Gestures of kindness can mean so much.

[DaveMcK]

Man Facebook post goes viral after an elderly customer unexpectedly passed him a note

A North Carolina man shared his story on Facebook after receiving an unexpected note from an older gentleman in a packed restaurant. Although the old man couldn’t speak, he sure knew how to get someone’s attention.

The Facebook post has since gone viral, being shared thousands of times on social media. Read it below.

Farris Leonard
“Today I went to Lane’s Ferry Grill to eat lunch. Great staff and food. I needed a real bacon cheeseburger. Place was packed. Now the rest of the story…

As I sat alone with one seat open an elderly gentleman caught my attention and pointed to the chair and motioned if he could sit down. I replied sure. He was filling out his order sheet and one of the staff came to say to me that the gentleman communicated by passing notes because he couldn’t hear or speak well. They asked if he could sit there. I responded we had already worked that out.

As we sat and passed notes, we filled up both sides of his paper, I only wondered the things he had seen. Well he met JFK, in the ’40s he went to Arizona and it was 120 degrees. Yes, we wrote about the weather. What a great lunch!

I tell this story that may seem insignificant, only to share just how significant it was. As I sat there I wondered if and hoped that I was making a better day for this 93 year young gentleman.

But then it hit me and it gave cause to write my final note to him which said, “Sir I want to thank you for sharing lunch with me. I must go now but I want you to know that you made my day a better day. Take care of yourself.” You should of seen his eyes and smile as he read it. He embraced his heart and gave me a handshake that was real. We hugged and took a picture.

This story is not about what I did but about what we all can do. With a little time, a lot of compassion and not being about “me” and “I’” so much, we could help make and be in a better place. Passing notes with this gentleman was priceless.”

With all the negative, divisive stories in the media, it’s great to see a beautiful story of compassion between two strangers.

Agree? Pass it on and let us know your thoughts on AARP.

Join me in posting other gestures of kindness. These can be something someone did for you or you did for someone else.  

 
  

[nahchoo]

A few of these might be nice when the weather is better and this Covid stuff is behind us.

👋 It's nice to hear a different voice than the one I hear inside my own head, sometimes. 😉

[nahchoo]

Today's half over already but it's never too late to be kind, in my own opinion so look at this -

To find out more, click this link and thank you, in advance, for being kind!

[DaveMcK]

[LydiaN586309]

This second grader who made "buddy benches"

for lonely students to meet new friends.

[LydiaN586309]

A stranger left some popcorn for the next customer looking to rent a movie.

[LydiaN586309]

This man who volunteers playing his cello in a cancer treatment center.

[DaveMcK]

I was chatting with my longtime friend Glenda on my birthday call when I happened to mention that I was running out of toilet paper at a bad time. The next morning she showed up and put this package on my front mat, waved and drove off. There will be many such moments in the future that will stand out in our minds when we look back at this strange event; this will be one of the anecdotes I’ll remember.

I’ve known Glenda since 1963 when we both lived in the Boston area. We both gravitated to California and joined a woman’s group in the turbulent 1970s and have seen each other through turbulent times. Good times or bad, having someone who knows you well helps you ground yourself and celebrate the joys of life and weather the downs. Longtime good friends are one of the great treasures in life.
— Ros Creasy, Los Altos

[LydiaN586309]

The crowd who decided a fan should be able to watch the show no matter what....

A HEFTY ACT OF KINDNESS

[LydiaN586309]

From the people at the animal hospital who know how hard it is to say goodbye:

[LydiaN586309]

[LydiaN586309]

A woman tells a story about a simple act of kindness from her high school days still brings a smile when told:

During my senior year of high school, I had a part-time job but didn’t have much money for extras. I really wanted a yearbook but they were $50 and I just couldn’t afford it. The day came when yearbooks were being passed out. I had my little notebook of blank paper so I still get everyone’s signatures. When I heard my name called to go and pick up a yearbook, I just knew it had to be a mistake but I went ahead to check it out. The lady handing them out said with a smile, “Here’s your yearbook, someone anonymously paid for you.” I was blown away. Still to this day, I don’t know who paid for it. 

