Search Results for 'popular' (3005 matches)

Rock N Roll Never Dies

After 11 years of being "lucky to live Hawaii" my wife and I are moving to Florida to take care of my Mother.  It's a real treat for my wife, who is a local girl who has never been to the mainland.  

To minimize expenses we decided to mail the essentials from Hawaii to Florida -- the cheapest solution we could come up with. This also meant parting with things that we have held onto.  Things like my cassette tape collection,  along with my vinyl record collection. I'm guessing that I probably had about 300+ cassette tapes, mostly 60-70's rock and around 100 or so vinyl LP's, many bootlegs and a lot of great cover art.

I called our local radio station and told my friend DC, the morning jock, that I'd like to donate them to a listener who would appreciate them and give them a good home. He put it on the air, said that the first caller would get the cassettes and within minutes, a listener named "Spike" was over joyed to get them!

The following day DC gave away my vinyl collection and I'm glad they will have a home where they will be listened to.

The Egg & Spoon Race

My friend & I were at the school games. Her son Andrew has cerebal palsy but he was insistent that he was going in the races. In the flat race he ran well, but came in last.

In a short pace of time the egg & spoon race was on.

What we saw next brought tears to our eyes.

The school principle handed Andrew his the spoon with the egg glued onto it. Needless to say Andrew came in at the Number 1 and our tears were mixed with laughter and so much joy.

An act of kindness makes us all winners.

A Tank Of Gas

Many years ago a kind farmer bought  a tank of gas for a stranded mom with 2 children.  He wouldnt accept any money and just smiled, waved and said pass it on to someone else.  And so a few weeks ago as my husband and I were filling up our car with a coupon for 99 cents a gallon, I went in to pay and got into a long line.  I could see up ahead a young man who was having some kind of problem and realized he had misunderstood the coupon and thought it was 99 cents to fill his small truck.  Everyone was saying, "99 cents a gallon is unbelieveable - they cant give the gas away."  He was embarressed and was just calling his wife when I got to the counter.  He said to his wife, "Just come down cuz I dont have that much on me."  I ... Read Full Story >>

Hope, There's Nothing Stopping You

There was about 15 of us folks chalking in front of the downtown Berkeley BART station.  We started with about ten adventurers and as the momentum increased, we gained more energy, creative inspiration, and people.  In the beginning, many pedestrians stopped by us, paused briefly out of curiousity, and for the most part remained rather perplexed by our so-called 'deviant' behavior.  However, after we chalked up some cheerful colors and phrases on the beautiful red stones in the area, people came over just to take a peek and see what adults chalkers really do.  Folks came by with cameras. Small children pointed at us and tugged the hands of their parents to have them take a look.  This one particular man in a suit came out of the station, appearing as if he had had an exhausting day.  Yet, he managed to trudge a bit closer to us to read the ... Read Full Story >>

The Waffle House Waitress

I was recently traveling with a friend when we decided to get something to eat. Being a huge Waffle House fan, we scouted out the area we were in, and found one. If you have never been in one, or have never heard of it, Waffle House is kinda like a chain of diners that serve the best waffles around! They won't be found at the top of any Zagat's list of Fine dining, but they are my favorite! Our waitress took a while to take our order, asking the same questions a few times. We made a few substitutions and "complicated" the order, but she wrote it all down. When the orders came, they were not right. When the bill came, it was not right either. The only thing that was right was the taste of the food and the smile of the waitress. She may not ... Read Full Story >>

A New Old Friend

My daughter and I have recently moved across the country to the West Coast. I know no-one here other than my sister and her husband. I started feeling a little lonley and missing my friends and family back east. I have now started to go back to college and have been enjoying getting the education I should have gotten long ago. I'm an extrovert and I love to talk, that's why I enjoy going to school so much because it gives me the opportunity to meet new and different people. I think you learn the most from people and life experiences. I love talking with and learning about people from different walks of life, different religions, and age groups. Children and the elderly are the most interesting to me. Children look at everything with eyes full of wonder. The elderly have been there, done most of it, and can tell you all about it. You can learn so ... Read Full Story >>

Top 10 Kindness Stories of 2012 - Story #1 - My Sneaky Mirror Of Kindness

High school is always full of girls who have little self-confidence and lots of negative thoughts relating to self-image. so, one lunch break, I did something to help!

