Small and simple random acts of kindness...anything happen to you?

[m2kbug]

My daughter's school starts very early and, therefore, has a very early lunch period at school.  She had an appointment and afterwards I needed to get her something to eat before depositing her in school since at this point lunch period was over.  Me in all me pre-planning skills, did not pack a lunch.  We were looking for a place to grab some grub, she didn't want fast food, and I'm not entirely familiar with the area, but it was this area where there is a rather inexpensive "fast food" Greek food restaurant that I vowed to go to again if we were in that area.  We decided to go there. 

And they were still closed.  "Noooo!" I said when I yanked on the door that wouldn't open.   They wouldn't be open for about another 30 minutes. 

There happened to be a Subway and grocery store in the same complex where we could get some lunch, and that's where we headed.  A woman who worked at the restaurant, who was sitting at the tables up front, noticed us offered to feed us now.  "They're getting the food ready now, just wait here, I'll unlock the door."  And that she did, and my daughter and I had a nice little one-on-one meal and talk, and chatted with the waitress a bit, really neat lady, and off we were, back to school and work.  It was just such an unexpected, nice thing to happen that day. 

What about you?

[cattlekid]

I had an unexpected four day forced vacation in the hospital last week for pneumonia.  On the day I got out, I realized that the dog was probably on his last bit of kibble and DH confirmed that he hadn't had the opportunity to stop yet for a fresh bag.  My SIL gave me a gift card for a local pet store chain A for Christmas.  I knew I had the gift card in my purse, so we stopped at pet store chain B (didn't check the gift card) on the way home. 

When I got to the checkout, I presented gift card for chain A, even though I was in chain B.  I was still groggy from being hospitalized and I really didn't even notice.  I was so embarrassed when the cashier pointed it out.  But then she said, "We would rather have you here than there" and processed the gift card as a coupon for the same amount.  I have no idea how they will get reimbursed but I assume that they have some sort of budget line for giveaways such as this.  I was shocked and happy that I didn't have to make a separate trip across town and will definitely be back in the future.

[SamiHami]

I had to get a second key made for my car today. When I went to the dealership it was a nightmare; they are refurbishing their showroom and it was crazy trying to drive through the construction area to get to the parts department, then there was nowhere to park. I finally "made" my own parking space. When I finally got in there and they guy made my key, he wouldn't let me pay for it (presumably b/c of the construction/parking mess).

A small kindness, but it put a smile on my face! 

[siamesecat2965]

This was a long time ago, back in the 80's when I was still in HS. BG: I was part of a competitive swim team, but on the "B" team, along with a very good friend.  There was a meet, I think in CA or some other desirable location, and my friend made the team, but I did not, and was very disappointed since I had worked really, really hard  And my mom knew this.

So my mom took me shopping, presumably to cheer me up. We were in a local sports store downtown, and checking out these really cool Speedo goggles, brand new, mirrored, so great for swimming outside in the sun! I thought they were cool, but also a bit pricy, so I put them back.

My mom ended up buying me a few things, and we were checking out when the owner asked about the goggles, and we politely told him we weren't getting them.  He picks them up, adds them to the pile, and says, they're on me, take them, and try them out and see how you like them!  Between my mom and the shopping, and that, I felt a lot better that day!

[nutraxfornerves]

Mr. Nutrax was in the hospital, having just graduated from intensive care to a regular section. He was not impressed with the quality of the food, especially the coffee.

Some friends met me at the hospital and took me out to lunch at a nearby restaurant. As we were leaving, I noticed a coffee shop next door. I went in and told an employee that I wanted to get a cup of coffee for my husband who was stuck with hospital coffee. Since I'm not a coffee drinker, I told the employee what Mr. Nutrax usually drank and asked for a recommendation for something similar. The employee suggested a coffee and proceeded to pour a cup.

When I got out my wallet to pay, he said that he understood what it was like to drink hospital coffee, and this one was on the house.

[Julian]

I did my own random act of kindness yesterday.  And it seems the whole community is getting in to the spirit of helping, too, which is wonderful to see.

We've suffered two days of blistering heat and high winds - it's worse on Mainland Australia, but it's been pretty darned bad here in Tasmania.  There are several severe bushfires around, with loss of property and possibly life.  There's one near enough to me that I've had burnt leaves and ash blow into my block, and the palls of smoke were unbelievable.

Late yesterday afternoon I headed out to the local service station for some random supplies.  As I drove past the local fire station, I noticed three firies sitting outside.  So while I was at the service station I also purchased 6 icy cold 1-litre bottles of gatorade type drinks, and dropped them off to the firies when I went past, with a big thank you for the dangerous job they do.  They were very grateful!  Little enough, but it was an impulse.  They looked totally exhausted.

As far as the community (and this is incredibly impressive!) - the areas that are burning are mostly rural and small towns, so lots of native animals and livestock.  There has been a facebook page set up to aid in assisting animals affected by the fires - safe grazing for larger livestock (including transport to safe areas), free boarding for cats and dogs, health checks etc for both native and domestic animals from vets.  Offers are coming in from people all over the state to assist which is really heartwarming to see.  In addition, many people are also offering accommodation for evacuees as well.

The Port Arthur peninsular was cut off (fire across the road) and heaps of people stranded down there.  A gentleman with a large boat offered unlimited trips to return people home via water. 

