Seven miles for me
Leaving a store, I returned to my car only to find that I’d locked my keys and cell phone inside. A teenager riding his bike saw me kick a tire and say a few choice words. “What’s wrong?” he asked. I explained my situation. “But even if I could call my wife,” I said, “she can’t bring me her car key, since this is our only car.” He handed me his cell phone. “Call your wife and tell her I’m coming to get her key.” “That’s seven miles round trip.” “Don’t worry about it.” An hour later, he returned with my key. I offered him some money, but he refused. “Let’s just say I needed the exercise,” he said. Then, like a cowboy in the movies, he rode off into the sunset. —Clarence W. Stephens, Nicholasville, Kentucky
The man at the market
When the supermarket clerk tallied up my groceries, it was $12 over what I had on me. I began to remove items from the bags when another shopper handed me a $20 bill. “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 mad at me for spending my money on more flowers. She demanded that I do something else with that money. So, here, please accept this. It is my mother’s flowers.” —Leslie Wagner, Peel, Arkansas
Jim and the job
My neighbor 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 man had a wife and three children, and was finding it difficult to make ends meet, as 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 struggling young man. That was six years ago, and that young husband and father has been employed ever since. —Miranda MacLean, Brutus, Michigan. If this inspired you, try these small acts of kindness that will instantly brighten someone’s day.
Link to the Complete Readers Digest Article, "30 Stories About the Touching Kindness of Strangers That’ll Make You Tear Up"
|