Happy Birthday And A Gold Coin

While eating lunch with my 4 year old daughter this afternoon at a fast food restaurant, i noticed an old man walking to the table with a cane. The manager kindly carried his food for him. During the meal I overheard the man tell a woman it was his birthday. So I whispered what I heard to my daughter. She loves when people have birthdays. I told her it was ok for her to wish him a happy birthday. He obviously was spending this special day alone. At first she was shy and decided against it. No problem. As I was emptying our tray into the trash she turned to him and quietly wished him a Happy Birthday.  I could tell he was touched by the way he looked at her. I came up behind her and gave him my own wishes. He was grateful. As we walked away he called my daughter back ... Read Full Story >>

Two Quick Judo-Joy-Chops

I was on my way to the post office. I hadn’t found a parking place on my first pass up the street and was now making a left turn into a small parking lot in order to loop back towards the post office, in effect accomplishing a U-turn legally. It’s a tight space and there’s a mail box set up right inside the lot so people can pull in, roll down their window and reach out to stick a letter into the box without getting out of their cars. As I completed my turn into the lot, I saw a four-door Buick pulled up alongside the mailbox in front of me. I would be delayed while the driver ahead reached out to put mail into the mail slot. I happened to be in a high-energy mode and at first was impatient as I watched the hand tentatively trying to get a small ... Read Full Story >>

Meeting Anger With Kindness

From 1993 through 1998 I was a vendor for Chevrolet dealearships. Each week I would take a look at their used cars that were for sale. I would fix cracks in leather, cigarette burns in fabric,  re-color carpets that had stains, repair windshields that had been hit by a rock, etc. Every week I would walk into this specific Chevrolet dealer's used car lot  to see what the used cars needed in the way of repairs. The general manager's wife was named Cindy. Cindy was always very rude,  treating me like I was below her or that she was better than me.  I was always upbeat, possitive and kind, but that never seemed to work with her.  One day she accused me of charging  her to dye the carpet in a mini-van that had a stain in the carpet.  She had driven the van for the weekend and said the stain was not there.  Just trying to continually be agressive, and negitive without ... Read Full Story >>

Love is the New Religion

On the surface of the world right now there is war and violence and things seem dark But calmly and quietly, at the same time, something else is happening underground An inner revolution is taking place and certain individuals are being called to a higher light It is a silent revolution From the inside out From the ground up It is time for me to reveal myself I am an embedded agent of a secret, undercover Clandestine Global operation A spiritual conspiracy We have sleeper cells in every nation on the planet You won't see us on the T.V. You won't read about us in the newspaper You won't hear about us on the radio We don't seek any glory We don't wear any uniform We come in all shapes and sizes Colors and styles Most of us work anonymously We are quietly working behind the scenes in every country and culture of the world Cities big and small, mountains and valleys, in farms and villages, tribes and remote islands You ... Read Full Story >>

When Blessings Come Home To Roost

I was recently invited to dinner by a friend. During the meal, the manager  of the restaurant came over and said that our meal was free. He stood there smiling at me and there was an air of familiarity about him but I couldn't quite place him. Finally I asked him if he knew me. He laughed and said I had probably forgotten him, but that I had changed his life.  My friend was quite curious and asked him how I had done this. He said that twelve years ago he was in recovery and I was teaching a stress management class that was mandatory for him to take in order to live in recovery housing.  I asked the group what their number one stress was and most, including him, had said it was their bosses. He said I listened carefully to everyone and then took a chair and placed it in the center of ... Read Full Story >>

Finding Happiness By Giving It To Others

A young lady complained to her counselor that she felt that her whole life was empty and had no meaning to her. The counselor saw an old lady who cleaned the office floors and called her over.  She told the young lady that this old cleaning lady was happy and asked her to explain how she had found that happiness. The old lady put down her broom and sat on a chair and told her story: "Well, some time back, my husband died of malaria and three months later my only son was killed by a car. I was devastated.  I had nobody... I had nothing left... I could not sleep... I could not eat and I never smiled at anyone. I even thought of taking my own life." Then one evening a little kitten followed me home from work. Somehow I felt sorry for that kitten. It was cold outside, so I decided to let the kitten ... Read Full Story >>

