The Buzz on ‘One Good Turn
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 |
This post is long overdue, this happened 2 days before Christmas.
As I’ve established previously, I shop in Wal-Mart. On this occasion I stopped to pick up a few things on the way home from work. As always and anxious to get home I rushed like a mad woman through the aisles and out the store.
Once home I unpacked and finally settled down to have a conversation on Skype with my son, Jason who is in Albany. We were talking and my house phone rang. As a general practice, I don’t answer the house phone because nine times out of ten it’s someone wanting money or a solicitation call. I ignored the call. A few minutes later the phone rang again. This time I heard the words, “your wife…..wallet…..Wal-Mart.” I cut my conversation short with Jason and ran to check the message.
The message was from a man who was calling my husband to tell him that I dropped my wallet in Wal-Mart and his wife picked it up. He was calling my husband because in case of emergency he is the contact. I feverishly went through my purse to find that indeed my wallet was missing. Needless to say, I called this man back immediately. It turned out that I dropped my wallet on the way out the door and his wife picked it up and took it home. He was calling to let me know so that we could come pick it up. Amazing!
I called Mike who was on his way home and told him the situation. I didn’t want to go alone so Mike picked me up and we headed over there. We arrived at their home and they handed me my wallet. I tried to give them money to say thank you but they wouldn’t take it. Their answer was that the same thing happened to them not too long ago. Their wallet was returned and they were so thankful that they vowed to “pay it forward.” They’re only request was that I too would “pay it forward” if the situation arises.
I thanked them for the best gift that I could have received for Christmas. When I returned home I wrote my heartfelt thanks in a Christmas card and sent it out. I look forward to someday “paying it forward.” It takes just one small gesture of kindness to make someone’s day. How wonderful it would be if we all performed an act of kindness every day!
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Monday, November 2nd, 2009 |
My mother, Diane, asked me to write about an encounter I had with a complete stranger a few months ago. I, personally, do not often share many of the random acts of kindness demonstrated by myself or others, as I feel that what makes said acts special is the anonymity behind them. However, out of great respect for the website my mother has dedicated so many countless hours toward, and due to the fact that the amount of hard work and effort for her cause is seldom in this day of age, I am proud to share my experience.
A few months ago I found myself at a Kinko’s in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My girlfriend’s ninety three year old grandmother silently passed in her sleep a few days prior to my arrival, and being the caring boyfriend I’d like to consider myself to be, I booked a highly overpriced flight out there to give my love and support to her family. Her grandmother was an amazing woman who fought for equal rights for women her entire life. She was a founding member and ex-president of her sorority, as well as a member of various equal rights groups around her area. Her husband, who had passed years ago, was a high-ranking official in the VA in the 1960’s. My girlfriend and I were at Kinko’s because the family wanted to make a slide show to give respect to my girlfriend’s grandparent’s life’s accomplishments. Lindsey and I were scanning invitations to White House ballroom parties hand-signed by JFK. We scanned “thank you” letters from other high ranking government officials along with invitations to every Presidential Inauguration since JFK. We were in quite a rush, as we had to scan the material, put the files on a CD, and then transfer the files to a software program to create the slideshow. As we were waiting in line for the cashier, a man, who I would later find out was named Joseph B, stood in the line adjacent to us, speaking with a cashier. Mr. B. presented as a person from a lower socio-economic status. Although clothed appropriately, one could sense that the jeans he wore that day were probably worn most days of the week. However, just like I don’t judge a book by its movie, I don’t judge a person by their appearance (most of the time). Joseph was being honored by a club that he was a member, coincidentally, for all of his life’s accomplishments. He was inquiring about having his hand-written resume typed and printed so that he could distribute his life’s accomplishments to the members of his club. The cashier, although very helpful, followed Kinko’s protocol for such an inquiry and explained to Joseph that the job would cost a little over $30+ and he could pick his copies up from them in two days. I distinctively remember the look on Joseph’s face, as a frown appeared to overwhelm it. He couldn’t afford the $30+. This was, however, that important to him that he decided to go ahead with it. That was all I needed. I asked Lindsey if she could give me 15 or so minutes. She was watching the entire ordeal with me, and