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What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
Okay...scary movies, babies without faces, cheating boyfriends....let's talk about what YOU have done that is good....and as selfless as possible. Not something that you did in order to improve your own life.
Mine - I think ... it was several years ago when I was driving home at around midnight, and saw someone pushing his car in the direction of a gas station...and he was struggling. He had a little girl in the car at the wheel to try to help steer it. I parked my car on the side of the road and ran out to help push his car for the remainder of the block. He was so exhausted, he didn't say anything...just a nod to acknowledge my existence. When we got there, I turned around (with another nod) and ran back to my car. We never exchanged a single word.
Entirely selfless? No...it made me feel good. But that's all I got out of it (plus some minor back pain for a couple of days).
So what have you done to help someone for little to no gain for yourself?
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
That's really sweet, Mojo. I did a similar thing for a young guy whose car stalled...I felt guilty for honking at him when my car was behind his and I couldn't see what was going on.
Well...how can you state these things without getting too self-aggrandizing or too personal? My most generous act is too personal to share. And I'd feel like an asshole for yelling it from the rooftop- that's not the point.
Oh, a cool mutual generosity story: at the college, I almost backed into another car that was backing out of its parking space at the same exact time I was, right across the way. Our fenders scraped. After we got out and took a look (only paint scrape marks) we both wordlessly got back into our cars and drove off. (Well, we both had Ford sedans- a Taurus and an Escort. Ha ha.)
A woman hit the back of the same car in traffic, but only cracked the bumper, so I let her go. That poor abused Ford!
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
Donated $500 to bailing a friend of mine out of jail. Her bail was $500K, they were trying to get it reduced to $200K so they could put the downpayment of $20k. Don't know if it ever happened 'cause I haven't heard from her in three months. FYI: When u put a downpayment down for bail, you don't get it back.
Something else I did that was nice-I always do nice shit, it's nice to be nice. In particular, charity donations to the chicken soup brigade every holiday season, if you gotta baby in a stroller and you're going downstairs from the train station-I always ask/help u carry the stroller down the stairs if I'm not in a rush, ummm...
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
When I was sixteen and had just gotten my own place to live, rather than living out of backpacks at different freinds houses, my best freind had a baby and her adoptive parents wouldn't let her come home from the hospital. I brought her and the baby home with me and went and got all her stuff from their house (with police back up), and partially supported them for months.
I advocated for a little four year old girl to be removed from her home when nobody else thought the problem was that big. After she was removed, it turned out she had been being severely sexually abused by her father. Then I advocated for her not to have the weekly supervised visitations with the father (that he was "legally entitled" to, even tho it was retraumatizing to her), which took hours of arguing in court. Now I'm advocating for his parental rights to be terminated, even tho the system says he's been through perpetrator counseling and won't re-offend so he should get his daughter back.
A few years ago in Tucson I was driving and passed a woman walking and looking pretty rough. When I drove back the other way after getting groceries, I picked her up. She was staying in a hotel because she'd left her abusive boyfriend, but earlier that day she'd gone for a drive with him to make up and he'd beat her up and took her car and left her on the side of the road way out of town. I took her back to the hotel room (she was too drunk to make a police report) and there were three very angry, confused kids. I got her in bed and took the kids out to eat. We talked about ways for them to deal with their parents behaviors, and the next day I picked the oldest up and helped him report the situation to the state. The state didn't do anything, but the kids kept in contact with me and I would take them out to eat and talk every week or two. After a month or so, I helped them talk to their grandparents and their parents and they ended up living with their grandparents, which wasn't ideal but was a hell of a lot better than where they were before. Then I moved and lost contact with them.
Lena
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
Wow, Lena, that was wonderful of you. I adopted my brother's friend for a while, but he couldn't stay long in my house. I was calling him my little brother, though.
It's sad how many unfit parents there are out there. I hope those kids will be okay.
One of my best pals growing up was a foster kid, she had a childhood that nightmares are made of. We had a stupid fight and stopped being pals. My one real regret in life was that I abandoned her that way and I didn't realize what I was doing. To me we just had a stupid fight but to her I was doing what everyone else did to her- I left. When I think of her I pray for her happiness- it's the least I can do now.
Lena, I'm going to light a candle for you. I wish I could be as brave. I probably wouldn't have helped the beat-up woman. And so I would have missed a chance to help those kids.
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
I dont know how nice this is or what not...but
One night I was driving home with my girlfriend at the time from her house. As I was getting on the highway I saw a car flipped on its roof...all messed up....must have just crashed not more than 20 seconds earlier. There were some cars and people there, but everyone was just standing around. I got out and tried to see if there was anyone in the car. All I could see was a pool of blood coming from the car. I reached in to see if anyone was in there and then some foriegn guy started screaming and yelling and thrashing around. I couldnt get the door of the car pried open and no one else seemed to want to help. So I just tried to keep the guy inside calm(its hard when they dont speak english) so he wouldnt move too much and hurt himself more till the cops came. Then i just bounced. Hope he came out OK.
