Sometimes, you just gotta do the right thing.

[Frank the Tank]

So, its a long story but a good one I think.

The weather here (Southwestern Ontario) has been pretty cold lately, especially in the mornings and after work. I was on my way to a job interview one day after work, about 5:30 or so and had to stop for gas. It was windy and freaking COLD and as I ran in to pay, I noticed an older gentleman (75-80ish) taking stuff out of his trunk as he was parked beside the building. I thought it was odd and went in and paid for my gas. On the way out, I noticed he was pulling his spare out and that his rear tire was flat. I stopped and looked at my watch. I had half an hour to get across town to my interview. Surely someone would help this nice old man as it was rush hour and the gas station was packed.

I stood there and watch six or so people walk right by and completely ignore him and realized that I had to do what i had to do. I walked over and said hi and offered to help. He said "it was OK, I probably had somewhere I needed to go". Thats when I noticed his license plate with a poppy on it, meaning he was a vet. By his age, he was obviously a WW2 vet. I pointed to his plate and said I'd be happy to help. So we change his tire on his massive Buick or whatever it was, he thanked me endlessly, tried to give me money (which I refused), introduced me to his wife and all that.

So by this time I am for sure going to be late for my interview. I wasn't looking for a new job, this just came up through former co-workers and this guy wanted to meet me. Normally I wouldn't even go, but this job was at one of the biggest companies in North America, so, potentially a good move.

I get there late, apologize to the secretary for being late. She says John (just for the sake of putting in a name) doesn't even want to see me any more. To which I replied "no story is good enough, eh?" She kind of shook her head "no" but asked me what it was anyhow. I gave her the quick version and she was rather impressed. Plus I had grease all over my hands so I had proof! She goes into the office and comes back out in a few minutes with John in tow. Now, he is what you might call a "heavy hitter". He has control over a massive budget and no doubt makes more in two months than what my house is worth.

I can tell at first glance that John is what you might call....hmmm...whats the word.....a prick. Total, complete ass-hat. I apologize again and tell him I just "had to do the right thing and help this old vet out", to which he replies "well I think the right thing is to be on time for meetings no matter what." I stood there for a couple seconds in stunned silence, not really believing what I had heard. He is obviously wanting me to kiss ass to get the interview. I calmly stuck out my hand and shook his and said "well I'm sorry to have wasted your time John" and turned to walk out before he could respond. His secretary (who was SMOKING HOT by the way) shot me the wickedest little smirk as I walked out and left Mr. Big Shot standing there dumbfounded.

I know I just missed an opportunity to instantly increase my salary by at least 50% and have benefits and a pension and all that crap, but it was worth it to wipe that smug look off of that pricks face.

And I couldn't stop smiling all the way home.


Any other good stories about doin' tha right thang!?

[TheyCallMeBruce]

That is awesome. Good for you for doing the right thing. This world is seriously mess up when being a good samaritan is no longer regarded as the "wise thing" to do.

[Bill Bumface]

Hahahaha... Awesome story!! If you would have been working directly for him, it sounds like it wouldn't have been worth it anyway. I love it when people think themselves/their business are the end all and be all and someone "below them" puts them in their place. Nice work. Thats probably why I'll never be a higher-up guy, I would have hired you on the spot just because of that.

[mykalberta]

I commed you sir, if 1/100,000 of Canada's population was like that, this country would be 100,000 X Greater to live in.

Regards,

Michael.

MYK

[bluejays]

I've given homeless people who said they needed money badly (they didn't appear to be homeless), then while I'm watching them, move on right over to the LCBO. That actually happened once. Another time a few years back I park my call in Wal-Mart and this lady with a complete fur coat comes rushing up to my car as I'm about to park (almost hitting her), and so I park and open my door to yell what the fack she is doing and she starts crying...I ask her what's wrong, she says her car ran out of gas and she has no money, credit cards or anything like that. She asks me if I can spare $2, so I say no sweat...look into my wallet, and all I have is a $5 bill. I'm 18 at the time making minimum wage, but this lady needed help, so I give it to her. I found it odd though (b/c of the fur coat), so I decided to follow her...she goes to Wal-Mart and straight to the cosmetics section. I was steamed, but didn't do anything...just a bit disappointed. Another story...lost wallet at the ACC while I was working there...gave it to a coworker who was going on break to turn it in, he steals it, I come in next day, and next thing I know is cops are questioning me. I explain to them what I did, the bum coworker says I took half the money, and the ACC fires me (even though the police said they thought I was telling the truth). So that's some stuff where I just did the right thing, but it never helped. Good to see that you did the right thing (especially with the old guy, society just seems to ignore old people).

[jolinar of malkshor]

Congrats buddy....we need more people like you. Whenever I see a Vet plate I always go out of my way to be extra friendly and helpful. What goes around comes around.

One thing I do alot is pick up hitch hikers. I have met a lot of strange and funny people this way.

[looooob]

ew. I calmly stuck out my hand and shook his and said "well I'm sorry to have wasted your time John" and turned to walk out before he could respond. good story. was there still grease on your hand when you shook it:D

[bluejays]

One thing I do alot is pick up hitch hikers. I have met a lot of strange and funny people this way.


...you must pack a large set of gonads my friend :D . Too risky for me.

[JiriHrdina]

You're a good man Charlie Brown.

