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

Talked to my sister yesterday and the subject of my older, wealthy brother came up. She told me a couple of stories about him I'd never heard.

Seems that a while back he was approached by a couple at a gas station looking for gas money. At first he was suspect, but after hearing their story began to believe it was true. So, he agreed to fill their gas tank. They chatted while the gas was pumping. Hearing more about their bad luck, my brother offered to take the couple and their two kids to dinner at the iHop next to the gas station. By the end of dinner, he was so moved by their story, he invited the family to stay with him at his home until a pending housing opportunity came through. They stayed with him for 5 weeks before their situation improved and they were able to get their own place.

Hearing this story about my brother really made my day. Got me thinking that there are probably plenty of people doing kind things that most of us never hear about.

Share some of your good deeds that you might have kept to yourself. Maybe you'll inspire others to do the same. SmileWavy

i always buy a soldier(s) lunch or breakfast if i see them alone at a restaurant.
I keep it quiet.....they never know who did it.

A friends elderly Mom's PC took a dump right around New Years. This was Mom's only real contact with family and friends. Her Mom used to feed me and take me along on family outings when I was a kid, very nice woman.

My friend has 2 kids, was between jobs so she didn't have the funds to buy her Mom a new one. Her 3 sisters and brothers do very well, but nobody would step up to the plate.

Of course it was right after Christmas, so all the good deals were out of stock. So I just "bit the bullet" and bought Mom a very nice laptop and had it shipped to her. She now has a machine that has tons of memory and is blazing fast. She can play Call Of Duty, Grand Theft Auto and Minecraft without a single hiccup.

But of course she'll only use it for email, Facebook and Solitaire, but what the Hell. She still doesn't know who it was from.

I instigated a major, and I mean major, upheaval in the way the State of Michigan evaluated child custody issues in divorces involving minor children back in the late 1900's. Actually forced a change in several laws. Significant civil rights issues.

Ten year battle; full time job in addition to my normal full time job. Serious financial and time commitment. Nobody will ever know. Well not exactly nobody. I know, my kids know and the primary foot soldier in the endeavor knows. But he died in 2011.

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!)

i'd prefer that all my wonderful deeds remain unsung.. :)

That's the way I am as well. Good deeds are their own reward, but I will tell you, running the snow blower in the morning is therapeutic too - which is why I use it on the neighbors' walks and driveways. Good deed? Maybe. But it works out pretty well for me, so maybe it was a selfish act that benefited someone else by accident.

I have paid for couples' dinners and people in uniform at restaurants, just because. Always anonymously. Glad to do it, never cared about recognition. Doing nice stuff for people makes everyone's life better.

A few years ago I was reading in the evening and heard, on the highway near my home the "bang" of a tire blowing, screech of rubber being asked to do the impossible and the sickening "crunch" of an automobile changing shape against a solid object.

I was out the door in 90 seconds and drove to the site of the accident, where another motorist had stopped to render assistance. The only casualty was a young male. He had blown a tire and lost control. When the car landed in the ditch (backward) he sustained a scalp wound from hitting the interior just over the driver's door. A tow truck was on the way to remove the vehicle and I guessed the kid, who was getting a bit "shocky" was going to need stitches and some help.
My first aid kit supplied a gauze pad and I dialed his Mom's number for him and then took over the call when he wasn't giving her the information she needed. I told her who I was and that we were going to the local health center and she might want to meet us there.

After we arrived at the Health Center, I went in while the nurse examined him and called for the doctor. I asked the kid if he could do me a favor, He of course said, "Anything"
I explained he had been reaching up with his fingers to check out his scalp wound and then rubbing his face and suggested if his Mom saw him with blood all over his face, she would be more worried than she should, so could he please wash his face.

Just in time. Mom and step-dad showed up five minutes later.
They thanked me for looking after the kid, but as I said, I just hoped if they came across my kid in the ditch they would do the same thing.

Best
Les

There's that in addition to the tins of home made oatmeal cookies that mysteriously appear on the front porch.

