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It's The Little Things...

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Gray_Cat

Gray_Cat

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I rode my motorcycle into work today in downtown LA as I do everyday when it's not raining. I stopped at a traffic light when a rather fetching woman in a black 911 Carrera pulled up next to me and rolled down the window...WOWSA, thought I, this is better than winning the lottery! She politely advised me that my backpack had fallen off the back of my bike about a block back; that burst the fantasy balloon over my head! I decided to go around the block to see if I can find my backpack, thinking it would be long gone before I got to it.
Well, as I rounded the corner back onto the street I was on I could see the backpack sitting up on the grass behind a bus stop there. I rolled up to it and a pretty young woman of mid eastern descent was standing by it and handed it to me with a big smile on her face. She said she was hoping I was coming back for it and didn't want anyone to run away with it (they wouldn't have gotten much, just my daily healthy snack items and drink although the backpack is new) so she put it on the grass for me.
It really is the little things....even in downtown LA.
Roy :cheers:
 
Roy -

Thanks for the respite from Tiger Woods, etc.

:cheers:
Mickey
 
Little things??
Roy,.... That sounds like the beginnings of a great day.
 
Well, did you at least get her name & phone number? hehehehe
 
In my dreams Tony, in my dreams...and yes, it was the start of a great day and thought I might even buy a lotto ticket too!
 
:grouphug:

That sort of thing could restore a little faith that humanity hasn't entirely gone to the dogs.... but that's maligning dogs....
 
vagt6 said:
Nice story. The kindness of strangers, great, isn't it? :yesnod:
Click to expand...

My wife left her purse in the basket in the parking lot at the grocery store.
Came back later that night, and the store clerk said someone turned it in.
Nothing was missing, real nice.
Maybe it's the holiday season.
 
I've found ATM cards still left in ATM's on a few occasions. The first one, the bank was no longer open. So I took the card home and looked up the person in the phone book. Called, explained that I found an ATM card and asked them to verify the card number. When they did, I delivered it to them. They insisted that I take a reward, I tried to decline but in the end left with $20. Also let them get my name straight off of my drivers license to assure them that I had not tried to use the card.

Second one, the bank was still open so I took it inside. As I was trying to give it to a teller, the owner pulled back in to the first drive up window frantic about his card. Since I had been waiting for this person to finish at the ATM so I could take my turn, I recognized the car and told the teller. He insisted on buying me a 6-pack of beer. Who was I to say no.

I believe in doing the right thing, and that most people are trustworthy until they prove themselves otherwise (for this I do rely on my character judgement though). If people choose to reward me for doing the right thing I will usually try to gently refuse, but not if they persist. A sincere thank you, and the possibility that they may also do the right thing down the road because of my actions are also a very acceptable currency.

Just my $.02
 
Bravo Shawn...... A good way to look at it.
I think it's great!!!
 
I try to do the right thing. If it inspires someone else to reciprocate when the opportunity arises, then it is well worth it.

Last year, the day before Christmas, I was traveling down a fairly busy four lane road. Ahead, I could see a car with a flat tire just pulled into a side street. There was a fairly young girl, maybe mid twenties, and an older feller getting the stuff out of the trunk to fix the flat. Must have been 20 cars passing this scene before I arrived. By the time I arrived near them, the old man was looking quizzically at the scissor jack. I pulled into the side street to see what was up. It turned out the old guy was the younger girls grandfather, and he was having trouble getting the jack to work. Of course, it sat inside a leaking trunk for umpteen years and was rusted solid. I got my scissor jack out, along with a better lug wrench and started to remove the flat tire. The older guy insisted on helping out, so after I got the lugs loose, I told him to finish taking the wheel off while I finished jacking up the car. I let him replace the wheel because he insisted, lowered the car back down and started putting my stuff away. Well, this guy started peeling off twenties like there was no tomorrow. Hold on pops, it's Christmas, just think of it as my present to you guys. I finally left with a twenty that he stuffed in my pocket.

