Sometimes our faith in others can be restored

[Bluenose]

The other day there was a knock on my front door.  When I answered there stood a young woman with a babe in arms and a small child beside her.  She asked me if I knew the phone number to call to get help recover her car keys which she had dropped and had then slipped down a drain in the gutter next to her car.  I said that I would grab some tools and we would get them back ourselves, could she just wait a second or two while I went back inside and came back out through the garage with some tools.  When I opened the garage door, she simply lost it and started crying, in relief I suspect.  I well remember her daughter saying "don't cry, mummy" it touched my heart - I reassured her but it made me realise that she must have been feeling pretty desperate and she told me that she had been visiting a friend and when they both left, her friend had driven off, and that was when she had dropped the keys.  She had tried on quite a few houses in the street with no answer before she tried my house.  I then lifted the lid on the drain and using a long length of wire hooked out the keys.  She was so relieved that she asked if she could give me hug, which I accepted with thanks and left her putting her children back in the car to drive home (or wherever.)  That was the end of it as far as I was concerned, the satisfaction of helping out someone in need was all the reward I would expect or want.

Yesterday I had another knock on the front door.  There was the young woman again with a box of chocolates as a thank you.  It made me feel very happy and although chocolates are hardly what I need (there is altogether much too much more Bluenose than there should be), I felt that the only way I could acknowledge her thoughtfulness was to accept them with thanks, which I did.  I had almost forgotten the incident and certainly never expected anything in return - I only did what I would expect anyone would have done.   But one thing she did do was make me feel much better towards my fellow human beings.  Not everyone is only out for themselves.  It made me feel very happy.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

    

(those are happy-tears, in case you didn't get that)

Nice one, Blue.    I suspect that, for a second or so, she thought you had just blown her off, like some had already-- I also suspect that she'd actually managed to get others to answer the door, but they couldn't offer her anything helpful.

And I think a wee box or choco now and again is not going to make that much more Blue than is already there-- indulge yourself a bit.   So's we can too, vicariously.

[Griffin NoName]

A kinight on a white charger!! Well done you. And well done her. mmmm  chokkies, can you not at least have one?

[pieces o nine]

What a wonderful story, Blue!

She must have been overwhelmed with relief to find someone who opened the door to a stranger, then offered practical help -- with no [creepiness] in the process. Enjoy the chocolates with a clean conscience. Your kindness made a impact on her life, and may be remembered and emulated by her children as they encounter others who need help. Bravo!












~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When I locked my keys in my car during a visit home, my brother's father-in-law very helpfully came right over and broke into my car with his Official City Employee tools. I was grateful that I didn't have to call a locksmith, and bought him a box of chocolates as well. Of course, if you knew this guy and his sense of humor, you would already know that the only sensible course was to open the chocolates and take a bite of out of several of them -- on both layers -- then carefully smear chocolate on the Thank You card before (obviously) taping it all up again.
Mom was horrified. He was truly delighted. 

[Bluenose]

Thanks for the comments, guys.  Re-reading this I hope I did not give the impression I was fishing for compliments, on the contrary I was only trying to give context to the lady's kindness.  I did what I always do, if I find someone in need of assistance that I have the means to provide, I do.  I figure its just what goes around comes around, maybe next time it will be Mrs Blue who's stuck somewhere and some stranger helps her out.  Even if that never happens, it matters not, I figure only thinking for yourself is a sad way to spend your life.  Giving a helping hand makes two people feel good, the one receiving the help and the one giving it - the act is reward in and of itself.  Then someone comes along like this lady and I can't tell you how it made me feel.  Oh, I guess I just did..

Oh, and Mrs Blue and I are sharing the chockies.  I said I did not need them, not that I would not enjoy them!

[Sibling DavidH]

Good for you, Blue!  So many people wouldn't have bothered to help her, yet it gave you so little trouble.  Enjoy the choccies with a god conscience.

