A Good Deed Brightens Your Day

I was having one of those Very-Bad-No-Good-Days. One of the worst I’d had in a long while. When along came a total stranger and he turned my day and my attitude around. I’m not just saying that. There is science that shows good deeds and volunteer work reduces stress. I hope the story of a good deed brightens your day will do that for you. It may even inspire you to pay-it-forward.

Image of a rainbow of heart shared from one hand to another a visual representation of a good deed brightens your day

The Day Started Cold

In August 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was still going strong here in the USA. Because of my husband’s precarious health, we had kept a strict self-quarantine. Those precautions meant we’d both been healthier than we’d been in years. Then came the bad day.

It was chilly outside but still August so I didn’t want to turn on the heat. So we layered up. As all the ladies know, 99% of women’s clothing does not have adequate pockets. Certainly not pockets that would hold even an old iPhone.

I put on one of my husband’s soft, well-worn flannel shirts. Comfy and warm! And it had a chest pocket deep enough for my phone. I wore it all day.

Image of woman in indian print flannel shirt with an iPhone peeking out of the chest pocket.

The Trouble Starts

Our well-trained dogs followed their routine and began pestering me for their evening meal. I bent to retrieve their bowls in order to fill them. One bowl up, no problem. Second bowl—my iPhone went kerplunk into the large and full-to-the-brim water dish.I shrieked and snatched it out of the water as quickly as I could.

I dried it off and let it air dry the inner parts. Then I tried to make a call. I could call out, but the person on the other end of the phone line couldn’t hear me. At all. That person saw my caller ID and called me back.

But I couldn’t pick up their call.

Only One Solution

I tried a couple of other internet tips to dry my phone out. To no avail. I fought panic. Until the pandemic, my husband’s health issues caused him to fall frequently. Rarely could I help him back up by myself. If my son wasn’t available, I had to call 911. That happened about once every two months, even during the pandemic.

I quickly decided there was only one solution. I’d buy a new phone at the store down the street from us. Lo-and-behold, they did not have a single iPhone in stock. The telephone company we used didn’t have any. Nor did any nearby stores. I finally located one iPhone for sale at a store thirty minutes away. I placed an online order for it.

The Next Problem

Then I faced another conundrum. My husband was wheelchair bound. His physical weakness made transferring him into a regular vehicle difficult and dangerous for both of us. We planned to get a wheelchair van, but hadn’t found one yet. And though I rarely left my husband’s side for more than 15 minutes, we decided that his good health and our need for a working telephone out weighed my sense of caution.

So I studied the map (remember, no cell phone) and copied the directions. With both the written directions and a map in the car with me, I took off to an unfamiliar-to-me part of the city.

And Things Got Worse

image of a silver car with a flat tire and a jack ready to be pumped in order to change the tire

I was nearly at the store when I felt the car lurch. Then the flub-flub-flub of a fat tire filled my ears. I was on a busy, uphill stretch of a four-lane divided highway with a curb and no shoulder space. There was nowhere to pull over. I couldn’t call for help. And I had no idea where a gas station was. So, I turned on my hazard lights, moved to the right-hand lane, and slowed waaaay down. Hoping that at the top of the hill, I’d find a station or some place to pull over.

About half-way up the hill, my tire started sounding like parts of it were flapping in the wind. Crap! I slowed even further.

At the top of the hill was a Quick Trip, a convenience store and gas station. It offers no service for vehicles.

Asking for Help

Hoping I could add air to the tire, I pulled in to their lot and parked at the air pump. I should have known. My wheel sat on shreds of the tire. No way it would hold air. No way I was driving anywhere else. And I couldn’t loosen the lug nuts on my own. I’d have to find a phone, call a tow truck, and have them change the tire for me.

Inside the QT, I asked for a telephone and a telephone book. All I got from the teenaged clerk was a blank stare. I explained my cell phone wasn’t working, needed to call a tow truck, and repeated my request. Again with the blank look. I asked to speak to the manager. (No, I did not have AAA.)

A Little Help Better than None?

The manager was a pleasant woman who offered me her cell phone. Thank you, I said, but I don’t know where the closest tow truck or service station is or a phone number to call. She graciously looked up a number on her phone, dialed it, and handed the phone to me. I explained my situation to the person who answered the telephone. The tow service person told me it would be an hour or more before they could “get to me.” I didn’t want to wait an hour fearing my husband would fall and no one would know. I asked the manager if there was another tow service I could call. When she heard how long a wait I’d have, she offered to help me.

As we walked out to my car, she explained she had a bad back and wouldn’t be able to help a lot. Great.

A Good Deed Brightens My Day

Image of a man's hands using a wrench on the lug nuts of a tire

There was a sedan parked next to my car. We reached my car and the man in the sedan got out of his car and asked if I needed help.

The young, red-headed gentleman was in shorts and sandals. He changed my tire quickly and efficiently. Refused my offer to pay him something, or buy something from Quick Trip. He gave me directions to where I needed to go and drove off without even telling me his name.

He acted out of the kindness of his heart. And while he wanted no reward, he earned a ton of points toward many blessings that day.