[Cowperson]

You're a good man Charlie Brown.

. . . . . what that guy just said. :kiss:

Cowperson

[Bobblehead]

Excellent story. Good on you, Frank!

That took a brass pair and I hope karma pays you back in spades.

[ken0042]

I can't top your story Frank, but here's one of my moments:

I was living in Winnipeg in an apartment 1/2 a block from their +15 system. It's about -30 out (probably -40 windchill) so I head out wearing a light jacket as I only have a 2 minute walk. During this time I see an old lady carrying her groceries. She would walk 2 steps, stop and have to put down her bags because they were so heavy and she was so cold. I cross the street, and she initially refuses my help. I mention that I can't let her go alone because I don't think she's going to make it, and that I will follow her anyways so she may as well let me help.

I pick up her bags and let her lead the way. She keeps wanting to stop and rest. I recognize this as a sign of hypothermia setting in so I keep talking to her- pushing her along. My hands are freezing as I don't have gloves on and I want to just run, but I keep behind her and keep talking to her.

We get to her house, and walking up the step she offers to pay me. I flat out refuse; saying that hopefully somewhere else somebody is helpoing my own grandmother as well. We get inside, and her husband is mad at first that she spent money they "didn't have" on a cab home from groceries. She insists I'm not a cabbie, and he then notices my frost bitten hands. Then he proceeds to open his wallet to offer to pay me, and I decline as well.

It's good to see that others also believe in random acts of kindness. Often you may not realize how much somebody appreciates it. And on that note, in case she is reading I would like to thank the girl who went and got me water when I was throwing up on Electric Ave in 1991.

[rubecube]

I would definitely send that out to a local media outlet with the guy's name and company. Good on ya!

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Should of said.

"well I'm sorry to have wasted your time John - I thought it was a better thing to help an elderly vet out" for added effect. Make the clear to the guy he was an absolute dick.

That said, you knew you wern't going to take the job anyways in the 1st 5 seconds you met the guy right? Work for a complete asshat? I've been in a similar situation lately and said - no way does money replace hating your job and life.

I wouldn't go to the media like some have suggested - it's a small world...

[The Goon]

You made the right choice, and thankfully you got some validation in seeing that the boss wouldn't have been worth working for.

[return to the red]

One thing I do alot is pick up hitch hikers. I have met a lot of strange and funny people this way.

Brave soul. I have only picked up one hitchhiker and the story goes like this

04 playoff run and I'm hauling ass up to Calgary from Lethbridge driving by myself. I come around the bend to turn onto the #3 and there is this guy completely decked out in Flames gear. I figure to myself, how can I NOT pick up this guy. I pull over and he jumps in. First words out of his mouth are "I knew you would pull over, as soon as I saw the Car flag and could make out the Jersey I knew I had a ride". Guy was a pretty cool guy and beat the hell out of driving by myself. Makes for a great playoff story as well.

Good on ya Frank. Not many people would have done what you have.

[Frank the Tank]

Well thanks guys! I just got back from lunch and re-read and I have to say, I'm not trying to make myself out to be some hero. I was in a win-win situation because i didn't need the job. Hell, I wasn't even looking, so I literally (haha Hulk) had nothing to lose. I wish I could describe his demeanour better. I just knew that the second I met him, that I wanted to punch him in the teeth.

And as far as going to the local media and all that, for now, not a good idea. London is a very small city where lots of people know lots of other people. Thats actually why I ended up with the interview in the first place.

[Dion]

Your a good man, Frank. That was a wonderful thing that you did for that vet. It's a shame there isn't more people like you in this world. You have my utmost respect!

[habernac]

you rule, Frank. I did something similar once, too long ago.

I worked for years at Greyhound Courier Express. Christmas is a real nightmare, 12-16 hour days for a solid month, everyone ends up tired and irritable. Can't remember what exact day it was, around Dec 20th I think. A young Native woman comes in with her baby. A cab brought her there. She got a call that a parcel was there for her. I wasn't working the counter at the time as I was one of the supervisors.

She gets her parcel and opens it up. She starts crying, saying there should have been money in it. There's a few articles of clothing but no cash. She's bawling now. The cabbie has a real heart of gold, berating her for cab fare. I give him $10 and tell him to **** off.

It takes a few minutes, but I manage to calm her down. Her little boy is upset as well and quite obviously needs to be changed. I offer her a ride but she isn't sure how to get back to where she is staying. She calls someone and I get on the phone to ask directions. It turns out she's staying in the Native Women's shelter.

I get everyone in the car and give her a ride over. I was told by the woman on the phone not to get out of the vehicle as a number of their guests are just plain scared of men. She gets out and gives me a smile and a wave. One of the women working there comes out and offers me some cash for the ride and I refuse. "Merry Christmas" I said and smiled. The good deed was it's own reward.

[Frank the Tank]

you rule, Frank. I did something similar once, too long ago.

I worked for years at Greyhound Courier Express. Christmas is a real nightmare, 12-16 hour days for a solid month, everyone ends up tired and irritable. Can't remember what exact day it was, around Dec 20th I think. A young Native woman comes in with her baby. A cab brought her there. She got a call that a parcel was there for her. I wasn't working the counter at the time as I was one of the supervisors.

