Fun Monday - Random Acts Of Kindness, Part 1

Jill is our host this week... and next! She's come up with a unique Fun Monday Challenge - which encompasses two weeks!

This week: Write about a Random Act of Kindness (or more than one) that you have had done for you, or that you have witnessed, or that moved you.

Then, during the week of February 15th to the 22nd, you should do your OWN Random Act of Kindness and for FM on the 22nd, you will write about your Random Act of Kindness - what prompted it, what you did, how it made you feel.

So... this is week one. I have two stories.

A friend of mine was waiting in line at the grocery store behind a little, older woman who after being rung up couldn't find her debit card. There was much searching in her purse while the woman behind my friend was grousing about how long it was taking. My friend got tired of listening to the woman behind her and felt a little sorry for the woman in front. So she stepped forward, handed her own debit card to the cashier and told her to put the groceries on her card.

The woman was astounded. She thanked my friend profusely, then asked for her address so she could reimburse her. My friend assured her that wasn't necessary, that she should pay the favor forward whenever she had the means and opportunity. She did give her a business card though, because the woman asked for it.

A week later, a thank you note and a check for the amount of the groceries arrived. My friend called the woman to protest the check, but she wouldn't take it back. So my friend donated it to the humane society, then wrote the woman to tell her what she did with the money.

I always knew there was a generous heart in there.

Another generous heart belongs to my brother Jerry. His has always been large - he's got a long history of going out of his way to help friends, family and strangers alike.

Even what he does for a living is like that. He owns his own towing business. But if he can fix whatever it is there on the spot, he will, no tow needed - even when that is how he makes his living.

Recently, the father of a friend of his died unexpectedly. When Jerry heard of this, a song by one of my family's favorite singer/songwriters popped into his head. He decided to find this song for the funeral. He tried the internet and discovered that but for a short sample of it, it didn't exist online. So he started calling everyone he knew who might have a copy of the record the song was on (it was released back in the 70s). No one had that particular album, which was the very first album of the artist.

The artist is Mike Cross. He's made his living doing music, and appeared on a program we taped once called "Blue Sky, Bluegrass" on the back stage of a local bar. The picture is of Mike during that taping.

Stymied, Jerry finally went to Mike's website and sent him an email explaining the situation, which song he was looking for, and why he wanted it. He didn't expect to hear back anytime soon, but within an hour, Mike had replied, saying that he would check with his agent to see if something could be arranged. And within three hours, the song in question was sent to Jerry for that one specific use - no copying, no use other than the one it was requested for. And of course, Jerry being Jerry, that is exactly what happened. The song was used for the funeral. And that was all.

There are two different random acts of kindness in that story: Jerry's for working so hard to make that man's funeral special and Mike's for making it happen.

I am lucky. I know a lot of people who commit RAK on a regular basis. They don't know that anyone else knows. And they don't care. See a need, fill a need. If only the whole world operated on that basis instead of so many what's-in-it-for-me people.

Next week's assignment will be hard. Not that doing a random act of kindness is hard - it's very easy. It's the telling that's hard because by their very nature, these acts are not something that gets publicized.

Now go visit Jill to see what stories other people have to tell about random acts of kindness. I'm sure it will give a lift to your day.