Good Deeds: Done Any Lately?

AtomicEraTom said:

He tried to give me 20 bucks, but I declined. I told him someday it may be me on the side of the road.

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That's what I tell to people who try to pay me for something I do. I just tell them to return the favor to someone else. I hope that makes good deeds contagious!

LD

I was walking past a younger couple...who like many today..began to look away with expressionless faces as we pass. I decided to smile and offer a greeting. It's kind of amazing how those simple gestures can often instantly transform and light up those few moments of someone's day...and maybe even linger for awhile. A smile.

A.C. Lyles said:

I was out last night in a torrential downpour when I came upon two young ladies hiding from the rain in the doorway of a restaurant. I asked them if my umbrella could escort them anywhere. Their car was parked two blocks away and I had to take them one at a time. Got a hug and a kiss from each one.

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Very "Q" of you to be such a gentlemen, as you are by nature. An umbrella during the rain season, could be a great means to meet some nice people, and for a single person a great way to meet someone to ask out!

I looked after a stray cat for three days, after she came into my shop and decided to adopt me, when it was raining over the weekend. I made her a bed in a basket of old sweaters and fed her up as she was rather thin. She was adorable and very affectionate and i was very sad to let her go. (I cried, i'm not afraid to admit it). The children of the proprietors of a hotel up the road came and saw her and fell in love, so she has a happy new home.

I also fixed a ladies zipper on her dress after it split when she was walking down the road and rushed into the shop in a panic. I could have pinned it together, but i was feeling kind, plus she had an engagement to go to, so i ensconced her in a comfy chair and repaired her zip for her.

You get out what you put it i say. Plus i like to feel i'm adding to the good karma in the world. Lord knows their is enough of the bad stuff going on. It doesn't cost anything to be kind and helpful and share the love a little.

This thread makes me think of this song:

[video=youtube;x6DLsf8VG5Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6DLsf8VG5Y&ob=av2e[/video]

I've not had a great day today, but my cleaner who is from Thailand told me her family have all been evacuated as their home is flooded out. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15518428)

I know she sends money home when she can so I gave her something extra for her family. At least I know it will go directly to someone who needs it.

What she told me put the issues of my day into perspective.

OK looks like no Lounger has done the smallest Good Deed since 31OCT11. It Is The Season.
I know a lady who has adopted her grandchildren and has been raising them since they were in kindergarten. The are now in High School. She is always strapped for cash. I have to fly out of town and it will cost me about $100 to either park or take a cab to the airport. I offered her the money if she would drive me. Small steps...

here is a fun website www.soldiersangels.org

I got to help a Chinese lady find her connecting flight at the airport this weekend. poor lady could barely speak English, she was on her way to TX to help out her daughter and grandchildren, though she didn't specify what the problem was. just a little thing [huh]

another bit of Buddhist wisdom, paraphrased: Kindness is its own reward. and yeah it does feel good to help people out

I couldn't agree more Hepkitty.

I did my good deed for the week last weekend. We had a christmas fayre in the main street where i live and work and there was a lovely Salvation Army brass band playing for most of the day. It really was bitterly cold, so i went next door to the cafe and bought a big pot of tea and took it up for them to have when they had a break. I did offer to pay for the tea, but my friend who owns the cafe waved away my money. They do such good work The Salvation Army, plus anyone who is going to entertain me all day while i'm at work in my nice cosy shop gets at least deserves a cuppa!

OK no apparent Good Deeds since 14DEC11.
I went grocery shopping and the lady behind me had a hand full of coupons. I got the usual check out slip with the stores coupons printed on the back. I gave this to her and she was most appreciative. Small step.
I had the front office return a young mother's co-pay since all I could offer was some guidance, advice and reassurance and could not find any pathology to treat. I don't think I can get away with this too many times.

It's been one of my New Years resolutions to just try to do little things to make the lives of the people in mine a bit easier. Sometimes little things go a long way.