She gets her parcel and opens it up. She starts crying, saying there should have been money in it. There's a few articles of clothing but no cash. She's bawling now. The cabbie has a real heart of gold, berating her for cab fare. I give him $10 and tell him to **** off.

It takes a few minutes, but I manage to calm her down. Her little boy is upset as well and quite obviously needs to be changed. I offer her a ride but she isn't sure how to get back to where she is staying. She calls someone and I get on the phone to ask directions. It turns out she's staying in the Native Women's shelter.

I get everyone in the car and give her a ride over. I was told by the woman on the phone not to get out of the vehicle as a number of their guests are just plain scared of men. She gets out and gives me a smile and a wave. One of the women working there comes out and offers me some cash for the ride and I refuse. "Merry Christmas" I said and smiled. The good deed was it's own reward.

Awesome. Good on ya Habby!

[Jagger]

Excellent story and I commend you for your selfless act.

I have a similar story, in a way.

One day I was running a tad late for an important sales call. This was for a large contract that, at the time, was extremely important that I close the deal.

Anyway, I'm driving along when I see an old lady crossing the street, literally hurdling a large snowbank. She takes a really nasty tumble and is laying flat out in the middle of the road! To my absolute astonishment a few cars actually drive by her missing her by less than a foot! I couldn't believe it. Of course I stopped to help, as any decent human being would do. The lady was in some pain so I offered to drive her either to the hospital or to her residence. She lived in an old folks home about 10 minutes or so away. We got there and I managed to get her inside and looked after.

Needless to say, I was very late for the important sales call. My client was not happy at all. P.O.ed to be frank. Thankfully, he was not a prick like Frank's dude and came around pretty darn quickly once I told him the story. He actually ended up shaking my hand and thanking me for rescuing the lady while stating that we need more people doing honourable acts like that! Wow. I was blown away. We ended up getting the contract and I went back to the old folks home a day or two later and the lady was recovering nicely from her accident.

Sometimes you can do the right thing AND come out ahead anyway.

Nice story Frank. Well done.

[Reaper]

Good on you, Frank! You have inspired me to "pay it forward" this week. However, I generally get people refusing my help even when they clearly need it because they are intimidated by my size so I'll just have to go the vigilante justice route and beat up some poor guy trying to get into his house after forgetting his keys or something like that...

[jar_e]

I tip my hat to you Frank. I guess sometimes a good act is more rewarding than a good paycheck. Definitely a great story to read and brighten my day, I'm sure it brightened the vet's day even more.

[Bobblehead]

Excellent thread. 5 Starts!

[Frank the Tank]

Good on you, Frank! You have inspired me to "pay it forward" this week. However, I generally get people refusing my help even when they clearly need it because they are intimidated by my size so I'll just have to go the vigilante justice route and beat up some poor guy trying to get into his house after forgetting his keys or something like that...

I actually get that a lot as well Reaper. Surprising that so many people are terrified of a big dude.

[SpecialK12]

Great thread.

I love stories like this. Unfortunately, like this one they don't always have the best ending.

I was going to work one day and before hand was up at Dalhousie Roger's video. I came out and was heading over to the safeway. Right next to the Roger's is a liqour store. As I was walking past a homeless guy stopped me and asked if I could spare any change as he was hungry. I said "sorry, all I have is interac, if you wait 5 minutes I'll talk to you once I come out of Safeway." I wasn't making much at the time, but obviously more than this guy and felt good I was going to buy him a sandwich (instead of giving him money outside the liqour store).
So I go in, get what I need and get the guy a pre-made safeway sandwich. I come out with a big smile, greet the guy and hand him the sandwich. He takes it, looks at me with a disgusted look and says "does this have ham on it? I don't like ham". I should note that this guy was white as white can be (so unless he converted at some point, I don't think he was muslim). I looked at him shocked for a minute and said "are you serious?". He said "could I just have some money instead?" I grabbed the sandwich from his hands, walk right back into the safeway to customer service - told her the story and she gave me my money back for the sandwich.
I then proceeded to walk out of the safeway right past the guy shaking my head at him. He looked completely oblivious as to why I was upset.

[Sample00]

yer a good man, Frank
well done!:#1:

[fredr123]

...you must pack a large set of gonads my friend :D . Too risky for me.

Ha ha! :blink:

[someguy51]

Good stuff! Given that, its probably not the type of place one would want to work at anyways.

Although, I wonder if he would have reacted differently if you called before you were late to let him know what you were doing.

[Frank the Tank]

Good stuff! Given that, its probably not the type of place one would want to work at anyways.

Although, I wonder if he would have reacted differently if you called before you were late to let him know what you were doing.

I really doubt it. You really had to see this guy. So hard to describe the aura of snottiness surrounding him. He just begged to be punched in the lips.

[Stranger]

Whenever anyone does something noble like that it always reminds me of a line from the Billy Joe Shaver song "That's why the Man in Black sings the blues".

"There's so precious few among us walking in the saviors shoes..."

Good job Frank. Nothing like helping someone in need and sticking it to the man in the same hour.

PS Good song by a good old outlaw country singer.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

I met a friend of mine through a good deed. People often say my story is super cute, but a manly man such as myself refuse to acknowledge that.

