Positive thread: Unsung heroes... tell us about your good deeds.

[ckelly78z]

A coupla years ago, I was taking my son to football practice and came upon an accident that just happened. Evidently this kid on a crotch rocket bike was doing about 100 mph when he hit a bad section of pavement and started doing the hospital wobble (front wheel wildly swinging back and forth) until he was finally high sided over the handlebars. The helmet he was wearing was laying in the road cracked in half, and his tennis shoes were 100 ft apart. One sock was under the bike, and his t-shirt was wrapped around his head. He was just getting up out of the ditch trying to pick up pieces when I came along. He had bad road rash all over both arms, and legs, and all across his back and side of his face. I had him sit down on the lawn before he fell down, I went and collected the bike and pieces while the owner of the property gave him a wet towel and something to drink.

Turns out he didn't have a license, registration, or insurance, so he was able to call some buddies to come get him and refused to go to the hospital or call the sheriff. I was able to get the bike onto my tommy lift gate on the back of my pickup and slide it into his buddies truck when they arrived. By this time he was shaking violently from shock and was incoherant. I certainly hoipe his buddies got him the care he needed.

The skid marks from the bike were visible on the pavement for a month or two and looked like a snake slithering to a sudden stop where the scratches started.

[KFC911]

Kept my older sis from going to jail a few weeks ago....many sleepless nights in trying to figure the mess out with my elderly parents. Been called every name in the book and now sis will probably never speak to me again

No good deed goes unpunished

[Jeff]

Growing up, we were not considered "well off", but that didn't stop my Mom from giving. Even if it was just little things. When I was young I remember her taking Thanksgiving dinner to various neighbors that either couldn't make the meal on their own or had no relatives in town or had just fallen on hard times. Multiple times they were just invited to have dinner with us. Many Christmases were spent with families in similar situations. She lived her life like that. Not just around the holidays. She was an amazing woman.

I like to think some of that rubbed off on me; Heck, a couple months ago I was giving words of encouragement & handing tools to a friend who was changing control arms on his Mazda.

Life: You get what you give.

[GH85Carrera]

Back in the days when I lived at home on base at Maxwell AFB I was working at a job that sometimes had me coming through the gate late at night on a COLD night. My dad was an officer so the sticker on my car meant some poor private on duty had to salute my sticker. I fully understood he was not saluting my car or me. On several occasions I would stop and get a cup of coffee for the guard even though I did not drink coffee back then. More than a few of the guards thanked me profusely for the coffee on a cold night.

Several years ago I was at a local Churches fried chicken standing in line behind a 17 or 18 year old girl and a skinny 12 year old boy. He was HUNGRY and I remembered being that age and just a bottomless pit. She was whispering to her that "mom only had a 5 dollars for them to get something to eat and mom did not get off work for many hours" so I could tell they were both going to be hungry. The sister got one wing only and the boy ordered drumsticks and thighs because they were cheap.

I asked him how many breasts he could eat. His eyes got big and he said 10. I said how about I buy 3 breasts and if he ate those I would get him more. He ate 5 total and his sister had one.

I don't think I have ever told that story before.

[ckelly78z]

And those kids are now paying it forward....good job !

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Glen, that is a great story. Hats off to you!

[dheinz]

The tech gave me a sticker for giving blood 30 times in the last twelve years...

[Seahawk]

In 2001 I was stationed in Millington, TN at the Bureau of Naval Personnel. My job was to "detail", or manage, the careers of over 400 other Naval Officers of all ranks up to O-5. The job entails figuring out how best to position folks for the next level, separate the wheat from the chaff and groom the next group of leaders.

In essence, you get to decide the career arc of a bunch of folks, where they go to work, etc: at the stroke of a pen you decide if they move their family, get off track or become eligible for the next level.

You also get to peak behind the curtain and watch how the cow is slaughtered.

I didn't want the job but in the Navy being a "Detailer" is a job you don't ask for or turn down. The Navy puts a lot of trust in your judgement.

Yesterday, I had the occasion to talk with a guy I "detailed" back in 2001. Rico now works for a major UAS company that may be interested in doing business with my firm. I have not talked to Rico since 2001 but remember him well. We had no idea what the other has been doing.

In 2001 Rico called very distraught: His young son had been diagnosed with a very rare but curable disease. Rico and his family were stationed in China Lake, California at the time but had only been there six months or so. A typical tour is three years.

The only place with the necessary care facility for his sons malady was Bethesda, Maryland.

Like any large organization, the Navy has many rules and regs governing tour length, budgets for moving families, and what is the art of the possible: We used to call it "restricter plate" detailing.

After Rico and I chat, I assured him I'll make everything work regardless of the rules, relax and I'll send a detailed email.

The email I sent he and his wife was probably more optimistic than it should have been, but I refused to think the right thing couldn't be done. I'd make a very simple, important thing happen. We'd get Rico and his family to Bethesda and into a job that would keep him tracking while his son got the care he needed.

And we did.

So yesterday, I learned that he has kept the email I sent him fourteen years ago, printed in a frame...it reminds him, he said, of a simple grace his family needed in a very difficult time.

I also learned his son is a 6'2" 200lb baseball player about to finish his senior year in HS and then play in college. In other words, the coolest.

Made my day.

[scottmandue]

Not my good deed but:
My dad was cheap as they come... had a very successful HVAC business but drove a pickup truck most of his life.
He was the youngest of three, had two older sisters.
When auntie Helen retired he flew out to Texas "to help her move."
Several years I saw a letter on his desk from a lawyer in Texas.
Yes, I was snooping so I just scanned the letter... the lawyer felt he had to tell my dad how much he respected him for coming to Texas and buying Helen a condo.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

....Made my day.

Ever wonder how many "days" you've made Paul (too many to count I'm sure)? This whole thread is pretty cool...thanks all!

[dennis in se pa]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

To my way of thinking, random acts of kindness should be kept personal.

(But to you, that shared, good on you for your R.A.K. I'm sure the recipient is stoked!)

Yes....
Just like true charity is anonymous.

[LakeCleElum]

I've given CPR 5 times over the years. 4 were passengers in traffic accidents. The 5th was a jogger that had a heart attack..

Sadly, none of them made it, but thieir families appreciated someone trying...

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by dennis in se pa

Yes....
Just like true charity is anonymous.

But the flip side to that is, hearing stories can inspire others to do good as well. I think it's a little different to share what you've done vs. seeking publicity. Anything posted here isn't going to make it back to the recipient of the charity.

Whenever I see a news story showing a politician with an apron and ladle at a soup kitchen, I just roll my eyes. People are there every day doing that work and it doesn't make the news.

I do understand the desire to keep it private though. Told my wife about one thing I did and 10 minutes later she had written up a narrative on Facebook. Not at all what I had intended, but she felt others would be motivated by the story and thus, the positive impact of one deed could reach many other people.

[gordner]

I remember back when I was about 19 ( more years ago than I care to admit) I was in Ottawa, heading out to the bar with friends. I realized my id was in my brothers car so we headed downtown to his girlfriends place where I expected him to be. This was January or so, so cold cold cold weather. We passed a car stalled out on the side of the road and stopped to help, a few blocks shy of destination. They needed a boost but my cables were in my brothers car, so we waited to see if we could stop someone with cables and get them going, keeping them from freezing in the meantime. Car after car passed in the next 40 min or so, no one stopping until finally a car rolls up...my brother heading out from his girlfriends place lol. Got them boosted and on the way, and goes to show it is all in how you are raised, so this is really a thread bragging about our parents in the end.