[LydiaN586309]

A biker stopped to help an old woman safely cross the road ~

[LydiaN586309]

Here's a suggested Random Act of Kindness I'm gonna try:

Post positive notes.

At the center where I teach, someone posted positive notes in unexpected places – like the one above, which was at the water cooler. Everyone loved the signs and it led to a barrage of thank you emails to the entire school, just so people could thank the anonymous sign hanger.

by Anonymous

[LydiaN586309]

Sheriff's deputy is touched by a note left by two black women after an anonymous act of kindness
By Lauren M. Johnson, CNN 6/18/2020

© Courtesy Jody McDowell

Two black women wrote the note above after anonymously paying for a sheriff's deputy's meal at a Nashville restaurant.

A Tennessee sheriff's deputy got a heartfelt surprise after two black women anonymously paid for his meal at Cracker Barrel.

Deputy Jody McDowell thanked the women for their generosity in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
"I want to thank the two sweet black ladies who paid for my breakfast this morning," he said. "While waiting for a transport to be completed, I decided to have breakfast at a Cracker Barrel near the Nashville airport."
Accompanying his post was a photo of the note the women left with their act of kindness: "BLM, but so does yours! Thank you for your service. Breakfast paid."
McDowell is a deputy with the Sumner County Sheriff's Department. Sumner County is in Middle Tennessee about 25 miles north of Nashville.
Janella Escobar with Cracker Barrel confirmed McDowell's story to CNN.
"At Cracker Barrel, we believe in treating everyone who walks through our doors as family, and we work hard to foster a welcoming environment for our guests and employees," Escobar said.
"It makes us especially proud to see when guests take it upon themselves to extend our mission of "Pleasing People" and commit random acts of kindness towards each other, as these two women did yesterday."
The women left the restaurant before anyone got their names, Escobar said.

[LydiaN586309]

Mark Chalifoux sent 40 pounds of cookies to a soldier he'd never met.

Mark Chalifoux was accidentally added to a family's group chat as they discussed sending care packages to "Christian" (name changed to protect his privacy), a relative of theirs serving in the military.

Instead of replying "wrong number" and forgetting about it, Chalifoux started a GoFundMe page to raise money to buy cookies for Christian and his unit. The silly but heartfelt campaign gained momentum as it was shared by celebrities on Facebook and picked up by news outlets. A local Girl Scouts troop even donated cookies of their own. 

Chalifoux raised enough money to send 40 pounds of cookies, plus a second shipment of essentials like toiletries and more nutritious non-perishable snacks, to the soldier. He's still receiving their group text messages.

[LydiaN586309]

Instagram/Nikki Walker

Brother of the Year

When 6-year-old Bridger and his little sister were attacked by a dog, he stepped in to protect his 4-year-old sibling, later undergoing a two-hour surgery and needing 90 stitches after the animal latched onto his cheek. 

"He, himself, took on the attack so that the dog wouldn't get his sister," his aunt Nikki Walker shared on Instagram, with her post asking the Avengers to reach out to the "latest addition to their ranks" going viral. "He later said, 'If someone was going to die, I thought it should be me.'"

And after the attack, Bridger made sure his sister was OK and was concerned about the dog, later asking an animal control officer, "I don't want anything bad to happen to the dog...is it going to be killed?"

Since the story was shared, both Chris Evans and Tom Holland personally called to have conversations with him, with his aunt posting videos from the sweet interactions. "You are so brave...and we are all so proud of you," Holland tells Bridger, who is wearing a Spider-Man suit. 

Bridger has also received messages from Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman and other stars.