Some time in the summer, I was driving home in a rainstorm on deerfoot. As I was driving, i noticed off a distance away a car was flashing its hazards and what look like an asian girl struggling to haul her spare out of her trunk. She wasn't a tall girl (about 4'11" maybe 5'1" at the most) and she was soaking wet. I slowed down, pulled over, and stepped out of the car. To my surprise, she dropped her tire and ran into her car and locked the door lol. I figured she was probably just trying to be safe, so I walked up to the driver side and asked if she was ok, and if she needed any help. First thing I noticed was how super cute this girl was. She rolled her window down till there was a little crack (about 1/4 inch) and said she was fine and that she didn't need any help. Even thinking about it now makes me laugh. Noticing that she was a bit scared, I offered again to help and assured her I only had good intentions. I gave her my license through the window crack and told her to call someone, tell them who she's with and where she is currently at. This helped put her at ease a little.

I went to work and changed her tire. Once i was done, I told her she can come out and inspect it once I have driven away. To my surprise, she opened the car door, gave me my license back, and thanked me for helping her. I got in the car and drove off, keeping an eye on the rear view to make sure that she was able to drive off as well.

So a few weeks later I get a phone call. She somehow managed to track me down. I'm guessing she copied my address from my license and did a reverse number lookup. We went out for a thank you supper and still remain friends today.

[Igottago]

Is it just me, or is does there seem to be very few people who would actually do things like this? Our society seems to place more value on being self-serving, and seems to be getting worse all the time. I like hearing good stories like this.

[Mr.Coffee]

I've given homeless people who said they needed money badly (they didn't appear to be homeless), then while I'm watching them, move on right over to the LCBO. That actually happened once. Another time a few years back I park my call in Wal-Mart and this lady with a complete fur coat comes rushing up to my car as I'm about to park (almost hitting her), and so I park and open my door to yell what the fack she is doing and she starts crying...I ask her what's wrong, she says her car ran out of gas and she has no money, credit cards or anything like that. She asks me if I can spare $2, so I say no sweat...look into my wallet, and all I have is a $5 bill. I'm 18 at the time making minimum wage, but this lady needed help, so I give it to her. I found it odd though (b/c of the fur coat), so I decided to follow her...she goes to Wal-Mart and straight to the cosmetics section. I was steamed, but didn't do anything...just a bit disappointed. Another story...lost wallet at the ACC while I was working there...gave it to a coworker who was going on break to turn it in, he steals it, I come in next day, and next thing I know is cops are questioning me. I explain to them what I did, the bum coworker says I took half the money, and the ACC fires me (even though the police said they thought I was telling the truth). So that's some stuff where I just did the right thing, but it never helped. Good to see that you did the right thing (especially with the old guy, society just seems to ignore old people).

hahaha man, I have YET to see anything positive posted by you. Everything you talk about is negative. Come on now, you should be honest with us. You've never tried to help someone and it worked out?

[Mr.Coffee]

Is it just me, or is does there seem to be very few people who would actually do things like this? Our society seems to place more value on being self-serving, and seems to be getting worse all the time. I like hearing good stories like this.

1. Sometimes it's not obvious when a person needs help or when they don't.

2. Sometimes it's unsafe to approach strangers in particular circumstances.

3. Stories like this pop up every now and then. At least I hear about them.

4. Do you believe that as time progresses humans just naturally become less moral? Less willing to help? Just because? Do you believe it is society's influence? Do you think society is progressively getting worse?

In my opinion, it is the city's growth. If you go to a small town, stuff like this is more common. Why? Because everybody knows each other.

[MarchHare]

Awesome story, Frank! Add me to the chorus of people commending you for doing the right thing. :)

I am forced to wonder, though, didn't you have a phone on you (or could have used the one at the gas station)? Surely if you had called the company, told them your story over the phone, and apologized in advance for being late, you might have been able to do the good deed and still get the interview.

[habernac]

Is it just me, or is does there seem to be very few people who would actually do things like this? Our society seems to place more value on being self-serving, and seems to be getting worse all the time. I like hearing good stories like this.

There are definitely good people out there. It's just hard to see them sometimes. I remember a few years back taking the bus home quite a bit. This one lady would get on the bus, obviously very pregnant. No one would give up a seat for her. It got to be pretty funny, I'd always stand up and offer mine. "You again?" she'd say and would laugh (and always a very pleasant thank you). And why don't women ever offer their seats to woman who are pregnant?

I definitely have to get back into the habit of doing nice things for people. I can't remember the last time I did anything noteworthy.

[PowerPlayoffs06]

Some great stories in this thread. Kudos to all the Better Men we have here.

I have a few good stories too, but for every story I have about doing the right thing and it having a positive result, I have 10 more about doing the right thing and being scammed for it. More and more as the city grows and more people arrive, the ignorance factor of society seems to rise.

Like Mr.Coffee says, in a small town everybody knows eachother, so good things go around because people have reputations and can't hide in the crowd whereas in the big city, you're more than likely never going to see the person you've wronged agian, so who cares, right? If people know who you are, or you believe that you can somehow be held accountable, you're less inclined to be a jerk.

That's the problem with anonymity; no fear of repercussion for your actions or inactions. Just look at the internet.

A *perfect* example of this happened to me just the other day. I was driving home from class and in my rearview I see some guy in a red pick-up weaving in and out of traffic, cutting people off and just driving like an ass. As he's driving by me, I notice he has a For Sale sign in his back window with his cell number on it so I make a mental note of it and watch him continue to weave and cut across multiple lanes of traffic. I decide to call him up.