I know this case was quite genuine, but, in the UK at least, there's a well-known scam where a pretty young lady asks to use your phone for some alleged emergency, but is in fact dialling a number which costs you several pounds a minute.  Watch out.

[Opsa]

We should all be so godlike! 

Seriously, it is godlike to help others, if we think in the context of us all being connected. Blue would have appreciate help if he was in trouble, so he gives help to someone else in trouble.

As for the scam, that is lower than low. I'll admit, I might have entertained thoughts that I was being scammed by this lady, too.

We had a guy come through our neighborhood one rainy morning  few years back who said his car has stalled and could he please have some money for payphone. I didn't have any to give him, but apparently he got some off of several neighbors. None of us knew until  we mentioned it a few days afterward. This sort of thing can make a person skeptical.

I'm with Griffin. A knight in shining armor is always appreciated, and so are chokkies.

[The Meromorph]

Yesterday I had another knock on the front door.  There was the young woman again with a box of chocolates as a thank you.  It made me feel very happy and although chocolates are hardly what I need (there is altogether much too much more Bluenose than there should be), I felt that the only way I could acknowledge her thoughtfulness was to accept them with thanks, which I did. 

One aphorism I have used for 'advice to the happy couple' at weddings has been:

"Give with a generous hand,
Take with a generous heart."

[Opsa]

Wise Mero, you always know what to say.

[Roland Deschain]

What a wonderful thing you did for her, Blue. It reminds me of Pay It Forward, one of my favourite films. I just hope you managed to eat more chockies than Mrs Blue.

Our society is a strange place indeed when we have to be wary of random people knocking on our door in this way, but this is how we've been conditioned to think. If more people were trusting in this way, and willing to help their fellow humans out, it would be a far happier one.

When I locked my keys in my car during a visit home, my brother's father-in-law very helpfully came right over and broke into my car with his Official City Employee tools. I was grateful that I didn't have to call a locksmith, and bought him a box of chocolates as well. Of course, if you knew this guy and his sense of humor, you would already know that the only sensible course was to open the chocolates and take a bite of out of several of them -- on both layers -- then carefully smear chocolate on the Thank You card before (obviously) taping it all up again.
Mom was horrified. He was truly delighted. 

[Bruder Cuzzen]

I found yet another wallet on a very busy street today , it was an extremely large on packed with every card one could think of as well just under two hundred CAD .
The good news is that i once again resisted temptation to keep the cash as reward for mailing the wallet back .
I went through all the compartments looking
for contact info and eventually found a faded pay receipt from a tv production company .
The owner , a young lady happened to be visited her siblings in my condo just one floor above me .
I met them at the elevator and promptly suggested that she ought to buy a lottery ticket . I recieved to hugs and the knowledge that l very likely restored their faith in humanity .
She just stoped by over an hour ago with her other sibling whom i recognized in passing , a pleasant young gentleman .
They brought me a cabernet sauvignon , i said that they didn't have to such a thing in which she replied that i didn't have return the wallet

[Bruder Cuzzen]

Continued ,( my LG phone is a piece of junk , my 4g network sucks , the browser corrupted , and my service provider is sub par )

..... i in turn said that i did have to return her wallet else i would feel guilt for the remainder of my life .
I am glad to have an angel on my shoulder , it would have been a nightmare for her to replace all those cards .

[Griffin NoName]

Good deads are fairly uncommon in our current society.

[Bluenose]

I think it's sad that so many of our fellow citizens have lost what i think is a natural trait which is to empathize with others. The sorts of things I and BC are taking about really cost is so little to do yet they can have a big impact on the other person. I just don't get why t you would not help out of you can. That the other person sometimes shows their gratitude like this helps me remember that most people are decent, despite what the media tries to tell us.

[Griffin NoName]

Sadly I am struggling with a Government who's actions make me literally ashamed to be English. It colours everything. But yes of course there are kind individuals who like me did not vote for this lot. I've always understood the best good deeds are those that no one else, including anyone benfiting, knows you have done.