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Show Pat McGhaa (left) sawad tha aadt of friendship whan she lent Nina McDermott her poodle skirt. My son and I drove out to that mobile home, and I walked up to the front door (where the little boy was watching), told him that I knew about his old bike, and asked him if I could Rust says. He just shut the door. But before 1 turned walk back to the truck, I heard those naked rims in the gravto el drive, and there he stood, holding that dilapidated bike. It's not much but you can have it if you want,' he said. Rust thanked him, loaded it into the truck, and asked if see it," , y he could give him something. I guess it would be okay, the little boy said. As I unloaded that red bike, his eyes lit up and he hugged and thanked me," Rust recalls. That night I got a taste of what Christmas is all about. God blessed me all the way home, and he still does. I met that lad again not too long ago, and now he is a husband and a father. He told me that he would never forget me and that red bike. Well, need I say, I was blessed again. vvr r , Up and running Last October on a Sunday evening, Martha Burnham of San Saba, Texas, and her granddaughter were returning home from a long trip and stopped for a break at a convenience store in Sweetwater, Texas three hours from home. When they returned to the car, it would not start. We knew nobody in Sweetwater, so we were stuck until a mechanic could look at it the next day, Burnham says. I went back into the store and told the young clerk about my dilemma, and he said, 'Well, Ill bet these two guys can help you, referring to two young men standing with him. Orin Romine and Cody Slayton, students at Texas State Technical College West Texas, determined the problem was the starter motor and said they could replace it if they had one to put on. Unfortunately, the local auto parts store was closed. The young men thought they could get one at a junkyard, but 1 told them I didnt have the $132 it would cost. is not a problem, they said. We will go get it and pay for it and put it on, and you can send us a check when you get home.' I still cannot believe that these two kids cared enough to do such an act of kindness, Burnham says. When Burnham offered the young students money for their time and labor, they refused. They said, If you are That going to send us money (for the labor), then we won't even give you our address. All we want you to do is pass the act of kindness on to someone else. Her reward: a new friend As Mary Ann Remaly drove out of a grocery store parking lot in Bath, Pa., she noticed a shopping can with a purse in it. She got out of her car and retrieved the pocket book. Once I got home, I immediately found identification and called the purse's owner," Remaly says. She was overjoyed that an honest person had found her purse, because it contained quite a bit of cash. The two met later that day to exchange the purse. That first meeting led to many more with my new friend, Grace, Remaly says. We now get together quite a lot." A Flower power Whenever shes grocery shopping, Tracy Candelaria of Concho, Ariz., buys a carnation from the store's floral depanment. As I leave the store, I give it to someone on my way out," she says. I always get a smile; sometimes I get a hug. One day, a lady chased me through the parking lot and said, You don't know what this means to me. That really made my day. Candelaria's acts of kindness are as good for her as they are for those who get her flowers. This does more for me than it does anyone I give the flowers to, she says. I love the way it makes me feel. Tom Adiim irwdii hlpd Barbara perfect fit Nina McDermott of Hayward, Wis., went to the Ben Franklin arts & crafts store in her hometown to buy a partem to sew a poodle skirt for a 1950s party she planned to attend. She was disappointed to learn the store recently had quit handling patterns. A store clerk, Pat McGhee, whom I had never met, said, I made one this spring and you are welcome to use it. I'll go home on my coffee break and bring it back to the store for you, McDermott says. She did, and it was a perfect fit and a real work of art. Comaduran fight her own battte. Brave battle After Barbara J. Comad uran of Benson, Ariz., was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer in June 1998, rigorous chemotherapy treatments frequently caused bad days. One day when she was out at the mailbox, her neighbor and friend Tom Adams drove up. He asked how I was, but when I replied, Okay, he could see char was not true," Comad uran says. Soon, the doorbell rang, and Adams wife, Nancy, came in to check on Comaduran and make hot tea. When the doorbell rang again, Adams was at the door. He came in and took my hands in his and told me that I was the bravest person that he knew and that be wanted me to have something," Comaduran says. I opened my hand and saw that Tom, who served in Vietnam as a U.S. Marine, had given me his service medal. I knew just how much that medal meant to Tom, and now he had given it to me." That May, Comaduran had a stem cell transplant and wore the medal throughout treatment. Toms act of kindness was so significant to me, she says. "It helped me with my battle. I am happy to report that I continue to be without evidence of cancer." o fID C 'J'r '5 'V. 1 aw si |