"Hello?"
"Hi, you have the red Chevy pick-up for sale?"
"Yup."
"Great. Stop driving like such an *******. The last thing anybody needs is you causing an accident."

Then I hung up on him and watched with smug amusement as the rest of the way down Glenmore, he drove normally knowing that he could be recognized and held accountable for behaving like a dick.

I don't entirely blame the growth of the city for peoples attitudes, because mainly it's up to people to choose whether they want to be a jerk or not, but it doesn't help.

[Frank the Tank]

Awesome story, Frank! Add me to the chorus of people commending you for doing the right thing. :)

I am forced to wonder, though, didn't you have a phone on you (or could have used the one at the gas station)? Surely if you had called the company, told them your story over the phone, and apologized in advance for being late, you might have been able to do the good deed and still get the interview.

I am the only person on this earth who does not have a cell phone. I loathe them. I guess I could have called, but it didn't occur to me. Plus, I didn't have his phone number handy or anything. Ah well, its all pointless speculation because i couldn't have worked for such an ass-clown anyhow. The feeling on the drive home was worth every potentially lost penny!:D

[simmer2]

I have a similar story that just goes to show what a simple act of kindness can do.

I was in Krakow, Poland and my buddy and I decided to go to Auschwitz, the concentration camp from WWII. It was a fairly long day with lots information and lots of emotion. People from all over the world were there to learn about the atrocities.

Anyways, it's about 4:30pm and my buddy had left to go back to the hostel early. I'm walking back towards the entrance along the railroad tracks (where they brought the trainloads of prisoners in) and see this elderly lady up ahead of me who was struggling with a heavy purse. She was probably 4'11, and the weight of her purse made her look like a human version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

I caught up to her and asked her if I could carry her purse. She was more than willing to give it to me, and so we started chatting. She asked me about where I was from, why I would come to a horrible place like Auschwitz. I then asked her why she was there, and she said "I was a prisoner here 60 years ago."

I wish I could have seen the look on my face. This elderly lady, 76 years old, was in the camp when she was 16. We started chatting, and for the next 1.5 hours, she gave me a tour of the camp. She shared stories, talked about the conditions, showed me where the children stayed, how they bribed the guards, snuck more food and clothing in, everything. It was an unbelievable experience.

To this day, I can envision nearly every single second of that 1.5 hours. All because I offered to carry a purse.

[Jagger]

I met a friend of mine through a good deed. People often say my story is super cute, but a manly man such as myself refuse to acknowledge that.



That's a great story too.

What a great thread.

[SaskaBushFire]

You are border line hero-idiot. Can't decide which yet. Good story though.

[OilersBaby]

Here's something that a total stranger did for me and I will always be very thankful.

I'm hypoglycemic..that's kind of like being diabetic, but instead of your glucose levels getting dangerously high, they get dangerously low. Not enough sugar/glucose makes you feel really dizzy and f I don't eat for a while, I end up feeling like I have no energy and as though I'm going to faint. When I travel, I always pack high protein snacks and also some with sugar in case I need the instant energy.

A few years ago when I was in college I had to take the train with my luggage. My flight out of San Francisco (60 miles away) was at 8 am. I live in San Jose so I had to take the 4:45 Caltrain to make sure I got there.

When I was on the train, someone stole my bag with my snacks. I thought "oh well, I'll just buy more snacks at the airport". When I got to the airport, the magnetic swipe on my debit and credit cards wasn't working, they'd somehow been demagnetized. I had just figured that I'd stop by the ATM at the airport and hadnt stopped by at the bank since it was early. I wasn't going to get home to Fort McMurray for another 12 hours or so (flying from SF-Seattle-Calgary-Edmonton-Fort McMurray - it was a flight I booked using airmiles so thats the reason for all the connections).

I knew that soon, I wouldnt be feeling well because when you're hypoglycemic, you need to eat or your glucose level DROPS to dangerous levels. What was worse that my flight got delayed out of SF. When I got to the Calgary airport around 3 pm or so, I felt so sick, I thought I was going to faint. I knew that my blood sugar levels were dangerously low. I went through all of my pockets and everything for change, and only had $0.67 - not even enough at any of the fast food restaurants. I was in the airport Harveys, and I was so hungry, I asked a few "nice looking" people if they could spare some change because I had been awake since 430 and hadnt had much to eat since my snack bag was stolen. They all walked away :(. I know that normal people wouldnt feel so sick for skipping lunch, but my severe hypoglycemia makes me feel really sick, like I'm going to pass out there. Well, some nice lady (in a flames t shirt nonetheless) asked me what's wrong? I said, Im sorry, this is really dumb, but...and then I explained to her what had happened. She handed me a $5 and said go "get yourself some food honey". I bought myself a hamburger and a soda and went to give her the change, but she refused it. I asked for her business card, and when I got back to California, I sent her a box of chocolates from the local Ghirardelli store as well as a thank you email because she saved me from fainting. Random acts of kindness are so nice.

I know most people wouldve done the same, but the truth is, no one else asked if I was okay.

So when you help someone, remember that one day, you may need help too.