"After Bridger's actions, our family has settled on a simple request: may we each actively strive to bear one another's burdens, stand up for and protect those that are weak, oppressed, or those whom the world might forsake," his parents wrote in a letter posted to Nikki's Instagram. "

[DaveMcK]

Get involved with random acts of kindness

• Contact someone you haven’t seen in a while and arrange a phone catch up

• Spend time playing with your pet

• Reach out to call a friend, family member or neighbour who is experiencing loneliness or self-isolation

• Donate to a charity

• Lend your ear – call a colleague and ask how they’re finding the change in routine

• Give praise to your colleague for something they’ve done well

• Arrange to have a video lunch with a colleague

• Send an inspirational story of kindness people around the world are doing for others to someone you know

• Donate to foodbanks

• Offer to skill share with a friend via video call - you could teach guitar, dance etc.

• Offer support to vulnerable neighbours

• Offer to send someone a takeaway or a meal

• Post a note to others on the Front Porch 
• Give a Kudo to other posters comments 

[amiramark]

My house was broken into and I needed to cover some broken windows. We rushed to Lowes to get plywood, not realizing the store closed at 7:00pm because of covid-19. A clerk let us in at the lumber department door. We bought three sheets of plywood and a hand saw to cut the plywood to size IN THE PARKING LOT, so it would fit into our car. Note it was 7:20 pm and store was now officially closed. While we were trying to cut the wood, a lady in the car next to us opened her window and handed us two surgical masks in sealed packages. She said you probably need these more than I do. We noted that she was a RN at the local hospital. She was worried about us inhaling all the dust. Our own masks were blocked up with dust. We thanked her but said are you sure? You work in a hospital with covid-19 patents. She said I am sure, I don't want you getting respiratory problems with all this going on. And she drove away leaving us both stunned. Imagine what she might have been giving up. The medical people working to save lives from covid-19 deserve a special place. Can you imagine this kindness?

[DaveMcK]

Helping One Another During the Pandemic

Monday: Californians share acts of kindness. Also: State officials released a list of skilled nursing facilities that have reported one or more cases of Covid-19.

Volunteers loaded vehicles at a food distribution center in Los Angeles on Friday. Food banks in the state have seen a spike in numbers as the state’s unemployment level jumped to 5.3 percent for the month of March.Credit...Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Good morning.

(Here’s the sign-up, if you don’t already get California Today delivered to your inbox.)

A few weeks ago, we asked readers to send us stories of people helping one another during the pandemic. From the responses, it’s clear that across the state, acts of generosity and resilience are happening every day.

In Van Nuys, Nicole Gregory attended a dance party on her street organized by a neighbor, a dancer. She wrote: “My 22-year-old son set up his drums and played them, several adults banged on pans in the same beat, and danced in place (safely distanced from each other of course)!”

Seeing acts of kindness inspired others to act, too. In Goleta, Susie Naughton watched as her neighbors handed a truck driver a large case of toilet paper. “I thought, what can I give them?” she wrote. “I picked a handful of oranges and gave them to the driver when he reached our house.”

Here are a few tales of kindness or positivity shared with us. (They’ve been lightly edited for length and clarity.) We hope they help you start your week feeling a little better:

Credit...Jenya Chernoff

We were scheduled to get married May 25, and had already acquired our license; since it was looking like our wedding might not happen as scheduled, we decided to get married

We held our mini-wedding at the Lawrence Hall of Science [in Berkeley], in the lower parking lot. It wasn’t what we’d pictured or what we’d planned, but it was lovely, and we are so lucky to have friends close by who dropped everything to help us get married.

[amiramark]

congrats. I hope everything goes well in your life. you have wonderful friends to help you like this.

[DaveMcK]

[craftn56]

Good Morning Everyone.

Not sure if I can post this here but I'm going to try.

I am knitting afghans to give away once the Covid-19 goes bye bye. I do knit and crochet for charity. My Mom many years ago tried to teach me to crochet, I'm a lefty and Mom was right handed. Bless her heart she gave up but I didn't, I was determined. 😉 Christmas of 1995 I decided to learn to knit, they recommend you don't start with a lacey pattern.. I always break the rules. Lol.