I got to the store, and after a few issues, finally got my new iPhone and could drive home safely. To my immense relief, my husband hadn’t fallen during my extended absence.

The Moral of This Story

Image of a book opened to the quote "Never underestimate the power of a kind word or deed."

I will remember that young man for the rest of my life. His good heart, his good deed, not only brightened my day but meant I got home sooner. He knew nothing about me, yet lightened my worries. And though I thanked him profusely, I will always feel like I owe him.

He not only helped me in my time of need, he restored my belief in the goodness of people.

I tell this story often because a good deed brightens your day. It reminds me that doing a good deed and being kind brightens yours and at least one other person’s day. And retelling the story brightens even more people’s day. So think about that the next time you’re out and see someone in need. A moment of kindness will last forever. Won’t you brighten the day for all of us? Share your stories of a good deed in the comments. 

Love & Hope in the Pandemic

It’s good to see so many posts and articles praising and thanking our frontline workers. But there are many more examples of love & hope in the pandemic. Let’s look at a few.

Image of hands forming a heart against the sunset represents love and hope in the pandemic

Row Venice

Female gondola rowers in Venice — who are all part of a nonprofit organization called Row Venice — deliver groceries to the elderly and those who cannot shop for themselves. They also volunteer for local farmhouses, delivering organic produce and other products to the elderly and immunocompromised. Follow them on their Instagram account.

PPE for Healthcare Workers

A start up company, Augment Bionics, used to 3D print affordable prosthetics. Now the company prints PPE for healthcare workers. They need help to continue this effort. If you can afford it, visit their GoFundMe page.

Caremongering

Canadians, Mita Hans, Valentina Harper, and others started caremongering (a new word) on Facebook. . They wanted to turn scaremongering around into a positive. And they have. There are dozens of these Facebook groups performing acts of kindness for one another. You can search for caremongering and your city in the Facebook search bar. If you don’t have a group near you, why not start one? 

Hand Sanitizer

One of the many items shoppers have searched for is hand sanitizer.

Distilleries across the country and the world have been able to pivot when coronavirus COVID-19 threatened to shut down their business. Read how they help fight the virus by making hand sanitizer.

Giving Back

This Forbes report lists fifty ways companies are giving back to their employees or communities. It includes some resources you might find handy.

Respectful Protests

Israelis in Tel Aviv showed us how to protest and respect social distancing (mostly.)

Parodies

I don’t know about you, but I’m enjoying the coronavirus parodies of popular songs erupting on YouTube.

Here is my favorite #loving #pandemic #earworm. 

If you don’t know the author, professional speaker, and bookseller. Mark Leslie Lefebvre, check out his website.

Stay Informed, Not Depressed

We need to stay informed about the pandemic. We need to remember that stay-at-home quarantine didn’t kill the virus even if it flattened the curve. But sometimes the grim news gets overwhelming. Next time you are feeling down or overwhelmed by it all, look for the good deeds. Look for the love and hope during the pandemic. It’s there. Waiting to inspire you.

You Must Look for the Good News

It’s the holiday season in the U.S. and many other nations (though different holidays and traditions, see my December Celebrations posts). If you are on Facebook or Twitter, you cannot help but feel overpowered with the negatives—racism, gender discrimination, hate crimes, and on and on. And all the while there are beautiful, creative, and giving people all around the world making a difference with their big hearts and ideas. But to find it, you must look for the good news.

Look for the good news--service members and residents picking up bags of trash on beach of Diego Garcia.
Service members and residents of Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, clean up trash at Barton Point Sept. 14. More than 130 personnel attended the beach cleanup, assisting in the collection of 4,100 lbs. of trash. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Eric A. Pastor).

I am not saying we should ignore the problems in the world, nor am I saying we should only read the good news. Making either exclusive would be to our detriment. But the good news gets little notice. And that hurts us, too. It’s especially disturbing during the holidays.

It takes a little work to find the good news, because it lacks the sensationalism that gets clicks or sells papers. But it is well worth the time. 

Documenting History

These indigenous women are documenting and disseminating an endangered language, culture, and oral history. And they’re doing so in an environmentally friendly way. Read this article on Atlas Obscura

Homes for Homeless Veterans

Image of a row of tiny homes flying American flags.
Tiny Home community in Kansas City. Image courtesy of Fox4Kc.com

The Right Step

You’re in the bottom of your league and win a game against one of the other teams in the bottom. A moment of victory, a cause for celebration, right? Well, these Israeli women on the Lacrosse Team decided there was an inequity they needed to right. A step they needed to take.

A Tradition Grew

And this woman turned a Thanksgiving tradition into a warm and wonderful way to reach out to U.S. military members far from home during the holidays: handwritten holiday cards.

Look for the Good News

In the U.S. December is when many news sources report a little of the good news. They do this to be in the “spirit of the season.” No matter what season it is where you are, if you look for the good news, you’ll find it all year long.  Two sources of “good news” I’ve found include the Good News Network and a print magazine called For. Do you have sources for good news? Won’t you share them here?