The various facebook pages have been so incredibly active, from all sorts of people, it's just amazing.  Tasmania has a small population, fairly scattered outside the major towns, and most of the rural folk have been hit pretty hard by the current financial situation, but they're still there offering help when needed.  I admit, I got a bit teary-eyed last night just thinking of how much help has been offered, and my heart goes out to those affected by the fires.

The weather has eased today, and most of the fires have been downgraded, but it is still scary and smoky out there.  My thoughts and best wishes go out to those on the mainland experiencing the same or worse right now.

[m2kbug]

Traffic merge, and no one wants to get stuck behind the school bus.  It felt like a song and dance as the bus driver is waiting for my car to speed up front, since no one wants to get stuck behind the bus, while I'm holding back distance to let the bus in and already a car pulled a super-speedy to get in front.  And as the bus turned into the neighborhood, I thought, dang, now I'm going to have to wait while he picks up the million kids at the stop...and the this stop easily has a million kids...this is going to take awhile.  Bus driver hangs his arm out the window and waves me by before he puts up the stop sign.  Appreciation for allowing space to merge?  I hope so, cuz it made my day. 

[siamesecat2965]

I did my own random act of kindness yesterday.  And it seems the whole community is getting in to the spirit of helping, too, which is wonderful to see.

We've suffered two days of blistering heat and high winds - it's worse on Mainland Australia, but it's been pretty darned bad here in Tasmania.  There are several severe bushfires around, with loss of property and possibly life.  There's one near enough to me that I've had burnt leaves and ash blow into my block, and the palls of smoke were unbelievable.

Late yesterday afternoon I headed out to the local service station for some random supplies.  As I drove past the local fire station, I noticed three firies sitting outside.  So while I was at the service station I also purchased 6 icy cold 1-litre bottles of gatorade type drinks, and dropped them off to the firies when I went past, with a big thank you for the dangerous job they do.  They were very grateful!  Little enough, but it was an impulse.  They looked totally exhausted.

As far as the community (and this is incredibly impressive!) - the areas that are burning are mostly rural and small towns, so lots of native animals and livestock.  There has been a facebook page set up to aid in assisting animals affected by the fires - safe grazing for larger livestock (including transport to safe areas), free boarding for cats and dogs, health checks etc for both native and domestic animals from vets.  Offers are coming in from people all over the state to assist which is really heartwarming to see.  In addition, many people are also offering accommodation for evacuees as well.

The Port Arthur peninsular was cut off (fire across the road) and heaps of people stranded down there.  A gentleman with a large boat offered unlimited trips to return people home via water. 

The various facebook pages have been so incredibly active, from all sorts of people, it's just amazing.  Tasmania has a small population, fairly scattered outside the major towns, and most of the rural folk have been hit pretty hard by the current financial situation, but they're still there offering help when needed.  I admit, I got a bit teary-eyed last night just thinking of how much help has been offered, and my heart goes out to those affected by the fires.

The weather has eased today, and most of the fires have been downgraded, but it is still scary and smoky out there.  My thoughts and best wishes go out to those on the mainland experiencing the same or worse right now.

I saw this on the news here in the US, but don't recall specifically where in Australia they were showing.  Wow - that is scary. I hope its all over for you soon, with minimal damage.

[Julian]

It is still going, although several of the larger fires have been downgraded to 'watch and act' they're still impacting severely, and are far from under control.  Several small towns have lost 30-40% of homes and businesses, roads are still cut and it is still smoky as all-get-out all over the state.  Thankfully, most of the  100+ 'missing people' have been accounted for now.

http://www.news.com.au/national/tasmanias-bushfire-missing-located-say-police/story-fndo4eg9-1226548178110  has a picture lower down the page that shows the satellite view of Tasmania with the smoke plumes.  The plumes were also showing up on radar images.  I live to the south-east of the one in the lower middle of the state.  The wind was blowing in my direction, but it appears to have shifted a bit now.

Hopefully there's some rain to come tomorrow, it may help things settle down.

There are quite a few fundraiser events starting up already to help everyone that's been impacted.

Edited to change the wind direction, an earlier pic had the smoke blowing directly at my area. 

[snowdragon]

I went to Micheal's craft store yesterday to spend a gift card. I had some coupons to use if I found anything I liked. I found a couple of things but since they were already on sale I could not use them. But the family ahead of me were deciding what items for their son's school project could be put back and telling the older boy that he could not get anything for his project, he walked out visibly upset I tapped the mom to get her attention and told her to use one coupon - which saved them $18, enough that they could get everything they needed. They paid for the younger kid's stuff and I went to the register. 
  I was not supposed to be able to use either of my coupons - so I was surprised when  my 2 for a buck items came up 3 for 65 cents.  The cashier said "shh, I am giving you my discount, because you helped them out."  As I was leaving I saw the family coming back to get the older boy's stuff and handed them the other coupon.  It made their day - and their obvious joy made mine. And I was really surprised that the cashier was so nice as to give me a discount on already discounted items.

[DottyG]

Is a firies the same as a fireman?

[LibraryLady]

Julian

We in Texas feel your pain with the fires.  Most of Texas has been in severe drought for several years, and we have have lots of range fires and down
be Austin and by Bastrop, the piney wood certainly did burn.      My county is under a burn ban as in 90% of Texas.

they are  calling for 90% chance of rain for us on Wednesday the 9th, we hope to get at least a couple of inches if not more.

I hope moisture comes quickly for both Tasmania and Australia

[Julian]

Is a firies the same as a fireman?

Sorry, DottyG, yes, fireman (or in the case I saw, two firemen and one fire woman).