[bluejays]

hahaha man, I have YET to see anything positive posted by you. Everything you talk about is negative. Come on now, you should be honest with us. You've never tried to help someone and it worked out?


lol...I'm a bitter young man. Of course I have. I have a disabled grandmother whom I take care of daily. I do minor stuff most of the time without thinking...like holding the doors open for people. Not much to say I guess.

[Azure]

Great stories, and a great thread. You da man Frank!

[looooob]

I have a similar story that just goes to show what a simple act of kindness can do.

I was in Krakow, Poland and my buddy and I decided to go to Auschwitz, the concentration camp from WWII. It was a fairly long day with lots information and lots of emotion. People from all over the world were there to learn about the atrocities.

Anyways, it's about 4:30pm and my buddy had left to go back to the hostel early. I'm walking back towards the entrance along the railroad tracks (where they brought the trainloads of prisoners in) and see this elderly lady up ahead of me who was struggling with a heavy purse. She was probably 4'11, and the weight of her purse made her look like a human version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

I caught up to her and asked her if I could carry her purse. She was more than willing to give it to me, and so we started chatting. She asked me about where I was from, why I would come to a horrible place like Auschwitz. I then asked her why she was there, and she said "I was a prisoner here 60 years ago."

I wish I could have seen the look on my face. This elderly lady, 76 years old, was in the camp when she was 16. We started chatting, and for the next 1.5 hours, she gave me a tour of the camp. She shared stories, talked about the conditions, showed me where the children stayed, how they bribed the guards, snuck more food and clothing in, everything. It was an unbelievable experience.

To this day, I can envision nearly every single second of that 1.5 hours. All because I offered to carry a purse.
I'm not sure I could imagine a more powerful experience. wow

[return to the red]

I'm not sure I could imagine a more powerful experience. wow

My thoughts exactly, it's one thing to be somewhere like that but to get a first hand account would be something that you would never forget.

Came back from Hawaii in September and went to Pearl Harbour, that alone was such a memorable experience I couldn't imagine what a trip to a place like Auschwitz would be like

[gordo67]

I will give a homeless person any change I have in my pocket. I really don't care what they do with it because they eventually will need money to eat. If I don't have change I just say sorry and keep walking. The best was when I was driving by the drop in center going to a game. I stopped at the lights and this rough looking native guy knocks on the windowof my truck. I roll down the window and he proceeds by saying he isn't going to lie to me. He says he needed something like $1.45 to buy a bottle of beer (shows me his change) I laugh and gave him a few bucks, at least he was honest.

[Sparks]

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories. Awesome stuff.

...I come out with a big smile, greet the guy and hand him the sandwich. He takes it, looks at me with a disgusted look and says "does this have ham on it? I don't like ham"...Funny story - my mom used to buy coupons (for nearby Subway, Tim Hortons, etc) so she could give them out to homeless people on the way to work. Some appreciated it, but she found it pretty hillarious how some of them started avoiding her because they wanted cash.

Thought that was funny, and a pretty good idea.

[Sylvanfan]

I am the only person on this earth who does not have a cell phone.

No, theres two of us!

I'm sure something more to your liking will come up for you. I don't believe in much, but usually if you conduct yourself in a manner like you did I do believe something good eventually will come up.

I was in France like 10 years back and there was an American veteran there visiting for the 50th anniversary for the end of the war. Him and his wife were having a tough time figuring out what platform their train was going to be at, and the French folk weren't feeling like speaking English to Americans that day. I was travelling with a some friends and my french was good enough to get by and one of my travelling mates was really fluent in the language. So we found out where and when their train was coming and assited them getting there as the train station in Caen required you to go up and down a set of stairs to get to the platform (no elevator). In talking to them I felt a bit bad that people weren't quite as thankfull to an American Veteran who'd fought there there as they seemed to be to us Canadians who's parents hadn't even been born when that war was fought.

It was a good time to be in Europe though. Everyone in France, Holland, and Belgium was offering us discounts. Even the girls in the Redlight district claimed 25% discounts for Canadian boys. The Germans just spat at us when we went to Germany.:whaa:

[SaskaBushFire]

If they were spitting on Canadians I would hate to see what they did to the Russians!!

[Dion]

I am the only person on this earth who does not have a cell phone. I loathe them. I guess I could have called, but it didn't occur to me. Plus, I didn't have his phone number handy or anything. Ah well, its all pointless speculation because i couldn't have worked for such an ass-clown anyhow. The feeling on the drive home was worth every potentially lost penny!:D

Well, I don't have one either. It's too bad they don't give out ass clown awards, that moron would probably get #1 status for 07 :D

[BlackArcher101]

04 playoff run and I'm hauling ass up to Calgary from Lethbridge driving by myself. I come around the bend to turn onto the #3 and there is this guy completely decked out in Flames gear. I figure to myself, how can I NOT pick up this guy. I pull over and he jumps in. First words out of his mouth are "I knew you would pull over, as soon as I saw the Car flag and could make out the Jersey I knew I had a ride". Guy was a pretty cool guy and beat the hell out of driving by myself. Makes for a great playoff story as well.

Was this guy standing on the exit ramp turning off of University Dr to Hwy 3?
If he was, I drove by this guy before you... heading to the game.... with my jersey on... with numerous car flags. I feel like an asshat now :ph34r:

[jolinar of malkshor]

...you must pack a large set of gonads my friend :D . Too risky for me.

