Holadem

An act of kindness

Well, since it seems we here at HTF (and AHL especially) often believe we are the cream of the crop of the human race (evidenced by how often the expression "most people are stupid" is thrown around), I thought I would share a story with our perfect membership about a nice person for a change.

This morning I head to the gas station a few block from my building with a virtually empty tank and realize that ooops, I am out of cash AND for some reason, my bank card wouldn't come through. My commute is 20 minutes, there is no way I am making it to work on fumes. My only option at this point is pretty much wait till 8 or 9 O'clock or whenever the hell the bank opens.

This was my first time at this gas station. It's not far from me, but it's almost never on my way.

Comes the attendant. He tries my card without success, then says, "listen, I could put in 5 bucks for you, ya just gotta come back and pay me later". Just like that, without me asking. I accepted, asked if he wanted some form or ID, a guaranty, anything. He sayz "No, I trust you to come back, ya just gotta be a man and live up to it".

I drove off with this huge smile on my face, feeling good, as good as only a random act of kindness by a total stranger can make you feel, pondering about how terrific we humans can be, all the while trying to ignore the news I had just heard about more violence in Liberia.

Of course this guy just earned himself a new customer. He went out of his way, I can certainly do the same.

So any stories about people that does not involve bad driving/parking, obnoxious teenagers, Walmart shoppers, annoying babies, people with nice cars or stupid lawsuits?

Something good for a change (about HUMANS not pets)?

--
Holadem - who just got himself $5 of free gas

Matt Gordon

Free, that is, until you pay him back. You will, won't you?



And think about leaving $5 for the next guy.

Holadem

Did you not notice the evil smiley?

--
Holadem

Jeff Kleist

You found one of your fellow 5% methinks Ironically I just watched The Awful Truth episode where Michael Moore put people pretending to be dead on the streets of NYC, London and Toronto. It took several hours for someone in Toronto to be the first to help the dead guy.

Max Leung

But Jeff, why would you help a dead guy? He's DEAD for chrissakes.

Hola, if you don't pay him back the $5 then you're a no-good-dumbo-nothing (to carry on the HTF "people are crazy/stupid" motif)!

Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him...a super-callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

Gameshow host: "Is taking Viagra kosher during Passover dinner?"
Whoopee Goldberg: "Not if it leads to pork."
Kermit the Frog: "Hey, that's my line!"

John Stone

Holadem, that's a great story. I also have a story along those lines....

A couple of weeks ago, I found water all over the kitchen floor by the fridge/freezer. When I opened the fridge, the thermometer was reading a bit high, 45 degrees. Now I don't know the first thing about refrigeration, so I decided to call Sears repair. The earliest they could get out to my place was the following Tuesday (it was Saturday). Of course my wife had just been grocery shopping the day prior. Anyway, I decided to play it by ear and hoped the fridge didn't get any warmer. Well, it did. I checked the temperature a few hours later and it was almost 60 degrees in there. I decided that I needed to get someone out here right away, so I picked up the phone book and called a "mom and pop" place that happened to be around the corner from me, figuring they might be able to get someone out quickly. The guy who answered the phone (the owner) said he could come out within an hour, but he asked me what was wrong. I described the problem and he asked me a bunch of "targeted" questions. After the lengthy over-the-phone Q&A session, he told me exactly what was wrong, what needed to be replaced and how to fix it. He spent almost an hour on the phone with me, telling me what needed to be taken apart, walking me through what I needed to do, looking at parts lists on Sears' web site, telling me where I could purchase the same parts for less money and on and on. So he gives me all this information, but I'm looking at a couple hours of work and it was almost time for him to close up shop for the day. So the dude gives me his personal cell phone number and tells me to call him if I have any questions, but he also asked that I call him at home that night and let him know how it went! I couldn't believe how cool this guy was. It was just one of those conversations where everything seemed to "click" and we developed an almost instant rapport.

Well, everything he said on the phone was correct. His diagnosis was right on the money: the coils were completely sheathed in ice because the dual head water control valve was broken and was sending water to the ice maker non-stop. The ice buildup was also causing the fan to make a terrible noise. Since I couldn't get the parts that day, he had me shut the water supply to the freezer off, had me remove some of the interior panels, and use a hair dryer to defrost the coils. A couple of hours later I had the coils completely defrosted, the freezer put back together and a perfectly working fridge! I called him at home and he was genuinely happy that he was able to help. I asked him how much I owed him and he said, "not a thing--you did great. You made my day" I made his day?! Who the hell is this guy?! I was blown away. I told him if he ever had a computer or networking problem to call me, and he said he sure would. What a remarkable person, especially in this day and age. If not for his willingness to spend well over an hour of his time helping me, especialy considering he "had the job/money", the repair would have been $300-$400, and we would have lost a lot of food. I still smile thinking about what otherwise would have been a terrible experience.

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Tim Hoover

Nice thread - something positive for a change!

In October of '01, I sent a cymbal back to Zildjian to have rivets put in it. This is a service that Zildjian provides free of charge. After a month, I still hadn't received the cymbal back. I called their office, and they didn't have any record of my cymbal being riveted, so the lady offers to send me a brand new one. Good, that's quite fine. Three days later, I receive the new cymbal. A day after that, I receive my old cymbal with rivets in it. I call up Zildjian and explain that I received the new cymbal, but I also got my old one back. Apparently, the riveter didn't enter the job into the computer system. I ask for an address that I can return the new cymbal to. Zildjian says that since rivets are a custom order, they really can't take it back. I ask what I should do with it. The lady says "Have a Merry Christmas. The cymbal's yours, so do whatever you want with it!" Woohoo, free cymbal! I sell it on Ebay for less than half price, and make someone else happy in the process...

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Hunter P

I still get a little giddy when a cashier will throw in a couple of pennies to round out my change.

GIR, UNLEASH THE MONKEY!

\"I am the Doctor of Death, and I have come to cure you of your life.\" --Endless Mike, The Adventures of Pete and Pete

MarkHastings

Yes, I like seeing the $10.01 on the cash register and the clerk says "Ten Bucks"

Now I can pay with a $20 and get back a ten dollar bill instead of a 5, four 1's and 99 cents change in my pocket