My Smile Deck Adventure

I have received a few Smile Decks and decided I would use one.    I read through the cards and love all the different ideas. I try to make sure I do at least one random act of kindness each week and thought the Smile Deck could help me with that!   There are many ways you can use the cards. Each suite has a different focus and they get progressively more challenging the higher you go. Since I have been committed to practicing kindness I figured I would just shuffle the deck and every few days pull one out and do whatever it says.    So that is what I did!    Yesterday I had the eight of hearts, which asks you to acknowledge an act of kindness by someone else and thank them. I have been the recipient of an act of kindness in the past week so this was a perfect card!    I put together a ... Read Full Story >>

Teaching Kindness, Staying Kind

The other day I decided to teach my son about the power of small acts of kindness.  He had won some lollies in a prize machine in the local supermarket, so I asked him if he would like to share his win with the next child that walks past.  He was hesitant because he is a shy young man but said yes after I encouraged him a bit. A father and his child were nearby.  I approached the father and asked if my son could give his daughter a lolly that he had won.  The father looked at me sideways and was unsure what to say.  I further explained how I was coaching my son about the power of kindness.  Eventually he said it was okay. We approached his daughter ... who wouldn’t accept the lollies!  She too was looking at us sideways with uncertainty!  At this stage my son was rather ... Read Full Story >>

Footprints of Love

I have been blessed with opportunity in my life, and it took the near-death of my dad to make me realize that my purpose in life is to help others. My dad was diagnosed with leukemia in 1998 and watching the pain and treatment that he endured inspired me to be a more kind and giving person.  It was like a smack in the face as I woke up one morning and realized life is just too short and it was time for me to make some changes – do the things in life that I wanted to do without making excuses why I couldn’t do them, or telling myself that I had plenty of time to do things. Well, you never know when your hourglass will run out of sand.  The time was now. My dad needed a bone marrow transplant. He was given a procedure in which he was able to reuse ... Read Full Story >>

Shopping Cart Outside A Car Door

A few weeks ago, I went to my usual retail therapy session at the local Target store. On my way to the front door, I noticed that there was a car parked by the front doors facing the wrong direction but with the passenger door open.  A woman came out of the driver side and waited by the passenger door, and out came a frail little old lady walking very slowly and using the shopping cart as as walker.  As she got closer to the passenger door, the driver took her by the hand to help her in the car and then I noticed that she had this look of uneasiness looking at the cart as if thinking, "Oh great, now what do I do with this?"  She had to put the lady in the car, drop off the cart in its place, go to the other side of her car, drive out ... Read Full Story >>

The Empty Seat Next to Mine

I've been holding on to a good bunch of Smile Cards for some time now and decided it was about time I started using them more often!  Any opportunity I get, no matter how big or small I am going to do an act of kindness and encourage the pay-it-forward idea. The other day I attended a large business event.  I was seated in a row of seats where all chairs were taken except for one chair next to me.  It was the only good viewing spot left in the room.  There were other chairs available, but they were a distance away and to the side of the room.  A few minutes later, two young men stood near me gazing the auditorium for the best seats they could find.  "How many seats do you need?" I inquired.  "Two," one of them replied.  I flashed back to my Smile Card resolution and immediately got up.  "Here, you can my seat and the ... Read Full Story >>

Jackpot of Kindness from an unlikely source

When I read a post about taking someone to the movies, I was reminded of something that happened a couple of years ago. I used to drink Coca-cola and they had a contest where there was a code inside the bottle cap. You went to a website and entered the code and maybe you won something. I won some free cokes. But then, I won the Grand Prize! I was surprised and pleased. The grand prize was free movies for a year!! What that turned out to be was that the company sent me 52 admission tickets for a local movie theater chain -- they figured one movie a week was what free movies for a year meant. All of the tickets had expiration dates later than a year from the day I received them. I used quite a few taking friends to movies we all wanted to see. But the best thing I did ... Read Full Story >>

Pay-It-Forward New Year Resolution

2010 is finally over, so why not make the resolution to pay-it-foward? Some one very near and dear to me is very inspired after watching the movie 'Pay-it-Foward', and we both want to make it a goal to spread the seeds of loving kindness in 2011. It would be most appretiated if you join us, and follow the ripples :) If you're reading this let this be your new years resolution! To do one kind act to three people, and have those three people do one kind act to another three people...and have it have a chain reaction. If we can do this in enough sequences we can cover the city. 3x3=9x3=27x3=81 (That's only three sequences). 14 sequences equals approx 14,348,907 people...that's a little more than Manhattan! So it's simple, do one kind thing to three people, and lets make a change! :) Kindness will always endure and we both share the same morals of ... Read Full Story >>