Would You Be Willing to Spend 25 Cents to Buy a Stranger 10 Minutes?
As we go through our busy days we are usually so wrapped up in our next appointment; what we will cook for dinner; what time the kids have to be picked up.... the list goes on.....that we can forget that there are others around us. 
This morning as Larry and I were at the end of our morning walk at Delray Beach, we saw a young man going along the sidewalk and feeding the meters with the red “Expired” sign flashing in the window. He stopped at each meter, checked the status, then dropped in a quarter.
It was such an unexpected and kind gesture it made me wonder how many of us would have spent a quarter to buy a stranger 10 minutes of time. (In Delray, beach parking is 25 cents for 10 minutes.)
Larry and I have made this “mad dash” on more than a few mornings. You set your watch and know when you must “feed the meter” only to be stopped by a friend for a quick hello and chat. Or on those occasions when we saw the flashing red on meters near our car, we were always so busy talking or wrapped up in our thoughts, that it never occurred to either one of us to buy that person an extra 10 minutes.
I hope that next time I’ll step out of my own little world and be better prepared to perform a Random Act of Kindness.
Random Acts of Kindness are out there.... we just have to learn to look for them.
Would You Be Willing to Spend 25 Cents to Buy a Stranger 10 Minutes ?
32 comments • Kathy Streib-Home Stager-Palm Bch County South Florida - 561-914-6224 • April 26 2012 04:09AMNBA Star Alonzo Mourning Caught Directing Traffic!
NBA Star and Champion Alonzo Mourning was caught directing traffic in Miami on Friday. No, the economy may be tight but the former Miami Heat Center does not have a new career! He was doing something that I wonder if any of us would do.... performing a random act of kindness.
This past Friday, Mourning was stopped on a busy street at the traffic light when he noticed a disabled man in a motorized wheelchair waiting to cross the street. Mourning got out of his car and with long arms outstretched, he stopped traffic so that the man could cross. After he made it to the median, Mourning then stopped traffic on the south bound side so that the gentleman could continue. Mourning then got back in his car and drove off.
Nice, I thought.... too bad more people don't do this.
I was relating this story to my husband on the way to our morning walk, when I looked up and just ahead at the corner a young man
had gotten off his motorcycle and was walking up to a car. Then I noticed that the car at the light was stalled and this young man on the motorcycle had stopped to take the time to perform a random act of kindness... he was helping to push the car through the light and off to safety. Two others stopped as well to help this stranded motorist.
Now I'm sure there are a cynic or three out there who would say Mourning did it for publicity or someone might say stopping traffic was more dangerous for everyone. But I like to see the glass half full and think ... no... someone just did something nice for his fellow man.
What does it say about our society when a simple random act of kindness elicits such amazement; when it should be the other way around... being appalled when someone fails to respond in this manner.
What would you have done? Would you have stopped to render aid? Or would you have driven by, shaking your head saying "gee, that's too bad for that man."
19 comments • Kathy Streib-Home Stager-Palm Bch County South Florida - 561-914-6224 • March 28 2011 06:41AMHTML, CSS, "raindrop" logo, and generic header image © 2009 ActiveRain Corp. Logos and service marks owned by copyright holder.