Today at cvs i lost my wallet. i have one of those slim wallets and walking to my car it fell between the slots in the seat of the carriage. before leaving the parking lot, i realized it was missing and ran back in thinking i left it at the counter but the cashier said she didn't see it. then 2 customers came up to me and said they saw a guy pick it up and helped me look for him in the store. after 5 minutes (its a small cvs) we did not see him.




of course i started to panic and i began to cry (not because of whats in my wallet, as i had no cash and its simple to call the credit card companies. but i was scared at marvin's reaction. marvin's very kind to me, but he doesn't have any patience for me being disorganized or not paying attention, plus he's already crabby from being sick)




the people though who saw the man take it said he was a regular and a really nice guy and was sure he would not steal it. and i believed them. (it's funny because i'm usually a skeptical, cynical person but at the same time i'm naive. i always want to believe the good in people. its weird because i'm stuck between those two ways of thinking.) its a constant inner struggle, the realist in me looks at the crime in the paper everyday but the idealist, naive part of me believes that good samaritans still exist.


anyway, my idealist side believed these people. they were a nice, decent, wholseome looking family themselves and the mother and son were the ones helping me look through the store while the father, who knew the guys name, tried to call 411 and look up his number (it was unlisted). about 20 minutes passed with no sign of the man and the manager suggested i call the police to report it and just in case the guy dropped it off there.






so i called and then stepped outside to wait and i saw that family from before, they were in their car and talking to this man standng by the side of it. the mother then shouts "there she is" and points at me. and the man standing there holds my wallet up in the air and said "is this yours? i found it" he was a very nice man, and he had very kindly face and warm smile and a soft, gentle voice. i thanked him profusely and even hugged him twice. he was so very nice and i thanked the family as well for all their help.







what is the kindest thing a stanger ever did for you? please share a story.

For me, life has worked both ways.

One evening, I thought I had enough money to get home on the train, but I was a dollar short. I didn't realize it until I actually got on the train. I looked and looked in my purse and wallet and everything else, until this really nice guy sitting in the last seat in the car gave me a dollar, which paid for my ride home. I thanked him, and we talked all the way to my stop.


I also love helping others, too. One evening while I was picking up my husband from work, a gentleman in a Dodge Ram pickup was desperately looking for a place to fax some documents he had for a proposal for a construction job his company was looking to get. It was 7:00 p.m. on a Sunday evening and, around me, most places of that type aren't open that late on Sundays (including my husband's workplace, where we met the guy). I told the man to meet us in the parking lot next door to my husband's workplace. We both turned in, then I whipped out my Blackberry and was able to go to Yellow Pages.com and find a number for a FedEx-Kinko's in the area. I gave it to the man and, fortunately for him, it was a 24-hour operation. He sped off towards the place soon afterwards, thanking me and my husband. I only hope his company got the job.

For me, life has worked both ways.

One evening, I thought I had enough money to get home on the train, but I was a dollar short. I didn't realize it until I actually got on the train. I looked and looked in my purse and wallet and everything else, until this really nice guy sitting in the last seat in the car gave me a dollar, which paid for my ride home. I thanked him, and we talked all the way to my stop.


I also love helping others, too. One evening while I was picking up my husband from work, a gentleman in a Dodge Ram pickup was desperately looking for a place to fax some documents he had for a proposal for a construction job his company was looking to get. It was 7:00 p.m. on a Sunday evening and, around me, most places of that type aren't open that late on Sundays (including my husband's workplace, where we met the guy). I told the man to meet us in the parking lot next door to my husband's workplace. We both turned in, then I whipped out my Blackberry and was able to go to Yellow Pages.com and find a number for a FedEx-Kinko's in the area. I gave it to the man and, fortunately for him, it was a 24-hour operation. He sped off towards the place soon afterwards, thanking me and my husband. I only hope his company got the job.
that was so nice of you to help that man. i like to look at the bigger picture. kind of like 'it's a wonderful life' maybe because of you directing him to a place where he could fax his proposal, he ended up getting the job and was able to put food on his family's table.



joni made the thread even better, please share acts of kindness you did for others as well :)

lets see, acts of kindness i've done........this may sound weird but one time i was in a shoe store and overheard the clerk, who was a girl and was alone, telling someone on the phone that she had her monthly and had no hygiene products so without saying a word i slipped out and bought a package of pads and went back in and put them on the counter while she was preoccupied with something else and then i left. i've also used my triple a service for a couple people in the past. one time just last week actually. marvin has also used his for people.


marvin loves helping people. he always goes out of his way at the dmv for disabled and elderly people. because he's friends with the employees there he often gets the disabled or elderly moved up to the front of the line. he also changed a woman's tire once. he's incredibly thoughtful and kind.

That was really nice of the man to do that for you. I have never had those kinds of experiences.

That was really nice of the man to do that for you. I have never had those kinds of experiences.
yes it was. i have his name and town. i'm thinking about finding his address and sending him a small gift card to dunkin donuts or something.




i'm sorry you haven't had that experience. :( i would help you if i came across you :)

It may sound kinda corny but I believe when you do nice little things like these the goodness comes back to you - if at least in no other way than you feel really good abt yourself and the kind of person you are.

Wow, I knew we had wonderful members on this board but you guys are amazing! Off-hand I can't think of something that stands out as far as what a stranger has done for me. I've left something behind a few times and people have returned things to me. I am SO forgetful sometimes!

Once my husband and I were in Safeway and I think we were leaving and I was putting our cart back. I noticed a wallet sitting on the child seat in the cart (I think that's what it's called-where kids sit while their parents push the the cart. Me, I use it for my purse, LOL). I immediately took the wallet back inside and gave it to the cashier. The woman who had lost it was SO grateful and she hugged me a million times, and my husband too. I love doing things like that for people.