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I've never done anything nice for anyone. Ever. I'm just mean ol' Madcap.
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The biggest and most important for me was, i suported my sister while she was very ill due to alcohol. She lived 3 blocks from me,and i checked on her twice a day for a 8 months. She was given 6 months to live, she dies into the fourth month. I was there, i never left her, even after she was dead i held her hands for 4 hours, she coded in the ED. I had her cremated, and to send her ashes up north to be scattered over mountains in the spring. PA actually. We rode horses threre at Harveys Lake. Her last wishes, to be scattered over the mountains, and i knew what that meant. The funeral home even let me watch the cremation. I would do it again.
Pamela
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
Quote:
Originally Posted by pimpy718
FYI: When u put a downpayment down for bail, you don't get it back.
...
Ya do if the person makes ALL their court apperances, and you go thru a bail bondsman. Ive been bonded out a few times and the person ALWAYS got their money back as long as I showed up for ALL the court shit.
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I rescued a family from a burning car once. Basically me and a buddy were cruisin over the Coranado Bay Bridge and a car went whippin by us with a family inside, the mom and dad were fighting pretty hard and as we rounded the highest part of the bridge we found the car against the embankment in flames, and the dad camly walking down the highway. My buddy went and grabbed the dad and dragged him back to the scene and we forced our way in to the burning car to pull his family out... turns out dad decided to kill everyone by jumping the car over the embankment and only managed to crash it, so as the car went up he took off..nice fuckin guy eh?
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I have fed the homelesI like to go driving around and give money to people i see that are down and out
Sometimes i take a homles person out to eat
buy sneakers for kids in the hood who need new kicks
Act as a big brother to kids who dont have fathers
And yes i preach to them when i do this cause everyone needs GOD.
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blade
I rescued a family from a burning car once. Basically me and a buddy were cruisin over the Coranado Bay Bridge and a car went whippin by us with a family inside, the mom and dad were fighting pretty hard and as we rounded the highest part of the bridge we found the car against the embankment in flames, and the dad camly walking down the highway. My buddy went and grabbed the dad and dragged him back to the scene and we forced our way in to the burning car to pull his family out... turns out dad decided to kill everyone by jumping the car over the embankment and only managed to crash it, so as the car went up he took off..nice fuckin guy eh?
OMG!!!! :O
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One winter (Blizzard of 1999) I was driving home from a college course. I saw this old woman and 3 kids (1 toddler) walking through the snow. At first, I glanced over at them and kept driving, but something made me turn around. I pulled up to the kids first (they were walking ahead of their grandmother who was pulling along the toddler). I asked them if they would all like a ride to wherever they were going...the kids asked me to hold on a minute and ran back to their grandmother and asked her. She said ok, so the kids came running back with some bags, and climbed into the car. A couple minutes later, the grandma got in with the toddler. As I was driving them home (it was a 20 minute drive...so it would have taken them a couple hours in the snow to walk it) the grandma told me that she had lost some money while she was at the store and couldn't afford the bus fare home with the kids. So, since she couldn't get a hold of anybody to come pick her up, she figured they could hike it home. I had the heat blasting so they could warm up faster and when I pulled up to their home, the grandma tried to give me the couple dollars she had left...I just told her to keep it, but to make sure she does something nice for another person. I gave her a hug, wished them well and drove away.
I have to go find a place to volunteer now...I miss doing that stuff. ;)
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
omg Blade he tried to drive the car over the coronado bridge? some crazy shit happens on that bridge.
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
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Originally Posted by urnemesis
And yes i preach to them when i do this cause everyone needs GOD.
All very nice things...until you reached that incredibly presumptuous holier than thou bullshit.
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
^ LOL...I was thinking the same thing.
Sure, everybody needs God...you, urnemesis, are in need of him, as well. Whatever happened to giving without consequence, expectations, and the right to control?
You show people God when you give freely and lovingly.
Maybe you should lay off the crack pipe a bit.
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
Quote:
Originally Posted by urnemesis
I have fed the homelesI like to go driving around and give money to people i see that are down and out
Sometimes i take a homles person out to eat
buy sneakers for kids in the hood who need new kicks
Act as a big brother to kids who dont have fathers
And yes i preach to them when i do this cause everyone needs GOD.
Let me get this straight....You drive around and give money to the homeless? /:O
Why not work at a homeless shelter? Why not work in a soup kitchen? They are always looking for volunteers around this time of the year.
Handing over money and buying shoes is only a small fix for a big problem.
I wear a size 5, btw.
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
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Originally Posted by RoseDelight
I wear a size 5, btw.
