THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

 

The Man at the Supermarket
When the supermarket cashier had added up my groceries, I was $12 over what I had on me. I began to remove items from the bags, when another shopper handed me a $20 note.
“Please don’t put yourself out,” I told him.
“Let me tell you a story,” he said. “My mother is in the hospital with cancer. I visit her every day and bring her flowers. I went this morning, and she got cross with me for spending my money on more flowers. She demanded that I do something else with that money. So, here, please accept this. It’s my mother’s flowers.” Leslie Wagner

Jim and the Job
My neighbour, Jim, had trouble deciding if he wanted to retire from the construction field, until he ran into a younger man he’d worked with previously. The young man had a wife and three children and was finding it difficult to make ends meet, since he hadn’t worked in some time. The next morning, Jim went to the union office and submitted his retirement paperwork. As for his replacement, he gave them the name of the young man. That was six years ago, and that young husband and father has been employed ever since. Miranda MacLean

A Family’s Food Angel
While going through a divorce, my mother fretted over her new worries: no income, the same bills, and no way to afford groceries. It was around this time that she started finding boxes of food outside our door every morning. This went on for months, until she was able to land a job. We never found out who left the groceries, but they truly saved our lives. Jamie Boleyn

The Little Lift
One evening, I left a restaurant just ahead of a woman assisting her elderly mother. I approached a step up and paused to see if my arthritic knees could climb it. To my right appeared an arm to assist. It was that of the elderly mother. My heart was so touched.

Colour Me Amazed
I forgot about the rules on liquids in carry-on luggage, so when I hit security at the airport, I had to give up all my painting supplies. When I returned a week later, an attendant was at the baggage area with my paints. Not only had he kept them for me, but he’d looked up my return date and time in order to meet me. Marilyn Kinsella

Bounty for a Wife
I was balancing caring for a toddler and holding down a full-time job, while my navy husband was on extended duty overseas. One evening, the doorbell rang. It was my neighbour, who was retired from the navy, holding a breadboard loaded with a freshly cooked chicken and vegetable stew.
“I’ve noticed you’re getting a little skinny,” he said.
It was the best meal I’d had in months. Patricia Fordney

She Gave Me Direction
As I left a party, I got on the wrong freeway and was immediately lost. I pulled over to the shoulder and called my roadside-assistance provider. She tried to connect me to a ­freeway police patrol, but that call never went through. Hearing the panic in my voice, she came up with a plan B: “You’re near this office,” she said. “I’m about to go off shift. Stay put, and I’ll find you.”
Ten minutes later, she rolled up. She guided me not only to the right freeway but all the way to the correct freeway exit. And then, with a wave goodbye, she drove back into the night. Michelle Arnold

Breaking Bread
Last December, before work, I stopped at a café and ordered an everything bagel with cream cheese. It was toasty warm, and I couldn’t wait to dig in. But as I left the café, I noticed an older homeless gentleman sitting at the bus stop. Knowing it would probably be his only warm meal of the day, I gave him the bagel.
But all was not lost for me. Another customer from the café offered me half of her bagel. I was so delighted because I realised that in one way or another, we’re all looked after.

-readersdigest

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