A few weeks ago I was at the thrift store and was in line for my purchase when the woman in front of me discovered she didn't have enough cash on her for a lamp she needed to send to her son's dorm room. It turned out she needed exactly five dollars, so I handed over the five-dollar bill I had. She cried and said that she'd return it, but I said, "Hey, people have helped me out with change when I needed it, so I help anyone else out when I can."

That's the only one that really stands out recently. I'm helpfully-polite wherever I am, so there may be more incidents that I don't remember. It's strange being asked if I was ever a Girl Scout because I never was one, it's just the way I am. less

I'm a big geek for random acts of kindness.

When I was living in Maryland I was on lunch break while working at the mall. I was sitting there texting and these two little kids were watching some people in the Disney store put up some toys. She was looking at a Belle doll and he wanted that dinosaur from Toy Story. They were so cute. The little girl tugged on her dad's arm said "Please can we get it daddy?" The dad was sitting there and he looked so stressed out and tired and he was like "Princess, Daddy can't afford it right now, too many things going on" And she looked so tore up about it, the boy made a face and said "Stop asking Kinsey, since mom's sick you know we can't buy you some stupid ugly doll" And the little girl's face just broke up and the dad just picked her up and hugged her. I felt really bad, so I ran in after them and purchased both along with a shirt to go with it. I ran around this mall, looking for them and handed the bag to the Dad and he was like "Oh no, I'm not interested in buying things" and I showed him the toys. He was like... in shock. He was like "Why?" I was like "You seem like a really good dad with good kids" And he was like "Thank you so much, I've been stressing about getting them anything this year, their mom is sick in the hospital and I feel like such a deadbeat lately." I sat down and listened to him rant.
Both kids hugged me and it felt really good. A few weeks later, the kids came back and had drawn me pictures. I have them in my box of treasures. less

When and what was your last act of random kindness?

For me it was a couple months ago at a grocery store. When I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed a bunch of little girls--like 5 or 6-- some teenaged girls and adults doing a car wash. I parked and saw one of the little girls walking with an adult, and the little one came right up to me and asked for a donation. Apparently this was a group of little cheerleaders needing donations for the troupe. I had to tell her that I had only really big bills on me, but that I'd see them after I got what I needed from the store. I grinned and chuckled as I watched theses little girls performing flips and cartwheels on the walkway as I walked into the store. They were just the cutest little things!

I got what I needed, got some change, and came out and handed a $10 bill to one of the older girls. They all thanked me and waved as I walked to my car. I love doing that sort of thing when I can, and it always puts a huge smile on my face.

There's just so much crap and negativity in the world, and I thought we could put the focus on the good stuff, ya know? less

I'm a big geek for random acts of kindness.

When I was living in Maryland I was on lunch break while working at the mall. I was sitting there texting and these two little kids were watching some people in the Disney store put up some toys. She was looking at a Belle doll and he wanted that dinosaur from Toy Story. They were so cute. The little girl tugged on her dad's arm said "Please can we get it daddy?" The dad was sitting there and he looked so stressed out and tired and he was like "Princess, Daddy can't afford it right now, too many things going on" And she looked so tore up about it, the boy made a face and said "Stop asking Kinsey, since mom's sick you know we can't buy you some stupid ugly doll" And the little girl's face just broke up and the dad just picked her up and hugged her. I felt really bad, so I ran in after them and purchased both along with a shirt to go with it. I ran around this mall, looking for them and handed the bag to the Dad and he was like "Oh no, I'm not interested in buying things" and I showed him the toys. He was like... in shock. He was like "Why?" I was like "You seem like a really good dad with good kids" And he was like "Thank you so much, I've been stressing about getting them anything this year, their mom is sick in the hospital and I feel like such a deadbeat lately." I sat down and listened to him rant.
Both kids hugged me and it felt really good. A few weeks later, the kids came back and had drawn me pictures. I have them in my box of treasures. less

I've also been asked "Is this southern hospitality? It's the first time I've seen it in action."

Another thing I used to do when I worked was saving a hundred dollars up around Christmas and when I'd go into the local big store for my annual shopping expedition, I'd fold a one dollar bill around a hundred dollar bill and put it in the Salvation Army kettle. It doesn't look like much when I put it in, but whomever counts the money in the kettles at the end of the day always got a surprise. Again, they helped my family when we needed them, so it's good to help them when we can. less

I'm a big geek for random acts of kindness.

When I was living in Maryland I was on lunch break while working at the mall. I was sitting there texting and these two little kids were watching some people in the Disney store put up some toys. She was looking at a Belle doll and he wanted that dinosaur from Toy Story. They were so cute. The little girl tugged on her dad's arm said "Please can we get it daddy?" The dad was sitting there and he looked so stressed out and tired and he was like "Princess, Daddy can't afford it right now, too many things going on" And she looked so tore up about it, the boy made a face and said "Stop asking Kinsey, since mom's sick you know we can't buy you some stupid ugly doll" And the little girl's face just broke up and the dad just picked her up and hugged her. I felt really bad, so I ran in after them and purchased both along with a shirt to go with it. I ran around this mall, looking for them and handed the bag to the Dad and he was like "Oh no, I'm not interested in buying things" and I showed him the toys. He was like... in shock. He was like "Why?" I was like "You seem like a really good dad with good kids" And he was like "Thank you so much, I've been stressing about getting them anything this year, their mom is sick in the hospital and I feel like such a deadbeat lately." I sat down and listened to him rant.
Both kids hugged me and it felt really good. A few weeks later, the kids came back and had drawn me pictures. I have them in my box of treasures. less