A grand or small gesture / act of kindness

[willowstar]

my cat has gone missing. I am devastated, I have had him for 10 years and I miss him terribly. I have spent the last 3 evenings going door to door with leaflets. Yesterday about 6:30 i put a poster up on a signpost at the end of a lane that runs down the back of a lot of houses. by 7 it was torn down and cut...it was laminated so don't know how they managed it. I was pretty saddened.

today...I was at the train station and saw a man reading my poster about my cat that I put up last night...I watched him get out his phone. I ran up to him and asked him if he had seen the cat on the poster because he is mine and he said no he hadn't but he had taken a picture of the poster with the cat on it and saved the number on the poster in case he saw the cat. how very very lovely. that restored my faith a lot. he didn't even know he was showing a random act of kindness but it cheered me up a lot and I am very greatful to him for caring.

[Sue]

I think RaoK is also called Passing it on?
So my memory of passing it on started when I went to Rye with the aim of seeing the museum. When I got there it was shut, my fault hadn't read the opening notices properly, as I was peering through the barrier, the caretaker went past and asked if he could help, I explained the situation and he let me in and took me on a personal tour. It was far better than any ordinary visit could have been, he had great memories of the town and obviously loved the town and the artifacts on show. He even opened up the safe and got all the town regalia out to show me. A lovely day which I've never forgotten.
I like to think I paid it back when, working in a shop in Chichester, an old lady had come up the stairs to the staffroom, instead of being shirty and asked what she was doing - or suspecting her of being a thief, I was polite and asked if I could help, memories of Rye lingering. It turned out that she had lived in the shop as a child when it was a shoemenders, her father in charge and her mother and five children living above the premises. I took her on a tour and she poured out the memories - one I loved was that her father used every Friday to have his friends round and they'd practice boxing in the attic room, a tiny space that you had to bend double to get in.

Lovely memories that might never have happened, the best really

Sue

[happybunny]

Just wanted to say what nice things you people do!!!!
Thought you deserved it

*CLAPS*

[maytreefrannie]

I like to think that the majority are kind & would step up to show some random act of kindness!Yep there's several miserable bu@@ars out there,but I tend to think they're in the minority.

I completely agree with you, Andi&di - we've plenty of evidence on this thread alone. Add to that the many things you/we/others do without even thinking: standing back to let someone go in a door, a nod or smile when someone leaves you into a line when driving, courtesy and 'thank yous' at the checkout etc. It all goes to making the world a bit better.

[I]Nicos wrote:
I'm just about to do a small gesture of kindness....my OH has been painting for 12 hrs today ...and I'm about to open a bottle of wine for him.

( perhaps I should join him in a little tipple....for his liver's sake????) [/I]
Good on you! - that's two kind gestures - opening the wine (for him) and helping him to drink it (for his liver).

I hope you both enjoyed it.

[SlugLobber]

my cat has gone missing. I am devastated, I have had him for 10 years and I miss him terribly. I have spent the last 3 evenings going door to door with leaflets. Yesterday about 6:30 i put a poster up on a signpost at the end of a lane that runs down the back of a lot of houses. by 7 it was torn down and cut...it was laminated so don't know how they managed it. I was pretty saddened.

I have gone through the exact same thing and hope with all my heart that you find him. I'm still devastated 4 years later. In my case, I discovered that it was the staff of the veterinary surgery which lost him who were taking down my posters, on their way home - I cried at the heartlessness of it. I did have a couple of people call me just to say how sorry they were that I'd lost my cat, which was lovely of them. Best of luck finding yours. Oh, I feel like crying, now.

RL, I'll dig out the apple cake recipe and post it on Monday - it's at home!

[moggssue]

Can I say thank you as a recipient of an act of kindness - to some fellow grapes (they know who they are!) and to a fellow plot holder. I had my lovingly nurtured baby chilli and marigold plants stolen from my plot before I'd had a chance to plant them in the ground and warned my fellow plotholders. The next day, the lovely couple next-door-but-three from me had left me a tray of tiny marigolds to compensate, and some lovely lovely grapes sent me some chilli plants through the post from which I am now enjoying gorgeous chillis - I shall be ever grateful, thank you ever so much.

And I shall continue to pass on small acts of kindness of my own wherever and whenever I can. As has been said, just a smile and a thank you even can go a long way in this world today and it does make the soul feel good to know you've helped someone in what might only be a small way to you but might mean a hell of a lot to them - maybe you hold the door open for someone which gives them the extra seconds they need to catch a bus to get to a job interview .. well, you know what I mean ...

[willowstar]

SlugLobber

thanks very much, so sorry to drag up painful memories for you. It has happened to three posters now, no idea who is doing it :-( i have met some lovely people while I have been out looking for him. today I got a call from someone to say that had seen a cat limping about a mile from out house...we went immediately but couldn't find the cat and someone else saw the cat and I don't think it was my little floyd. I am devastated. Floyd came into my life about 9 years ago and has been a loving and funny little companion ever since. I call him my shadow because he is always with me, especially when I am pottering in the veg patch. My only way of coping is to imagine him having wandered to someone else and to be there giving them as much pleasure as he has given me. I do really really miss him and would give anything to give his little face a kiss again. anyway, thanks for your kind thoughts SlugLobber.

[janecurrah]

HOpe your cat comes home. We had to have Cloudy put down on Monday. Thought she'd gone off to be alone (we knew she had come to the end of her time) a lovely neighbour phoned to say she was in his garden and very ill. We went to collect her. She was uncomfortable (didn't seem to be in pain, but just not right) so we had to take her to the vet.
The neighbour, who we hadn't met before was lovely. So kind and gentle with her and wanted to know how she was when we took the blanket he had wrapped her in back.
I dont' think random acts of kindness are things to think about really. they should just be what we do. It is sad that people think of them as different from everyday experience.

[willowstar]

very sorry for you loss jane. I have never had to have any of my cats put to sleep but I dread the day it comes. At least your were with her at the end and she would have felt your love. all the best.

jackie

[ailsasyl]

Happybunny assisted an elderly lady to use the self service at asda I was sat in car and wandering why she was taking ages. She said I had to help her mum the assistant was busy helping someone else and she was panicing cause there was a queue. She cooked again last night meatballs in tomato sauce! yum!

[Dipzy]

It has been lovely thank you to all who responded. We must keep it up.

I feel like I did another act of kindness today. Walking home with my children, a friend and her daughter we got talking when walking past the allottment site I am desperate to get on and growing veg. Turns out she's been trying to grow at home but with not much success. We invited her home to show what we've done this year and more importantly what is still growing.

Sent her home with a large cucumber, potatoes, tomatoes, stringless runner beans and green beans and now she is full of hope of growing again next, I appear to have renewed her faith that you can grow loads in containers if you do little and often.

I felt well chuffed to help a friend and feed her lovely daughter home grown food, more so as she pregnant also.