Random acts of kindness

[hazabaza1]

Ever have a weird experience that just surprises you, not because it was necessarily something exceptionally nice but because it just goes beyond what you normally expect of people?

There's this website called Qwertee that lets users vote on shirt designs. Sometimes they'll have big sales where you can get random shirt designs for really cheap. I ordered 3, got 2 I liked and 1 not so much. So I go onto the forums to see if I can sort out a trade.
Long story short, I get talking to this lady about trading for an Okami shirt she wants to sell, and she just offered to send it to me, free of charge, no strings attached. It's nothing extensive, probably cost like £8 P&P included but it's not often someone you don't know offers to just give away something they own. It was a nice surprise, and not one I'm expecting to see replicated any time particularly soon.

Any other stories of strange acts of altruism?

 

[Colour Scientist]

I'm sure I have a few but none spring to mind right now.

Well, a month or two ago, I was flying to the UK and the guy next to me on the flight offered to buy me coffee because he was getting some and I yawned just before he ordered. I declined but it was a lovely offer and we chatted for the rest of the flight.

I don't know if he offered because I yawned or if I just looked so shit that he thought I couldn't afford a cup of coffee.

I'm pretending it's the former. XD

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Someone in this site mailed me a retail copy of Demon's Souls all the way from Europe, just because I'd mentioned how hard it was to go around Argentina's import restrictions and devalued currency. Best piece of mail I ever got.

 

[Kae]

Someone in this site that I didn't know offered to buy me a game that I said I wanted to play once, I refused but he was really persistent I managed to convince him to not do it by refusing to give him my e-mail, but that was awfully nice of him.

Oh yeah and another person added me on steam and gifted me a game because I said I didn't get anything for Christmas, which was weird as I wasn't looking for anything nor do I think it's bad, the main reason I don't get anything for Christmas is because I don't like it and I don't celebrate it so I tell everybody I know that I don't want anything, in any case that was really nice of him and I gave him a game too like a gift exchange thing, we did it again the next year though I'm kinda hoping he doesn't remember this year since I'm a grump and I hate celebrating everything, I also don't like getting gifts for whatever reason.

I've done plenty of random acts of kindness too but I don't want to brag about it right now, I'm pretty awesome though.

 

[Shymer]

Now the Steam Halloween sale is on - I've just had a look at some of my friend's wishlists and bought some that were on sale. It's the non-pub-going version of buying a round at happy hour - and it will probably last a bit longer.

I like participating in random act of kindness for a stranger on a Friday.

 

[Zhukov]

When I was a kid I was in the car with my mum and we broke down on the side of a hill. Mum got all frantic and started crying (can't remember why, we may have been running late for something important).

This tiny little lady in a tiny little car stopped and offered to tow us to the top of the hill from where we were able to roll start the car. I'm amazed that her car was up to the job.

As for act of mine, I was walking home from work one evening when I was approached by an Asian girl in some distress and very clearly lost. She spoke maybe ten words of English and I couldn't even identify her language, let alone speak it. Luckily she had one of those little pocket maps they give out to tourists and had her home marked on it. I tried to give her directions but the language barrier made that impossible and there's only so much you can accomplish with mime. Eventually I just mimed for her to follow me and walked her home, which was halfway across the city. In retrospect, I'm surprised she followed me. I mean, strange guy in a strange town at night, not many people would, y'know?

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

When I totaled my first car on the side of the interstate, an older guy stopped and sat with me while we waited for the fire department and state trooper to arrive. I told him he didn't need to stay, that I was okay, but he said there was nothing he needed to do that couldn't afford to wait.

It wasn't necessary, but it was a nice gesture.

 

[Barbas]

This warms my heart. ^v^

Spoiler

When I was in Hong Kong, someone crossing the road was hit by a car on a fairly busy market street. There was a considerable amount of blood. A group of people immediately run over to help, including an elderly shopkeeper who grabbed a roll of cloth from the shelf to staunch the bleeding. They were taken care of and comforted until the ambulance arrived.

It was always quite a happy and hopeful place. Neighbours and strangers alike were almost always willing to say a kind word or lend a helping hand, because they loved the city they lived in.

When my mother was snowed in during last year's winter, neighbours helped her up and down the incredibly icy road and even drove her to and from town to go shopping.

EDIT: Ah jeez, and this year - how could I forget something so dire - we had a nasty series of landslides all along the roads around where I live. Most of the neighbours from our road gathered along with the volunteer firefighters and construction workers to help clear the debris so people's driveways and houses weren't flooded. Some were better-off than others in the deluge, but it made me proud to live in a place where people were willing to stand up to their knees in flooded gutters to clear a culvert for somebody next-door.

 

[happyninja42]

I haven't had too many acts of kindness happen to me, but I have perpetuated several.

In no particular order:

Gave some random people a ride across town when they needed one

Helped a Little Person (Like really little.) who's car had run out of gas in the street. Pushed her car to a lot, then walked with her to get some gas.

Jump started an uncountable number of car batteries for random people.

Helped to change out a flat tire at like 2am for multiple people.

Probably several more, but I can't recall any more.