feeling good after a good deed

JDancer

The other day, walking home from the bank, I spotted something in the road. A purse, partially buried in the snow. A quick peek revealed a COVID vaccine card for an 82 year old woman. The rest of the way home I was thinking, how am I going to find this woman? I don't think she'll be active on social media....Opening the purse at home, I immediately spotted an address book. Oh good, I'll call someone she knows. I opened the address book, across the top it said, "My cell phone number is ___-____." Luckily, the cell phone was not in the purse. She was overjoyed to get her purse back, especially since it contained a hearing aid, glasses, IDs, lots of cash, etc. Returning it made me feel great, too. I need to feel the same way after doing something nice for my DH, even if he doesn't appreciate it. Two lessons 1) Put your phone number in your purse and pockets, etc. 2) Find joy in helping others.

BethL

How kind of you! Thanks for your honesty and caring.

Crushed

 Many years ago I spotted a paper  bag under a bush in the VA hospital parking lot.  It was full of photographs of a Black family including a man in an old uniform. I took it in to drop it at the desk and the kind lady there took it smiled and said "just wait a moment". She made a call and in five minutes the lobby was full of family, friends, sorority sisters etc who had been tearing the hospital apart looking for it.  He was an aging veteran with a terminal illness in ICU and these were his lifetime treasures.  Very special moment

ScottyTom

Years ago I was riding a subway in Washington DC and noticed a man's wallet on the floor.  I looked though it and found the owners drivers license and documents indicating he was a new immigrant from an African country.  His social security card was also in the wallet.  There was no money, I suppose whoever took the money discarded the wallet.  I mailed it to the man with what I thought was good advice; he should memorize his Social Security number and not carry the card with him since his identity could so easily have been stolen by a person with all his ID and a social security number and his immigration information.

anneleigh

Awesome deed! Hope you are blessed even more from LO ~

JJAz

Good on you!!  I also keep stickers on cell phones & portable electronics with my phone number and 'REWARD.'  Waiting for a plane in Tel Aviv, I got a phone call from airport security.  I had left my laptop in the bin at security and was able to retrieve it before getting on my airplane.  I probably would never have seen it again otherwise.

60 falcon

J dancer, what a nice post and good thing you did.  It's also nice to hear other people's good deeds.  It makes me feel good just reading about these things.

I think we've all done good deeds at one time or another, although maybe not as significant.  Even little, rather insignificant good deeds, are good for the heart.  Even something as simple as holding a door, helping to change a flat tire, or whatever.  

Anything that makes us feel good while we're all on this "miserable road" that we're on is a win.  Thanks for your post.

Joe C.

My story of finding a purse is a little different. In 2001 we were living in a semi-rural area where the house were fairly spread out, back off the road and no sidewalks. It was the Friday after Thanksgiving and I was on a training run for the Boston Marathon the following spring. I was running down one of the main roads that cut through town and I saw a change purse in the grass off the side of the road. I picked it up and could tell there was something inside but the pull tab on the zipper was broken so I just carried it with me for the remainder of the run. When I was walking up my driveway at the end of my run I managed to open the purse and it was full of drugs. I called the local Police Department and they said their’d send a car by to pick it up. Seamed like it took them forever to get there but after a while a saw a police car coming so I went out and flagged him down. It was a really young police officer and when he looked inside the peruse he said, “This must be a practical joke”, I’m thinking, “ buddy I didn’t fall off the turnip truck yesterday, this is the real McCoy”. Anyhow he said he’d taken back to the station and have it tested. About an hour later he called me and said, “Thank you, there was 150 bags for heroin in the purse”. Fortunately I found it and not some kid!

DWck

I have a tale to tell of a good deed by omission. Many years ago when I was a nurse in the emergency department of a large hospital, I was one of 3 nurses chosen to attend a trauma seminar in Wilmington, DE. I lived at the Jersey Shore at the time so it was quite a distance.  We would to stay in a hotel for 2 nights. I volunteered to drive and we started out about 4pm. Half way there we stopped so I could use the ladies room in a fairly seedy gas station off I-95. When we pulled up to the hotel parking attendant in Wilmington I couldn't find my purse. Breaking out in a cold sweat I realized I had left it hanging on the back of the restroom door somewhere in NJ! It had quite a bit of cash in it plus credit cards etc. In a panic I decided to drive at least an hour back to try to find it. One of the nurses agreed to come with me. We recognized the exit and got off the interstate. Its now going on 10pm. I gingerly went into the restroom and lo and behold my purse was still there! Apparently no other self respecting woman chose to stop at that gas station. My lucky day for sure!

Ed1937

Jill, I'm proud of you! Many people would not have done that.

JDancer

Loving these stories.

Jo C.

Back when I was much younger and a newlywed on a very tight budget, as I was leaving a bank, I noticed something on the ground.  It was actually a large roll of cash.  I immediately picked it up and brought it into the bank.   The manager looked up withdrawals and found the large amount had been withdrawn by an elderly man who needed it for,"an important reason," and it got returned to him thank goodness. The bank manager offered me a job on the spot, but I had other things I was aspiring to;  it was however, very nice of him.

Really good and caring people here.  We would not want any less done for us if we experienced a loss; it is the right thing to do. 

J.

Ed1937

I also had a big one about 20 years ago. I was working on a house, putting windows in and new siding, with 2 of my sons and another guy. When it was time for lunch, we went to a local Burger King. Walking in, we headed to the bathroom to wash before ordering. No other customers were in there except for a woman and her small son. The boy was choking on a piece of meat, and his mother was frantically hitting him on the back, trying to help. It just got worse, and his face was discolored. I remembered my wife, an RN, once told me not to hit someone on the back when they were choking because it could make it worse. I yelled for the cashier to call an ambulance, and told the woman to stop. She did, and I did the Heimlich maneuver on him. He quit choking, and we headed to the bathroom. But he started again. Once again, I did the Heimlich maneuver, and this time a large chunk of meat came flying out. I never did anything like that before.

We sat down for our lunch, and the woman and her son were finishing theirs. When they were done, she told the  boy, about 4 years old, to thank me. He came over and said thanks, then reached into my fries, and took a couple for himself. We laughed about that for a long time.

But I never felt like I saved his life. God just wasn't ready for him yet, and he used me as a tool. But it really made me feel good knowing I was the tool He chose.