To give a little background: at the county seat, the buildings housing several human service agencies are on one side of the main street. The courthouse, the health department, and the government center with all the county services are on the other side. The street is four lanes wide, very busy, and the nearest traffic light is three blocks away. People either walk down to the light and back up again, or take their chances with the pedestrian crosswalk that the city installed between the two campuses.
One morning I am just getting out of my car when I see a rather frail, elderly woman on the other side of the street by the human services buildings. This is the rural Midwest, and people are usually pretty polite, but she hesitates to step out into traffic and no wonder, as cars whip past.
Before I can do anything, a teenager in a fast food uniform comes out of the courthouse parking garage and runs across the street. He offers her his arm, holds up his hand to stop traffic, and escorts her over to the other side.
Kudos to him, and kudos to the drivers who stopped and patiently let a little old lady walk veeerrryyy slowly across four lanes of traffic during morning rush hour without anyone honking their horn or cursing.
(I don’t own a car so in order to get to work I use buses. On this particular morning I’m about to take my dog for a quick walk before catching the bus to work. As it’s Sunday and both my home and the workplace are far from downtown, the buses run every 30 minutes. Usually I carry my keys in my pocket 24/7 but this time I’m wearing pants with no pockets and at the exact moment I shut my door I realise I forgot my keys inside. By the time I reach a maintenance guy it’s about 15 minutes until the bus leaves but he says it’ll take at least 30 minutes to get to me. I thank him nonetheless and wait, trying to reach my boss to explain the situation but getting no answer. Then, after the guy has arrived and opened my door, I’m getting the money to pay him with and this happens.)
Me: “Yeah, okay. Here you go. Sorry if I seem agitated. I’ve been trying to call my boss to explain that I’ll be late because I’m an idiot who forgets my keys inside.” *I chat about this mostly because blabbering on helps me keep my cool when I’m anxious*
Man: “Where do you work?”
Me: “[Location]. It’ll be 30 minutes before the next bus.
Man: “Would you make it in time for work if I drove you there?”
Me: “Wait, really?”
Man: “Yeah, I’ll be driving close to the area anyway. It’ll be just a small detour. Hop in and I’ll drop you off.”
(True to his word, he drove me to work and thanks to using better routes than the bus routes, I got there over 20 minutes early! He could have just opened my door, said “tough luck,” and left without another thought, but instead he went an extra mile to give someone a hand. I couldn’t thank him enough for his kindness.)
(I and a friend are sitting in a fast food place, eating our food and talking. We are both trans (MTF) and are very early in our transitions, so it is noticeable. We have just finished our burgers and are about to get up to leave, when the store manager walks over with two small desserts. She places them on the table in front of us.)
Me: “What’s this? We didn’t order dessert.”
Manager: “It’s on the house. This is just my way of saying congrats on living your lives the way you want. I have an aunt that’s a member of the LGBT community, and the stuff she has to go through on a daily basis… I can’t even comprehend. This is just my way of showing support.”
(The manager walked away, and my friend and I began tearing up. It was years ago, but it made our day, and I will never forget that kindness!)
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My mother died the year after I finished high school. When the funeral service was over, I turned to see all my closest friends there — including one high school friend that had moved 800 km away. At the time I assumed she’d gotten time off from her job as I knew she’d gotten an apprenticeship.
I found out later that her boss had refused to give her the time off. So she quit her job and jumped on the first train she could to come and be with my family and me. She set her career back an entire year.
I love my friends.
(I’m delivery driving and it has been snowing all day. I’m out delivering to a neighborhood that has not been plowed.)
Me: *to customer* “Thanks, have a good evening!”
Customer: “You, too!”
(I start to drive away but about a foot down the street I’m stuck. The snow is up to my knees and I don’t have a shovel. I’m considering trying to dig myself out with my hands when two heads pop out of the snow in a neighboring yard.)
Boy: “Hey, miss, are you stuck?”
Me: *trying to laugh, embarrassed* “Yeah, I think so. It’s okay, though.”
Boy: “We can help!”
(These two little boys couldn’t have been older than six, but with two giant shovels they not only pushed the snow out from my car, but ran ahead the street until I got to a road I could drive on! Your parents raised you right, little guys, and I hope karma comes back with something awesome for you!)