The stuff you do each day counts.....stopping to move someone's trash cans back off the road when the wind blew them over (other cars just driving around them...)

I always have a shovel in my truck (as a landscaper) so I stop and move animal carcasses off the road (other cars driving around or over them while checking their text messages...)

I always wave to folks walking their dogs...

Toot the horn when I see someone gardening....

You only go around once in life...

Couple of years ago I was in a shopping mall. Mother with a little girl in her arms had parked a giant stroller near the entrance to the store so it wouldn't be in anyone's way. She hadn't realized that her purse was sitting on top of the canopy/sunshade.

Punk kid sauntered by, grabbed the purse and ran. I gave chase. He ran down the hallway adjacent to the store and took off for the escalator when he saw me behind him. Mall was packed so I yelled, "Stop that guy!" Of course no one did anything but stare. We both had to shove past some people on the way down but it slowed him enough that I got close.

At the bottom of the escalator he turned left and ran into a glass door that was locked. Bad luck. He turned around and tried to rush past but I grabbed hold of his coat and he sort of spun and fell to the floor. I quickly put my knee in his back and grabbed an arm so he couldn't move. In less than a minute mall security was there and pulled me up off the guy. At first they thought it was a fight but others quickly chimed in to say the guy had stolen a purse.

I'm 170 LBS soaking wet so I don't usually go looking for trouble but something about the helplessness of the mom and opportunistic nature of the punk compelled me to do something. I couldn't just stand there. Turns out they had been looking for this guy as he had robbed others.

Interestingly the mom was not as appreciative as I had expected. She gave me a lukewarm, "Oh, thanks," and wandered away. No biggie - I felt pretty good about myself that day :D

Hey, that's a great idea. I'm gonna steal it.

Yeah, but do you put raisins AND chocolate chips in yours?

Concur.

I need all the positive energy I can get.

I sing off-key anyway.

I don't make 'em. They appear on MY PORCH so I eat 'em.

(Truth is the best have walnuts.)

Thanks to those who shared their stories. There's way more good than bad going on in the world, but the good doesn't seem to get equal time.

My wife performed a RAOK years ago that still makes me smile.

Next door neighbor had learned earlier in the year she had breast cancer. On Christmas eve, my wife dropped off some cookies to them. Neighbor apologized for the lack of Christmas decor as they'd been so busy with her health issues, they just couldn't find the time or energy to decorate. My wife came home and declared the neighbor's two kids weren't going to wake up to no Christmas tree. She drove to the local Walgreens and asked the manager if she could buy one of their display trees including the decorations. Around 9pm we put the tree on the neighbor's porch, rang the bell and ran. They never did figure out it was us.

Years later, neighbor was in remission and ended up as a sidebar story in the drug company's annual report. In the story, she talked about the highs and lows of the past few years fighting cancer... one bright spot being "the miracle Christmas tree."



Alright, mister. I know you have pertinent material for this thread. ;)

If I should ever do any good deeds, I won't confess to them. No reason to raise expectations.

I can only tell you that doing good, most times unexpected, unasked for things for both friends and strangers alike is addictive. Anything I've ever done pales in comparison to what has been done for me, so I'm aspirational. Big things, little things, the most important thing is just being there.

When I was an early 20's guy I was romancing some chickie in the sand dunes at the beach. It was going on dark and two young boys aged about 9 or 10 were playing about in the water. One of them rocketed out to sea in a very fast rip. I took off down to the water and he was about 100 or 150 meters out. I got to him in minutes but he was starting to not come back up the surface for air too often. it was pretty close. I suspect he had about another 10 or 20 seconds left. I grabbed the kid and told him to lie on his back, and the kid said "Like this", and had done it all at school. I swam him back in and reunited him with his little buddy. By the time I got him back in there were a number of adults on the beach but I just split with the girlfriend. And yes it did have a happy ending.

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.

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 :rolleyes:

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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...

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.

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.