I am currently knitting an afghan to keep me busy and have knitted dish cloths using the cotton thread.

I am wanting to know if anyone else is knitting, crocheting or crafting to stay busy.

Have a blessed day and please stay healthy and safe!! ❤️

Smiles...

[sycomama]

I was recently grocery shopping and in line with an elderly gentleman.. His cart was full of nothing but fruits and veggies and of those multiples.. No meats, dairy or junkfood , ect... He asked the cashier to check the amount as he thought he wouldn't have enough $$ to pay.. She started taking bags of oranges out when a woman lanes over told her not to.. She wanted to pay any amount he may have gone over.. The cashier tried to explain why she wasn't taking things off his total.. He didn't want to accept but the lady was very kind and told him please allow her to do this as He deservered it!  I felt tears coming.. In this day and age we just don't see alot of  compassion and kindes. I caught up to that woman in the parking lot and told her what a sweet and kind thing she did.. Maybe this could be a" Lead by example".. She definately paid it forward..

[sallys528010]

2012 was a bad year for me.  Our house burned down that summer and  that Christmas week my husband was in the hospital.   I don't recall what he wanted but my husband sent me on an errand to Walmart to get something for him a few days before Christmas. I'm afraid I did not have a smile on my face with so much on my mind.   An older man stopped me in the parking lot and handed me a beautiful carved wooden spool that was carved and painted with a Santa face.   He said he thought I looked like I could use a little Christmas spirit.

I thanked him.

My husband died on Christmas Day that year...but the memory of that year is made a bit brighter by the kindness of a stranger.

[DaveMcK]

Elderly Man Visits A Park Bench Dedicated To His Late Wife Every Day

FEBRUARY 10, 2015

BY CHRIS TERNATE

It's hard to imagine the sort of grief one goes through when coping with the loss of a loved one, especially when that person is your spouse. However, 82-year-old Bud Caldwell has found a little bit of solace in the form of a very special park bench in his native Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. This particular park bench was purchased by Caldwell as a dedication to his late wife Betty. Since her passing two years ago, Caldwell visits the bench every day to not only speak to her but leave her two very treasured mementos.  He leaves her a penny for the song "Pennies From Heaven" and a daisy in reference to the song "A Daisy a Day." 

When his path was obstructed by the winter's snow though, a pair of park maintenance workers decided to lend the elderly man a hand. They cleared the path so he could make his daily visit and tell Betty hello.  It's a welcome reminder that true love is hard to find and it can in fact stand the test of time.

http://simplereminders.collectivepress.com/he-leaves-a-penny-at-this-park/?s=sr

[PattyDiane]

I'm reminded of a time over 25 years ago.  At the time I was renting a studio upstairs from our local art association.  It was located just a few blocks from a therapist I was seeing at the time and when the weather was nice I walked instead of driving.

On this particular day I had forgotten that a volunteer would be working at the association when I returned.  During the appointment I had come to terms with something that had happened in my past and was thinking about it during the walk.  I was rather relieved to see a car that I didn't recognize and thought I would not have to try and talk to a friend, because I was not in the mood.

Upon opening the door I noticed the volunteer was one of our older members,  probably in her late 70's or early 80's and looked like someone's grandmother.  She was actually knitting to kill the time because the gallery was empty.  She also had the coffee pot on.

I don't remember what she asked me, but I suddenly told her everything that had been discussed during the appointment with the therapist, things I had never told anyone.  She listened to me, making no judgements, asking no questions, offering no advice.  I don't know how long I talked, but when I stopped she told me about her own childhood and her marriage.

 I just listened.  

Nobody came into the gallery the entire afternoon and before long it was time for closing.  After all the doors were locked and the lights turned off, she gave me the kind of hug a grandmother would have given to a child.  No more words were necessary and no further conversations were ever held.  However, after that anytime our paths crossed she gave me another of those hugs.  I can only wonder if she had any idea of how much that meant to me.