The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

Being an Everyday Hero doesn't mean you have to wear a red cape or leap high buildings. An Everyday Hero simple looks for opportunity moments to give others small acts of kindness.

Years ago, while I lived in Norway, I would travel back to the United States every summer to visit family. I always made the trip alone with my two little girls. Early one morning I boarded the plane in Oslo with my then six year old and one year old daughters. We were buckled into our seats when a stewardess approach us. She asked me if I'd packed a breakfast for my girls. Surprised, I answered I hadn't because I'd ordered kids meals for this portion of the trip. The stewardess explained that the food staff was currently on strike, and therefore, no food would be served. I felt so bad for my girls because they were hungry and needed breakfast.

Moments later this stewardess returned, and handed me a brown paper bag. In it was the breakfast she'd packed for herself that morning. She gave it to my children so they would not be hungry. Thirteen years later I still remember this act of kindness.

Many times during a typical day we have opportunities to offer a little extra to others. If I have a cart heaped with groceries, and the person behind me has only a few items, I can allow her to go ahead of me in line. While shoveling snow from my sidewalk, I can take a little more time and do my neighbor's sidewalk too.

[Catty1]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/looko...--finance.html

She may be a millionaire, but Yu Youzhen, a woman from China's Wuchang District who works six days a week as a sanitation worker, believes being humble is integral to being wealthy.
China SMACK reports that Yu Youzhen and her husband had been vegetable farmers who, over the course of many years, rented out spare rooms in their home. They saved enough to build some apartments, only to have their land taken by the government. When they were finally reimbursed, they found themselves rich.

But Yu's not living off the profits. Her job, which she's had since 1998, isn't some volunteer organization that requires a few hours per week. She wakes up at 3 a.m., dons an orange jumpsuit and picks up litter along a 3,000-meter street for six hours a day. Her paycheck amounts to around $230 per month.



She spoke to a local paper about how she witnessed her neighbors squander similar fortunes on drugs and other vices. She feels that working hard will set a good example for her children and help to keep them out of trouble.
"A person can't just sit at home and ‘eat away' a whole fortune," Yu explained. She said she told her kids that if they didn't work she'd donate the apartments to the country.
So far, so good. Her two kids are both employed and earning a modest living. Her son works as a driver and her daughter is an office worker.