Well....my wife says the same thing....she will never let me pick up a hitch hiker if shw is with me. I have never felt threatened yet when picking someone up....maybe that is because I am use to dealing with strange people and being in high stress situations....so maybe that is why.

Just a few hitch hiker stories.

One time I was driving home from work in Southern Alberta and I see these two hitch hikers ("HH"). I pull over and next thing I know they run into the ditch and bring back two large garbage bags. I ask what is inside and they say "we need to go to the bottle depot". Ok...I take them to Lethrbidge and drop them off at the closest bus stop.

Another time same area I pull over for this women HH. She jumps in and says she really needs to get to Lethbridge to find her husband because he hasn't been home for over a week and she has been in her home with no food. (She lives in the country). She says her husband was suppose to go to Lethbridge and get groceries but he has not been back for a week. I asked her where he might be and he she tells me he is probably at the bar in Lethbridge....I start driving and she begins to cry....really hard. I ask what is wrong and she says that her house is haunted and she was all alone in her house with a ghost. Well....she cried all the way to Lethbridge (45 mins away). I dropped her off downtown Lethbridge and wished her good luck.

As for people asking for money....I usually never give money out. I will ask what they need the money for and most of the time they say it is for food. If there is a fast food spot near by I will usually offer to go buy them something. Sometimes they do sometimes they don't. What I have found quite a few times over the last 6 months....people coming up to me in the parking lot of a mall and explain to me that they have just arrived in Calgary from down east....have been looking for a place to stay and work but have ran out of money. I always offer to take them somewhere to buy them some food....everytime except this one guy they refuse. This one guys did take me up on the offer and I took him to A&W. I said order what ever you want. He did and he seemed sooo happy.

[J pold]

Wow some of these stories are pretty amazing I must say and Kudos to all

On time I was at superstore or wal mart are something along those lines I am only there to grab a small item I am walking out when I see a young child balling his eyes out he was clearly lost, at first I just watched the kid to see if an adult would approach him because I was only 18 at the time but when a bunch of people just ignored the kid so I approached

He was about 4 years old and has lost his mother; I calmed him down and asked him how long he had been without her. He said it was pretty long so I walked him over to MacDonald’s and bought him an ice cream cone he was pretty happy now, but I grew worried as I had not herd anything over the intercom about a missing child, we went to customer service and asked if anyone was missing there child but they didnt know so I just walked around the store with the guy for about 25 minutes

When to my relief a women comes running up and starts screaming at her kid that he should never wander off again, she was clearly upset and didn’t really appreciate me helping the young boy, telling the boy he should never talk to strangers and that next time I should just mind my own business I could understand her frustration and worry so it wasn’t a big deal I knew I had helped the kid and I hope he does to

And my whenever I write to my foster child in Pakistan I feel really good, I just sent him and his family enough money to have fresh water for at least a month

And there was the one time I have CaptainCanada80 a ride home from the dome

[FlamesKickAss]

good on ya frank, and everyone else who has a similar story, you make this world a better place to live in

[Devils'Advocate]

I can think of one.

I was getting ready for a blind date that a buddy of mine had set up for me. As I was headed out the door, my landlord knocked. He said that the woman in the apartment above me was having computer problems. I didn't know the woman very well at all... I mean I had seen her in the laundry room before but we had never spoken. I told the landlord that I'd be happy to look at the computer the following evening but I was off on a date. He said that it was an emergency and she really needed someone ASAP. So I looked at my watch and figured I had 5 minutes to spare. I went up and the woman was crying uncontrollably.

What I found out was that she had just moved here from Russia. She had been dumped by her husband who had spent everything they ever had on booze. She was three months behind on the rent and was about to get an eviction notice. She had managed to land a huge russian-english translating contract, but the document needed to be in at midnight because they needed it reproduced and binded before a 9am conference. She had the document on her hard-drive and the machine wouldn't boot. I quickly summized that it was more than a 5 minute job.

I think it was more out of a "how big of a jerk would I feel like if I left this woman in this predicament?" than a "I'll be a nice guy" sentiment. I wasn't able to get the girl at home, but I called the restaurant, gave them the same description I was given and asked that they tell her that I wasn't going to make it.

I tell ya, there is nothing worse than trying to fix a computer with a 60 year old woman sitting on her bed sniffling and dabbing her eyes. I knew that her emotion had far more to do with her prediciment than the computer breakdown. That was just the proverbial straw. So while I'm working away at the computer, I'm trying to calm the woman down so I'm doing simultaneous tech-support psychiatry and doing a far better job on the former than the latter. An hour and a half later, after re-installing the whole operating system and running some diagnostic checks we were able to get her document back up.

I never did meet the girl. I did phone her to apologize but she'd have none of it. I just chalk it up to "wasn't meant to be". And since I've never seen her, meh, I just picture her as Roseanne Barr.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

I can think of one.

I never did meet the girl. I did phone her to apologize but she'd have none of it. I just chalk it up to "wasn't meant to be". And since I've never seen her, meh, I just picture her as Roseanne Barr.

Well, she was probably a serial rapist and you dodge a bullet there by not ending up her next victim.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

I never did meet the girl. I did phone her to apologize but she'd have none of it. I just chalk it up to "wasn't meant to be". And since I've never seen her, meh, I just picture her as Roseanne Barr.

