4/26/96  Being from Atlanta, we left town during freaknik.  I understand that the kids had a great time and nothing bad happened.  I also live on a park and when I returned my vacation, I can home to a very polluted park.  While I was walking my dog, I went around and picked up all of the trash and through it away.  Those of us who frequent the park tend to pick up after those who just stop by.  What made me feel good about doing this was that another person in the park came up and helped.

4/19/96    This is rather minor but it makes me feel good. I had just moved to Alpharetta from Fayetteville and in the week between moving into the new place and leaving the old, I had to go through the toll booth on Georgia 400 often. This long drive often left me feeling tired and cranky. But I found that a sure cure to traffic stress is paying the toll for the person behind you!  Every time I did this, I felt better.  The toll taker would give me this look like "wow, this is cool" and somehow, my ride would improve.
I figure some day I will need some help so I try to do what I can when I can.  We're all in this together...

4/15/96    I've never forgotten the tow truck driver who towed my "write-off" car away from a highway accident when I was 20 and very distraught. He tried to calm me down, bought me a cold soft drink (soda pop) and drove me home.  I didn't realize until later that this level of service was far from typical.

4/12/96    One day my sister and I rode to the grocery store on our bikes.  After purchasing 2 bags of groceries we laboriously started to ride home. Halfway there, both plastic bags broke, the contents spilling all over the road. Luckily, neither of us were hurt.  After picking up our groceries, we pondered how to get the food home.  To our surprise, a man that we had never seen before asked us if we were all right, and offered us 2 brand new bags. That day we both learned the value of helping others.

4/4/96    A few years ago my aunts washing machine broke.  She lives with her husband and her two young boys.  She did not have the money to buy a new one, so she was going to try to survive without one! My grandmother has a lot of money, but she is a little bit selfish!!  She doesn't like to spend money, except for on herself(she's cheap!!!)  I remember my mom, my brother, and I went to the appliance store and we picked out a new washing machine.  We had it sent annonymously to my aunt's house. 

And felt good and at the time, Ididn't understand why my mom wouldn't
say who sent the washing machine, but now I see that that was my mom's random act of kindness.  To this day my aunt still thinks my grandma bought the washing machine, but my mom never says a word.

4/2/96    In Sept. '94, my husband & I re-visited San Francisco -- our honeymoon site of '87.  The recession had hit the city hard -- leaving people (often with babies or pets) begging on every block and corner in the downtown core.  (We live in Toronto, Canada, where there are homeless people but not to the same extent.)  I asked the hotel staff & others about these people & if there were any organizations set up to help them.  Their responses were cold: "Most of them are scam artists or drug addicts.  Don't give them money."  As time past, I felt increasingly sorry for these people.  One morning I bought two big bunches of bananas. That day and every day after I gave a banana to everyone who looked down on their luck. I even placed a banana beside those sleeping on benches. No one refused my bananas & I was blessed more times in those few days than in my entire life.  One AIDS-afflicted man started discussing the virtues of bananas & their potassium.  It was a small way for me to give these people some food & know that my money had not been wasted.  And I didn't find any "scam artists" in the bunch.

4/1/96    One day I was walking down the sidewalk behind an elderly lady. She accidently slipped and the groceries she was carrying slipped out of her arms. The bags ripped and her stuff was strewn about. I stopped and helped her pick her things up and carry them home. In return, she invited me in her home for some hot choclate and cookies.

4/26/96    It seems there aren't enough entries in "Random Acts of Kindness".  I wish people would learn to quit thinking of themselves and start thinking of others.  It is so much more healthy to do that!  Here are some suggestions.

-- Pick a person out of the phone directory and send them a postcard of encouragement.
-- When you dial the wrong number, instead of hanging up, tell the person you are sorry and ask them how their day was.  Listen to them!
-- If you see a mother with screaming, fidgeting babies at the grocery store, etc., buy the children an inexpensive toy to play with while their mother is shopping.

These things not only make the other person feel good, they make you feel good.