran past Angelo’s garage, high-tailing it to catch my bus at the corner. “Can’t be late for work!” I’d yell. This particular morning I had to let the bus go by and tend to the rattle in my car. Angelo promised he’d get to it ASAP—and here it was, finished. Too bad I wouldn’t get there in time to pick it up and pay him before he closed up shop for the day.

“I’ll stop in before my bus comes in the morning, how’s that?”

Angelo laughed. “You’ll be rushing, Colleen. Key’s under the driver’s side mat. Take your car and come see me on the weekend.”

“Wow, thanks!” I said. How often did a car mechanic care so much about his customers getting to work on time?

I returned to my angels reading. But Angelo’s kindness kept coming back to me. In his busy day he’d gone out of his way to consider me and my needs.

Then I remembered the grocery store clerk who’d rummaged around for a 10% off Thanksgiving coupon from a circular I hadn’t seen. “I know you like saving as much as I do,” she’d said. And the lifeguard who’d put aside the prescription sunglasses I’d left behind on the Fourth of July. Or the spring afternoon I’d found the postman fixing the red flag on my mailbox. All these people taking an unexpected interest in my everyday life.

As I thought back over the past year, I made a resolution. Ask me again if I’ve ever seen an angel. Yes, I have. Countless times.

[Catty1]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/good-...3101.html?vp=1

The northwest Spanish town of La Coruña posted a lost-and-found notice this week that has captured the world's attention.

It read:

"FOUND: A lottery ticket bought more than a year ago, which entitles the owner to an unclaimed $6.3 million jackpot."
"LOST: The ticket's owner."
Manuel Reija Gonzalez found the unclaimed lottery ticket from 2012 in a lost property box at the lottery kiosk where he worked.
Its worth: 4.7-million euro.
Instead of claiming it for himself, the honest man turned it into authorities.


"I never for a moment thought about keeping it because I wanted to be able to sleep well at night with a clear conscience," Gonzalez told the BBC.
"Because here was somebody who had a problem forgetting his ticket and I put myself in his shoes, and it's the sort of thing I could have done. I thought the best thing to do was just to return the ticket," he added.
According to the newspaper La Voz, someone bought the ticket with the winning numbers 10, 17, 24, 37, 40 and 43 from a shopping centre in Galicia, Spain, but managed to misplace it.
Gonzalez assumed the ticket, which was not purchased at his kiosk, fell out of someone's wallet.
When he ran the numbers, he was shocked to learn of the huge jackpot.
"I couldn't believe it the first time I checked the ticket! So I ran it through the machine again just in case there was a computer error," he told reporters. "I was standing up, but I had to sit down. I almost broke the chair, I was so flustered!"
If the ticket's owner isn't identified in the next two years, the millions will go to Gonzalez.
"For the first time we're looking for a millionaire, not because we want money from them, but because we want to give it to them," the mayor of La Coruña, Carlos Negreira, said on Monday.
Negreira said he'll buy Gonzalez a beer in two years if the good Samaritan gets to keep the fortune.

"He found something that wasn't his, and did the right thing to try to find who it belongs to," Negreira said. "He's a good example for our citizens who believe in justice."
Six people have already tried to claim the prize, NPR reported, but none of them were able to prove ownership: specific knowledge of when and where the ticket was purchased.

[kuhio98]

Midlothian (Virginia) man aims to raise $250,000 for ‘honest’ homeless man

MIDLOTHIAN, Va. — Apparently, honesty does pay, especially in the case of a homeless man in Boston.

Glen James found a bag with $40,000 in cash and travelers checks lost in a shopping center parking lot earlier this week. He turned it over to police and it was ultimately returned to its rightful owner.

The good deed is certainly not going unnoticed. Hundreds of miles away in Midlothian, Virginia, a complete stranger heard James’ tale and decided to take action.

“People like this they should be heard. Their spirit should be spread,” said Ethan Whittington. “He just seems like the type of person of never thinking of taking the money. He just had good intentions from the start.”

With a few strokes of the keyboard, the 27-year-old marketing director, who has never laid eyes on James, established an account for the 54-year-old on GoFundMe.com.

Whittington said his intentions were modest and he wanted to raise a few hundred bucks for a well-deserving man down on his luck.

“It kind of restores your faith in humanity, especially being inundated with the negative media on a daily basis,” Whittington said.

But Whittington’s humble idea has gone viral. Within just a few days, the total has jumped to over $117,000.

Brother and sister Thomas and Anna Ziljan are donating their hard-earned allowance to the cause.

“I wanted to buy him a house,” said Anna. “But it was too expensive so I’m donating my money.”

Whittington said he has been floored by the generosity of donors and when and if the fundraising ends, he said all the money belongs to James.

Whittington’s ultimate goal is to raise $250,000 for the good Samaritan he’s never met.

“The biggest thing is that I want this to be a positive influence on Glen,” he said. “This is the way we should be all of the time. You know I think it would make the world a better place.”

Whittington said he plans to fly to Boston in the coming weeks to meet James. He said he will shake his hand and give him a big hug.

[kuhio98]

Because Online Friends Make a Real Difference
"My 4-year-old son, Cole, has lymphoma. I've gotten a lot of support from the women at CafeMom.com, but one mom, Linda, is amazing. For Cole's birthday she got people from all over the country to send him cards. The response was overwhelming. With a sick child every smile is precious, so I'll always be grateful for these moments of joy."
-- Michelle, Sacramento, California