Christmas Eve I put together 2 bicycles for for a friends son, He'd gotten the bikes for his son and daughter and the well know toy store said they didn't have time to put them together.
My friends son while a good guy is himself a child of the 90s and doesn't own any tools or is he mechanically inclined.
I put together a kit and was glad to help him out, when his wife thanks me I told her when father's day comes around I'd help her set up a basic toolkit for him.
Every father should have a tool box so the can fix their kids stuff and do odd jobs around the home.

I try to do small things like this on a daily basis. My office has a very large retirement center next door and an Alzheimer's day care center across the street... so the opportunities are always there to help someone find something, cross the street safely, etc. For me, doing those things is more like common sense than anything else.

I always give away useful items that we no longer need, through Freecycle or Craigslist, to people who can make use of them. This has included TV sets, dishes/pots & pans when we get a new set, clothing, whatever. I can't stand to think of something useful going into a landfill when I know there is someone out there who could use it and may not be able to afford to go buy a new widget.

I coupon pretty extensively, and if I can get an item free or super cheap, but it isn't something I'll use (such as baby items or contact lens solution), I buy it anyway and donate it.

The most recent larger-scale deed I can remember was back before Thanksgiving. Through friends and contacts, we found several families who could not afford Thanksgiving dinner, and we bought them the whole setup - a turkey, veggies, side dishes, rolls, dessert - everything they needed for the meal. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and it pains me to think there are people in this country who simply cannot afford a good meal on that day. We made sure 6 families did, though. We also gave groceries to a family before Christmas.

I grew up *extremely* poor - living in a drafty old trailer, raised by a single parent on welfare, free lunches at school, hand-me-down clothes, you name it. Starting out as an adult, I was broke and trying to make ends meet with a low-paying job and a beater car. There were many times in my early 20s when I simply could not afford food after paying my bills and putting gas in my car, and I'd eat whatever leftovers I could scrounge at work for my 1 meal of the day. I distinctly remember one week after getting my paycheck and paying my rent and putting gas in my car, I had $6 left to last 2 weeks. Anyway, I've been there, and I know how it feels, and now that I'm more stable and doing okay financially, it feels nice to be on the other end and hopefully give a helping hand to someone whose shoes I was once in.

LoveMyHats2 said:

I know what you mean. I do see at times people will put things out in front of their home with a "free" sign on it and then not care if things get wacked out by weather.

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We do this with stuff sometimes, and I'm a "curb shopper" so I am always on the lookout! Curb shopping is very popular around here and stuff usually doesn't last long if I set it out. I never set something out on a bad-weather day, though. If I have something out there and it looks like rain, I go bring it in! :lol:

I'm a habitual helper by nature, and by the fact that I put others before myself. This can be anything from holding a door for someone to tutoring fellow university students to working on someones car if they can't afford a mechanic. I enjoy doing the work God has placed before me.

My friend's son is 4 months old, she didn't have the money to buy a bumbo seat for him. Instead of him laying on the floor all the time, I bought one for him off ebay..I said that I'd be getting one for my-self when the baby arrives anyhow so she can just use it for her little one first. I didn't want her to be offended, there is a thin line sometimes especially when children are concerned. I usually bag up my son's good clothes he's outgrown for her too..knitted baby blankets and picked up a potty training book aimed at toddlers for her 2 yr old... we always help each other out...

I haven't checked in to this thread lately, and WOW! You people are awesome. Catching up has been wonderful. Keep it up, folks: you're making a real difference.

My wife now and then encounters a dog whose owner asks that it be euthanized for reasons that are sometimes justifiable, sometimes not. When the case falls into the second category, and the dog has some days, weeks, or months, of more happy living to be done, she'll ask the owner to release the pet to her for care. Then she treats it and brings it home. The latest household addition is Bear, who is 16, arthritic, half blind, all deaf, and still manages to romp around exhibiting sheer joy. Then he crashes for hours:

It's sort of funny, I work in a Rescue Command Center with the Coast Guard, and so everday we're doing something I could say is a good deed, today its just weather forecasts and monitoring radios but I feel like those don't count... so I try to do others as well.

My father always taught me to help everyone, friends and random people on the street, something I'll always carry through.

Today though, I leant a friend $1000 to try and cover rent at their place while they were moving. I trust I'll see it back eventually with a bottle of wine!