Hmmm.... considering your username and the other thread going on, I was picturing her as this.....:clown:

http://www.fresh99.com/images/frenchnewsanchor/M-Theuriau-0154.jpg


Just kidding of course...

[J pold]

^^
Wow that is one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen

[ericschand]

I too have a few, a couple of them amusing.

I was riding the C-Train and sitting down, all the seats were taken.
On gets this elderly lady who can barely walk, let alone be expected to
stand on the train. There were some young kids there, but they
didn't move.

So I offered her the seat, and she thanked me and sat down.

Then she pipes up, nice and loud, "At least someone has some
chivalry!" As I glanced around, I didn't think there was stuff that
interesting outside the train.

Another time I was in Wendy's. An obviously homeless man was
at the counter trying to figure out what he could buy. He turned
around and had this look. I don't know how to describe it, but it
said hungry. Very hungry. He has enough for a small fries, and
even then with tax it was 3 cents short, but the kid running the
till covered it.

So I got out of line, went up and asked him if he wanted anything
else? He had started with a burger, so I told the kid to put that
on the list and add a drink too, and then paid for it. Mr Homeless
was very thankful about that.

When I went back to my spot in line, you would have thought I
was a leper the way people distanced themselves from me. :bag:

Finally, I was in Walmart and in line as a group of elderly disabled
people were checking out. Every till that was open had some
elderly people in it. So I got into line. There were a few chaperones
but they were very busy.

The elderly lady a couple of customers ahead of me could barely
lift a tin can of food, let alone some of the other items in the cart.
So, I jumped ahead, and helped her put the stuff on the belt,
then load her cart so she could go.

She thanked me and offered me some cash, but I said no,
drop it in the charity thing on the way out. Why do they always
think we want money, it's insulting to me? [Amazingly, I went
back to where I had left my cart in line, and the b**ch behind
me had pushed my cart out of the way and decided I wasn't in
line anymore?!? :blink: I really gave her cart a thump, moved it, and
got back in line. You just wonder sometimes.]

I had just dropped my car off at the tire repair, as one tire had a
slow leak and they wanted $10 to repair it. I went to pick up my
car and the guy behind the counter says the tire had a nail, so
they pulled and patched it. I give him my credit card, but he says
no charge, he "doesn't feel like entering it into the system." :D

What goes around, comes around, I guess.

ers

[jam26]

Good thread. My acts of kindness don't really compare to some of these. My most recent experience I had was a couple months ago, while hanging out at my g/f's townhouse. Someone knocked on the door at about 10 p.m. on a Saturday. Normally, the g/f just doesn't answer the door when she's not expecting someone, but I answered it and it was a distraught lady who said she locked herself out of her car and required $9 to pay the locksmith. She also said she's suffering from cancer and was just leaving a friend's house.

Well, I'm not sure her story added up. After all, why couldn't she have asked her friend for help? And why $9 specifically? At any rate, I scrounged up a $5 bill and some toonies and loonies to reach the $9 she requested. "You WILL see this again," she said. She was extremely greatful. Well, I never saw it again, and I do wonder about the legitimacy of her story. But it was only $9. And her gratitude made it worthwhile.

The poppy licence plates are a great concept. I manage to restrain my road rage when the car in front of me has a poppy plate.

[4X4]

Good job Frank. Let me assure you that what goes around comes around... It happened to me:


One day my friend and I were driving around after a huge dump of snow when we happened across an old fellah in a big boat, trying to climb a hill. No problem. My old 4x4 was a towing machine. I hooked up my tow rope and we were at the top of the hill in no time.
Once we were up there, we unhooked the old guy and spied an old lady trying to get her car onto the road, over the big mound of snow that the plows push up against the cars.
Even easier, my buddy and I just sauntered over and started pushing. Boom, shes out.
We're starting to feel pretty good about ourselves and we decide to hit Timmys for some coffee. On the way, we push out another person over the plow mound (anyone got a real name for that?).


Here's the cool thing: We hit the drive thru at Tim Hortons and ordered a coffee and a sandwich each. Bill was about $10. We get up to the window and the cashier tells us that the person in front of us paid for us.

What goes around comes around.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Good thread. My acts of kindness don't really compare to some of these. My most recent experience I had was a couple months ago, while hanging out at my g/f's townhouse. Someone knocked on the door at about 10 p.m. on a Saturday. Normally, the g/f just doesn't answer the door when she's not expecting someone, but I answered it and it was a distraught lady who said she locked herself out of her car and required $9 to pay the locksmith. She also said she's suffering from cancer and was just leaving a friend's house.

Well, I'm not sure her story added up. After all, why couldn't she have asked her friend for help? And why $9 specifically? At any rate, I scrounged up a $5 bill and some toonies and loonies to reach the $9 she requested. "You WILL see this again," she said. She was extremely greatful. Well, I never saw it again, and I do wonder about the legitimacy of her story. But it was only $9. And her gratitude made it worthwhile.

The poppy licence plates are a great concept. I manage to restrain my road rage when the car in front of me has a poppy plate.

I had the exact same thing happen to me about 6 months ago. Exact same story.....the story was so stupid....I told her to get lost.....I knew she was lieing to me. What kind of story is that anyhow?

BTW I did ask here why $9.....I said it costs a lot more than that to have a locksmith come down and open a lock.....she said that is all she was short.