75 real life stories of everyday giving from our sister site, Makes Me Think, that will put a smile on your face and inspire you to pay it forward. Today, when I landed at J.F.K. for a business trip, I turned on my phone and was inundated with several voicemails and text messages from family and close friends back in Seattle. “Call home. Your mom had a severe stroke and is currently in intensive care,” read the first text message to pop-up on my phone. My boss was with me, told me she’d handle things herself, and insisted that I catch the next flight back home. As I stood in line at the ticket counter, talking to my brother about my mother’s condition, crying, and explaining that I was going to try to make a flight that leaves in 30 minutes, the twelve people in line in front of me overheard my conversation and let me skip to the front. Then after the Delta rep quickly issued me a ticket, she walked around the counter, handled me a box of tissues, and before I had a chance to react, gave me a big hug. I made my flight. And my mom is now in stable condition. MMT Today, at the local convenience store where I work an elderly man with a guide dog came in, went to the aisle with the greetings cards, picked up a card, held it up extremely close to his face, and struggled to read it. Just as I was about to walk over to help him, a big truck driver asked him if he needed assistance reading, and then proceeded to read him almost every single greeting card out loud until the elderly man smiled and said, “That’s perfect! My wife will love that one!” MMT Today, I put an ad up on Craigslist stating that I was looking for a cheap laptop for my first semester of college (I’m 18 and live by myself, so money is tight). An elderly man replied saying he had one for me, and dropped off a nearly brand new laptop. He insisted that he wanted nothing in return. In his words, he said, “I bought this six months ago, but I only use my desktop. It just sits around collecting dust. So now I consider it a good investment in a young, bright future.” MMT Today, I’m the head janitor at an investment firm in L.A. Since the engine in my truck failed four months ago I’ve been without a vehicle. In some cities this might be okay, but in the L.A. sprawl with subpar public transit, it’s been difficult. The CEO, who is usually hard on everyone and emotionally removed from any personal issues his employees have, overheard a phone conversation I was having with my wife in which I was apologizing for not spending enough time with the family due to the long public transit commute times. Ten minutes later, he caught me in the hall and handed me a set of car keys. “The new executive company cars arrived. One of them is for me. But it sounds like you need it more than I do. I have another set of wheels. It’s parked out back. It’s yours for as long as you need it.” MMT Today, I watched a teenage boy help an elderly woman with a cane onto the city bus I was riding. He was so careful with her, assisting her every step of the way. The woman had the biggest smile on her face. They both sat directly across from me, and just as I was about to compliment her with having a wonderful grandson, the boy looked at her and said, “My name is Chris. What’s your name, ma’am?” MMT Today, while standing in line at a store, my 9 year old daughter asked for a candy bar. After saying “no” twice, I gave in. I paid, and as we walked away I gave it to her. She stopped, turned around and handed it to a little boy that was crying in line behind us at the register. I asked her why she gave it to him and she said she heard the boy’s mom tell him they didn’t have money left for candy anymore until she can find another job. MMT Today, I work as a cashier at Target. Directly across from my register we have a large holiday charity donation box for needy kids sitting to the left of the 50 cent gumball and toy machines. On five separate occasions over the course of the last week, I have witnessed kids standing in front the gumball and toy machines, thinking about what to get, then reading the information on the donation box, and putting their 50 cents in there instead. MMT Today, in a little African village where I volunteer as a nurse, I passed out food to hungry children. And since I knew her only food for the day was the slice of wheat bread I had just given her, I did not let her see me cry when she tore the slice in two and gave the bigger half to her little brother. MMT Today, my mom is donating the kidney that my dad desperately needs in order to live. They have been divorced for 16 years. MMT Today, when I was walking to dinner outside in the cold with my elderly mom, she started walking slower and slower and digging through her bag. I often act out and get impatient with her. But when I finally had enough and was about to say something, she pulled out a five dollar bill and told me to give it to the homeless man sitting on the street curb. MMT Today, I saved a woman’s life using the Heimlich maneuver. And after she calmed down, finished eating, and had dessert, she left me a 600% tip. MMT Today, at 7AM this morning the woman in line behind me at grocery store looked upset, so I bought her a fresh rose for $2.99 that was sitting in a bucket of water at the register. An hour later, when our new corporate VP showed up on her first day of work, she immediately smiled at me and said, “Thanks for the rose. I was just a little nervous this morning about my first day here.” MMT For the rest, please visit: 75 Day-Brightening Stories of Generosity