:rotfl:
I think I've seen you mention this about 10 times over the last week... fishing for gifts are we? hmmmm? :P
Nicest thing I did? hmmmmmm.... never saved anyone's life...
hmmmmm
ok, I've done a bunch of "small" nice things, but the one that sticks out was a couple of years ago. In college I alternated semesters between work and school. While working, I stayed in an apartment with 3-6 people; guys and girls co-oping the same semster I was there. One semester I lived with a fellow engineer who has just experienced a fairly brutal divorce, lost custody of his kid, and was left with basically nothing... He was scraping to get by. The guy was great, though.. He also had excellent experience in the field, and took me under his wing. He taught sooooo much, in such a short time period, and never asked for anything in return. He was pretty lonely... anyways, his car died and he didn't have enough money to buy a car, nor had the credit rating to get a loan... so he was stuck hitching rides, or riding his bike everywhere... He finally found a decent used car for $2000, and was going to buy it, but soon after his wife sewed him, and once again was left with nothing... So, I loaned him $2000 and never asked for it back.
I normally don't just loan out that amount of money, let alone give it away, but I was good friends with the guy, and he was a decent human being.
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Allowed them to live when it was entirely up to me as to whether or not they would continue to do so...
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I paid my sisters rent for 2 months.
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
When I was dancing at my second club, we had a homeless man who would walk around collecting cans, day and night. One morning when I was going into work I saw him looking through the club's trashcans in the back of the building. I took $100 out of my purse and dropped it next to the door really quick so he wouldn't see me. Then I caught his attention and told him that someone must've dropped it, so it was his now. He looked up and smiled, and then grabbed it. Obviously he wasn't stupid, because he knew I did it. When I left work later that day, my car was sparkling clean from top to bottom. So I guess that was a good deed all around.
The other day when I was in work, I was heading towards Receiving to start my shift. I saw this lady with a little boy, he looked to be about 5 years old. I passed them and went right on to Receiving. A few minutes later, a "Code Yellow" was called. Code Yellow, is Target's version of Walmart's "Code Adam", for a lost child. It was the little boy who had wandered away. I immediately spotted him in the Toy department, clutching a Spiderman figure set. So, I called the desk and had them cancel the code, and walked him back to his mother. She hugged him so tightly I thought he was going to pop.. LOL.. She saw that he had the toy still clutched in his arms and told him that they'd have to put it back, because she couldn't afford it because they had $50 and that was for groceries (She later told me that the $50 was what she had left for her Food Stamps benefits). He broke out crying. I pulled the lady aside and asked her if it would be alright if I bought the toy for him. After coaxing her a bit, she let me. I walked the little boy (Nicholas is his name, I later found out), right to the register, and handed him the money. I told him to hurry up and go buy his toy. He had the cutest little giggle as he was paying for his new toy. After he checked out, his mother met him at the registers, and she tried to get my name and number, so that she could call me when she "had the money to pay me back". I gave her my name, but I told her that it was a gift for her and Nicholas, and that I wouldn't accept repayment. She ended up crying and said "Thank You". Nicholas gave me a big hug before they left the store. Apparently, the only other gifts that Nicholas was getting was coming from those trees that you see decorated with "DECA" cards. They do it every year. On the cards, there's the child's age, and their "Wish List". You'd be amazed that some children and their families only want clothes, and that's what they ask for. A few weeks ago, I took 2 cards off the tree at Shaw's, (one boy, one girl), went out and got their presents, wrapped them, and brought them back the same day. I do that every year. You never know if you'll be in their place in the future.
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
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Originally Posted by GnBeret
Allowed them to live when it was entirely up to me as to whether or not they would continue to do so...
LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
i dont think ive ever done anything particularly nice, but a girl i absolutely hated was really sick one night, and i help her hand for about an hour until someone took her to a hospital... also, a guy in my dorm freshman year drank an entire bottle of tequila, and he passed out, two of us (girls) carried him to the boys bathroom, and kept him awake, made him drink water, and kept him cool, then we carried him to his room where we put his mattress on the floor and stayed with him until we thought it was okay for him to go to sleep... theres no telling how many people i took care of drunk... so i didnt save anyones life, and i didnt change anyones life, but at least i helped them get through one night..
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I don't take Medicaid in my office because if I did I'd be the only Plastics Doc in town to do so and my waiting room would be full of indigent patients. Anyway, each month or so I have the receptionist make an appointment for someone who really needs surgery (usually a breast reduction or breast reconstruction) who has no insurance or just Medicaid and I do the surgery free. We don't tell them we are doing it gratis....makes me feel good and I make a small dent in the huge number of underinsured patients who need medical care.
Plastics Doc
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Re: What's the Nicest Thing YOU Ever Did for Anybody?
Well,
Last month, I was gasing up and a young woman and man about 21 each with a toddler on their hip came up and asked me for a ride to their hotel. It was a sunny day and the kids were dehydrated and everyone looked worn out. I gave them a ride and $50 to to get them going.
I always give blood. Donate everything I can and do a fundraiser for the Childrens home.
I came from nothing with nothing and the only thing I can do in life is to give back so that I leave with nothing. I don't expect anything in return, because there are a hundred people who gave to me when I needed it. So, I am just passing it on.