Random Acts of Kindness

[Freckles]

My Sunday newspaper often has a coupon for the Olive Garden in it. Recently I used the coupon for a late lunch. When I was seated, I noticed a couple in their 50's at the table next to me. The way I was seated, my back was to them, but the wife was facing me. After a wonderful meal, I was waiting for the server to give me my bill and the usual chocolate mint. He brought the mint and wished me a good afternoon, then walked to the next table. I turned and saw the server giving them their bill. Hmm, they got their bill where was mine? Then the wife came and sat by me and explained; some of their parents had recently passed away and, in their memory, they were doing "random acts of kindness" to those of their parents’ age. In my case, they paid for my lunch. Wasn’t that nice? (Fortunately, the server gave them the $2 discount)

Do you have a random act of kindness to share? Either the recipient or giver?

[Pawsitive Thinking]

What a lovely thing to do.

I did give an elderly lady a lift in my car last winter when it was snowing and the buses weren't running on time or at all. Noticed her in the bus stop as I drove by and thought "why not?"

[carole]

Gosh that is a neat story, i try and do little things when i can, this year i will be buying a present to put under the xmas tree in our shopping center for the children who are needy and don't get much, but yes i try and let people go before me in queues who look tired or elderly or for no reason at all, and things like that, but thanks for the story it has reminded me to do just that, so i am on a mission now to do a random act of kindness.

[zippy-kat]

Olive Garden is one of my very favorite places to eat!

Last year, my cousin and I treated ourselves to a day at the spa and dinner at OG. Our waitress wasn't very old (this was probably her first job) and the table next to us was giving her fits; they were being royal jerks, complaining about any little thing they could, and went so far as to call the manager when they thought their portions were too small. When the waitress left to get the manager, the table began boasting about how many free meals they'd gotten by doing this very stunt!

Long story short, they left (after being given a discount). When the waitress returned to our table, we asked her to call the manager and promised her it was nothing horrible. She looked horrified but did as we asked. Once the manager returned, we told her everything we'd overheard and lavished praise on our waitress for not only serving us but for keeping her cool when serving the other table. The manager thanked us for telling her and the waitress was very grateful.

We ended our meal by thanking the waitress and handing her a $20 tip.

I don't guess it's a very random act but it makes me feel good to recall the waitress's look of relief when we told the manager everything we'd overheard.

[catmandu]

If I Can I Try To Help People Out By Asking Them In Stores If They Need Me To Each For Something On A Top Shelf, Or By Simply Opening A Door, Or Sharing Extra Coupons That I Have For Deals In Restaurants.
My Vet Is Giving Me A Special Price On Treating Precious So I Will Pass That On To Another Person, And The Porch Cats.
My Aunt Will Enjoy Breakfast Brunch At The Connaught This Christmas As Will All The Angels.

[Kfamr]

One thing that has always given me tons of home in mankind happens at my work regularly.

People will come through our drive-thru and pay for the car behind them. Often times, that person will then pay for the person behind them and so on..
It really makes you feel great inside.

[Rachel]

I think it was last year at this time of year, my husband and I were at a McDonalds and noticed an employee doing an outstandingly thorough job of cleaning off the tables. It is a pet peeve of mine to see dirty tables at a fast food restaurant. I commented to my husband what a rarity it was to see someone take pride in how he did his work. Obviously this is not a situation where someone gets a tip either. My husband and I discussed it and we decided to give this young man a $20 tip. Unfortunately he declined to accept it. I don't know whether it was company policy or he just felt it wasn't necessary. I felt a little let down that we couldn't do a little something to brighten his day.

The other day in a parking lot I saw an older woman putting a baby she was caring for into the car set in the back of her vehicle. Outside the car was her empty shopping cart. It made me think, how she would return that shopping cart without leaving the baby unattended in the car, so I asked her if she would like me to return the cart for her. She was happy for that offer.

I notice quite a few people being very courteous in traffic which my husband tries to acknowledge with a wave of the hand. Makes up for some of the red light runners we have to constantly be ware of.

[AbbyMom]

About a year ago I was in a crowded waiting area of a busy vet office. An immigrant family was there: Mom and Dad who could not speak English, plus the children who were fluently bilingual.

The wait was long and a middle-aged lady struck up a conversation with the family, asking about the toy poodle puppy, which the father was holding. In the conversation, she discovered that the poodle had not eaten for a while and was almost completely unresponsive.

She jumped up and ran to the desk saying loudly, we have an EMERGENCY! A vet tech ran in the back and within 30 seconds a vet was taking the poodle in back. The family members were so relieved that something was being done. They did not know that they were entitled to "jump to the front of the line" so to speak.

I do not know the outcome for the poodle. However, it is possible that this woman's act of kindness saved that dog's life.

[GreyhoundGirl]

Those stories make me proud of being human. More often than not, the only stories the press runs are the horrible ones. Even on PT we see more animal abuse cases than animal-help.

[sandragonfly]

love this kind of threads..

few years ago when I lived in california - everytime you across the bay bridge, you pay only two dollars - my friend was driving, we had four dollars, I thought why not and pay the driver behind us. I quickly ripped a piece of paper and wrote down "Merry Christmas! From Angels." we asked the cashier if she could pass that to guy and a passenger behind us.. after we left, I could never forget the guy's reaction. surprised and grateful, great feeling! we grinned all night long. no.. a week, really.

I would love to do it again but here, new york's toll system really sucks. they charge you your distance you drive .. so I don't always know where that driver behind me comes from!

[WolvesRawk]

Yay! I love happy threads! Its nice to actually see humanity has some good! Anyways, the only thing I've ever done was forcing my dad to pull over so I could give my Burger King meal to a homeless person. He was truely grateful. And then there was one time when I left a 10 dollar bill with a note that said "a gift; Happy Easter"

[Donnaj4962]

What a great thread! I love hearing how wonderful people are to one another.... and I truly believe that should be happening ALL YEAR ROUND!!!

I try to do something nice for people as often as I can. One time, a friend and I were having dinner and we overheard another table of college age ladies talking about their graduation that weekend! My friend and I decided to pay their bill as a congratulations for them! They came over and personally thanked us. We told them that we were once poor college students and we were happy for them that they were graduating!

But then, even something as small as returning someone's (or sharing your)shopping cart at the store is so appreciated! My sister, niece, and I were 3 of the many crazies that were up and shopping the early bird specials the day after Thanksgiving! And while in Menards, we separated to try to get all that we needed. My niece and I got in the checkout line and my sister was in another... which was moving VERY SLOW! We kept calling one another on our cell phones and camparing lists to make sure we had gotten everything. We were taliking about batteries (40 AA for only $2.00!!!!) and the man behind us let us have 2 of his packages! He said he didn't really need all that he had picked up! How nice! And my sister, well, she made friends with 2 ladies in her line and since shopping carts were in short supply, she shared her cart with the other 2 ladies! They even swapped phone numbers! They were in line for an hour! It was funny. My sister called me and said, "Come back in the store and meet my new friends!" Ahhh, the Holiday spirit!

I love to say, "What goes around comes around!" So keep those random acts going! You will feel so good about doing for others, and one day, someone will do for you!