Something sweet that happened to our family the last couple of weeks Mom was in hospice....
During the previous months, my sister & I had gotten into the habit of frequently stopping by their apt to do the housework so Dad could spend more time with Mom. After a while, we started finding most of the housework already done by the time we got there. We didn't think much of it, I just assumed Dad was getting up earlier, or needed something to keep him busy when he got home. One afternoon,about 2-3 weeks before Mom went, I stopped by and found an immaculate apartment with a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the table. There was a note on Dad's kitchen counter signed by one of the ladies in his church who lived in his building. "We have you covered Dears. Go spend more time with your folks."

It still makes me teary just thinking about it.

ok i thought of one....
its kinda a catch 22 one, but here goes


last year my mom was a teachers aide for a special needs (autistic) child at the preschool... well, one friday afternoon my mom got a call from the mother of the child saying that she was freaking out.. she was playing with noah (the boy) in the back yard, had turned her back to go get the ball that he had kicked to her, and he had just disapeared, well we live in some VAST farm land, so its not hard for someone to just disapear, she had called the police, and my mom.. my mom called our preacher and started the prayer chain, well the prayer chain did a lot more than just pray, the entire community ended up turning out for search parties, bringing refreshments, blankets, tents.. it went on into the night, people stayed with the parents, searched by spotlight, around 6 pm they found one of the boys boots near the creek that ran behind the parents house about a mile away.. they searched until about noon the next day when the searcehers found the child in the creek. (he did not survive)
well come to find out the father had lost his job earlier in the week, the family was about to get evicted from the house, the only viechile they hadwas the farm truck which could only hold 2 people in it at a time.. utilities were past due, as bad off as it could get it was..

the community donated the $$ for the sons funeral, they paid in advance the tutition for the daughters preschool for the next 2 years, they donated a car for the family to drive, they paid up and over the utitlites for the next 6 months, and the rent for 6 months as well. my dads boss offered the father a job, and told him that he would hold the job as long as he needed it for things to settle down with all that was going on.. the mother started volunteering at the church, and the preschool.

thru tragity the community pulled together, and now the family just had teh anniversary of one year with noah gone..
they are surviving.

Last summer (2007), my work partner and I were up north doing a roof job, and we stopped into a local restaurant in the morning for some breakfast before heading out to the job. As we were sitting in our booth waiting for our meals, I looked over and noticed a man sitting by himself in a booth on the opposite side of the room, making futile attempts to light his cigarette with a lighter that wouldn't work. I got up and walked over by him with my own lighter and flicked it for him so he could light his cigarette. He thanked me, I went back to my table, and put the incident out of my mind.

When our food came, I happened to look over to the other side of the room again, and I half-heartedly noticed that the man was gone. We finished eating and went to pay our bill. When we got to the register, we were informed that the man from across the room had paid for BOTH of our breakfasts....just because I lit his cigarette for him.

Never knew his name, never saw him leave, nothing, but I thought that was pretty dang nice of him.

A few months ago a co-worker of mine had their 7th child. The child was unfortunately born with a disorder in the brain and was not expected to live. He passed the word of his child's condition through the office so that we would all know what was happening and asked that we pray for his son. A few days after the birth, I was leaving a local driving range and was approached by a younger guy on a bicycle. He was a little unkempt looking and I assumed that he was going to ask me for a handout. To my surprise, this person whom I've never met, asked me if there was anything going on in my life that he could pray for? Personal strife? Financial trouble? After a short pause, I told him the story of my friend at work and what he and his family were going through. Nothing in my life came close to that. After hearing the circumstances, this young guy started an impromptu prayer for my friend, his family, and son. It was really pretty amazing. Completely off the cuff but organized and thoughtful. It's been a few months now and the child is improving against all predictions. He has been released from the hospital and is now home with his very happy family. It makes you wonder....

Well I had been doing restoration work on a flooded house. I felt so bad to just be throwing all these peoples 30 years of accumulated waterlogged stuff, when I came across there wedding album. I carried it outside and removed all the photos for them to dry in the sun. Later that day the home owners came by to check the progress, As I was carrying out some soaked drywall, there was the wife crying over the photos. she told me that there were no copys of these photos and wanted to thank the person who took the time to care for someone elses memory.
I told her I was not sure who did it but I was glad that her photos were ok and went about my work.

In the 90's when my daughter was in the Navy, she did not take shore leave for 5 yrs, that was her choice.. She had mentioned that a lot of the young people on board would never even get a Xmas card let alone some presents... Well, when I was making cookies and candy to send my daughter I would always make extra and send for her to share..one time I even sent a small tree w/decorations and they taped it to the Chief's desk and sent pics of it.. I would also send anything they could microwave, hot choc, popcorn, and other little goodies I would find.. I did receive many thank you's but it was my way of saying thank you for serving and giving back...

The otherday...driving past a parking lot...some poor Japanese guy was standing by his car's flat tire with a tire iron in one hand, a hammer in the other and a puzzled look in his face. His wife was sitting in the car. Pulled up and walked over to him...(I speak a little Japanese) Took his tools and changed the tire. That was one very happy couple.

They might not speak english but, it is nice to know that they left with a good impression.

Christmastime last year, I worked for a retail catalog center. My hours had abruptly dropped from 50 hrs to 20 hrs a week. My ex had had the spousal support and child support dropped considerably. I was selling furniture that I had got in divorce settlement just to pay the rent for January.

It was Christmas Eve and I didn't have a Christmas tree, it made me feel sad. The girls at work told me that Walmart might still have Christmas trees left and I went straight there after I got off of work. I had just enough money to buy a tree.

I went there, there was some left. The sign in front of them had a handwritten sign over it that said 1/2 off. Teary eyed, I picked one out and told the dude that I wanted it, don't let anyone take it while I go pay for it. He said hold on a minute. He answered his cell phone and then told me that the tree was FREE! "It was late in the day and they had more left than they anticipated." I didn't know whether to believe him or not and just looked at him dumbfounded and said thank you. He helped me stuff it in my car and I went back in and was able to buy lights, garland and tinsel and a half gallon of egg nog. While I was standing in line waiting to pay, I noticed others picking out their trees and coming over to stand in line to pay for them. The same guy out there helping them that had helped me. When I was leaving, tears streaming down my face, I saw the guy again and I hugged him and told him Merry Christmas and cried all the way "home".

My daughters 22 and 17 at the time had already accepted that there was not going to be a tree and were so surprised that I had one stuffed in my car. We spent the rest of the evening decorating it and having a great time together.

Does this qualify as random acts of kindness? Probably not, but, it is an experience that will stay with me for years to come.

People had to fight like hell to get the homeless shelter re-opened in Green Bay recently. You should have heard the mindless comments by those who were in opposition.

I've got nothing

Tomorrow we can drive around this town, 'n let the cops chase us around...

What if you land with your foot in the meatloaf?