With a little bit of luck, the grand daughter will reciprocate one day...I'm sure the old guy already has.
 
Years ago,after going home fo lunch,I noticed
something on the ground.It was a billfold.The person
who lost it worked for a building maintenence company.
It had some money + MANY credit cards in it.I called
the company,& took it to work with me.I didn't want
to see how much money was in there!He offered a reward,
but I didn't take it.I was thinking "What if I was on
the other end of this deal".
I also had this happen a few weeks ago - I was
driving to go to lunch,following a mid-'80's Ford LTD.
I noticed a couple of things fell off of the roof.One
was a wallet,the other was something like a day planner.
It took me a couple of miles to catch up to him,& get
him to pull over.He took both & said "Thanks",& we went
our seperate ways.
Remember - it goes both ways.

- Doug
 
swift6 said:
........I believe in doing the right thing, and that most people are trustworthy until they prove themselves otherwise....
Click to expand...

I've been called a Hopeless Optimist for that attitude but, yes, I agree with you.

The students at my college are always losing things; keys, wallets, backpacks, etc.
If they tell me they've lost something, I'll suggest they check out our college Lost and Found.
Students will often tell me that strangers will *never* turn their stuff in. But I always insist that they go to the L&F
(we have about 18,000 full and part-time students so it can get pretty busy at times).
I would say that more than 9 times out of 10 the stuff gets turned in to our Lost and Found.
Which is a great lesson illustrating how most people are honest.

I'm a big fan of the <span style="font-style: italic">"pass it forward"</span>concept.
Thanks for the stories above...I enjoyed reading them. :thumbsup:
 
aeronca65t said:
I've been called a Hopeless Optimist
Click to expand...

GREAT oxymoron there, Nial - I'll have to file that one for later! :thumbsup:

Mickey
 
I was driving to a meeting on one of the major highways here in Chicago and spotted a 3 ring binder on the side of the highway. I was able to pull over safely and retrieve the binder. It was a log book / work orders sort of thing. Fortunately there was a name and number in it and I was able to call the person. He was so grateful that someone had found it. I left it with the receptionist at the building where I was for the meeting. He picked it up later. I didn't have to stop and could have been to focused on my own activities to have even noticed but what did it cost me? Nothing. Just a few moments to stop and pick it up. Who knows, it may have saved that guy his job - how do you tell your boss you lost the job book or work orders for the next week? Practice random acts of kindness....... :smile:
 
Silverghost said:
I didn't have to stop and could have been to focused on my own activities to have even noticed but what did it cost me? Nothing. Just a few moments to stop and pick it up. Who knows, it may have saved that guy his job - how do you tell your boss you lost the job book or work orders for the next week? Practice random acts of kindness....... :smile:
Click to expand...

This says a lot. The personal cost (typically) is very very low. The feel good payoff is very much worth the slight cost in time.

I must have a kind face along with my calm demeanor. Walking out of a local retail store, I was stopped by an elderly gentleman with a portable oxygen bottle with a simple request. "Can you help me?" My usual response to such a request is equally simple. "I'll do what I can." Turns out he had his own electric mobility chair. In the back of his van was a winch/lift system to raise and lower the chair into the van. Looked like a really slick set up. Problem was, it wasn't working. We checked fuses and wiring, it was all good. He needed the wheel in the back of the van so that he could leave. The shop that installed the lift was staying open late so they could take a look at it, but he was running out of time. So I grabbed the next guy walking out of the store and asked him for his help. Together we lifted the chair into the van. The elderly gentleman was nearly in tears as I closed the back door of his van. Turns out he had been waiting for nearly an hour for someone to agree to help him. Within 10 minutes of stopping me, he was on his way.

I'd wear the label of Hopeless Optimist with pride.
 
Yeah, Shawn, that's the kind of thing I'd get involved in, too. The part that bugs th' snot outta me is he had to ask HOW MANY other folks before he found YOU.

...tho I did find a twenty dollar bill in a parking lot last year with no name on it. I kept that. :devilgrin:
 
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