said “of course” almost before I was done asking. I approached Joseph and asked him if he would allow me to do the job for him. He wasn’t quite sure what I was proposing or how to react, so I pleasantly took the paper from him and turned toward the cashier. I bought a small amount of computer time and acted as Joseph’s stenographer. Joseph was a band leader, helped youths from poor neighborhoods become involved with music, and was an active member of various clubs in his community. I added my two cents when appropriate, primarily with proper rules of grammar. We ran out of computer time so I bought more. I formatted his resume so that it looked professional, spruced it up here and there, and printed it out for him to see. I told him I would make it perfect for him. I printed out three different resumes, all with different formats. Joseph loved the third one. He took the printed resume and made fifty copies of it. The cashier rang him up for a grand total of $2. Joseph’s speech was subtle as he thanked me for all that I had done. I told him that he lived a wonderful life full of accomplishments and that any person lucky enough to know him should know what he was all about. He grabbed my hand and shook it, thanked me again and walked out. We took our CD, paid, and left. Lindsey and I could have walked out of that store a half an hour earlier, and we would have forgotten about Mr. Joseph B. for the rest of our lives. But we didn’t, and that’s what makes all the difference.
Posted in One Good Turn | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 |
I was walking through a parking lot recently and an older woman approached me and asked me the location of a store. I told her where it was at which point she took my hand. She said, “Today, I’m going to give you something.” She continued, “I give you peace, warmth and patience. I give you comfort and love for you and your family.”
I thanked her and told her that she was wonderful. She kissed me on the cheek and walked away. She made my day!!!
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Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 |
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought people go to blood banks for the benefit of others. I guess, however, in every situation there will be people that find a way to benefit themselves.
On a recent trip to the blood bank, my dad was sitting and waiting his turn. There was a short wait, but one worth waiting for. For those of you who don’t know, generally there are some kind of sweets, in the case cookies, coffee and orange juice, left for those who give blood to help combat lightheadedness and weakness.
As my dad was sitting a couple pulled into the parking lot in a Cadillac Escalade. The couple walked in, went over to where the “sweets” were and loaded their pockets. They then proceeded to go over to the desk to inquire about an appointment. When told that there was a wait, they left. According to my dad, not ten minutes later a man walked in and also proceeded to the snack table, filling his pockets. He too went over to the desk, inquired and left. My dad couldn’t believe the selfishness of these people and wondered how many people actually do this throughout the day.
At that point, my dad went over to get a cup of coffee. He left a dollar on the table. A little while later, the receptionist walked over to the table and inquired as to who left the dollar there. Reluctantly, because he did not do it for recognition, my father answered that he did. The receptionist was so appreciative and expressed the fact that no one ever does that and how thoughtful that was. It’s amazing how so little can mean so much!!!
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Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 |
Recently, my husband and I were at a car dealership and a women with two young children was waiting around. She asked where she could get a bottle of water. She was told the machine was outside, to which she responded, “never mind, I don’t want to go out with the kids.”
I went outside and got her water out of the machine, handed it to her and went back to what we were doing. Two people commented about how nice that was. They stated that people don’t do things like that very often. I wondered, “Why not?”
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Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 |
This is an incredible story about a bride that went out of her way to save a family while wearing her wedding dress. What a wonderful story.
Bride Turns Hero on Wedding Day
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Tuesday, May 5th, 2009 |
Turn on the TV, read the news online or in a newspaper. If you’re lucky you might encounter one uplifting, heartwarming story. People are so wrapped up with getting through life that it’s rare and in between that they take the time to be a “Good Samaritan.” Remember that term?
Although I don’t expect these comments to accumulate too quickly, I think those who take that extra step should be recognized. Tell us what you did or what someone did for you. Maybe in the long run, it will encourage us to become a society that truly works together to be the best that we can be. For, one good turn deserves another.
Posted in One Good Turn | 1 Comment »
