(I am taking the local subway home after work. Most of the subway customers/passengers are dressed as typical office workers except for one man across from me, who is very shabby looking—dirty patch-work clothes, hair dirty and scraggly, beard wild and unkempt—and has a large, filthy shopping bag full of what looks like all of his worldly possessions, including blankets, dirty yellow pillows, and an old desk lamp. Everybody on the train is deliberately trying to look away from him, save one well-dressed man. As the train moves through the stations, the well-dressed man switches seats to be closer to the old man and strikes up a conversation.)

Well-Dressed Young Man: *amiably and loudly* “What a fine day it is today! How are you today, sir?”

Ragged-Looking Old Man: *just as amiably and loudly* “I’m doing great, just great. Hope you are, too! Got a lot to do, not enough hours in the day to get it done!”

Young Man: “That’s what I thought. You look like a respectable, busy kind of guy! Like the kind of guy who has some good business going on!”

Old Man: “Why, yeah I am! I’m a bid’ness man! Got some projects I’m takin’ care of! I’m sorry I ain’t at my best. I left my bud’ness suit at home, you see! But I’m still out here takin’ care of m’projects!”

Young Man: “Yes, like I said, I’ve got a keen eye for the entrepreneurial types, and you seem the kind of guy who has a lot of good business going on! And I think you’d make a wise investment!”

(By now, I’m openly watching these two talk like they’re a couple of old business partners. The rest of the train, though still trying not to be obvious, is stealing glances, and everybody’s stopped what they were doing so they can hear.)

Young Man: *still amiably* “I think I’d like to help fund one of your projects! Would $60 be enough to start?”

Old Man: *also still amiably* “Why, yeah sir, it would! I thin’ I can put the money to proper use in m’projects! Thank yah for your help!”

(The young man pulls out and hands $60 in cash to the old man.)

Young Man: “Pleasure doing business! By the way, it looks like you’ve misplaced your jacket.”

(It is winter, and the old man only has a shirt on.)

Old Man: “Yeah, like I said, it’s at home with my business suit.” *laughs* “Like I say, you caught me when I was just going out to look around and do some shopping.” *holds up bag*

Young Man: *chuckles* “Yeah, I’m going to do some shopping when I get home, myself. Well, I wouldn’t want the man whose project I’m funding to get sick before he has a chance to make use of my investment! That’s bad business! Here, you can borrow my jacket until you can get home to get yours.”

(The young man takes off his suit jacket—easily worth $200—and hands it to the old man.)

Old Man: “Thank ya’ again, sir! And again, I’ll put that money to good use, don’t you worry!”

Young Man: “I’m sure you will, and I’m looking forward to the results! A pleasure doing business, and have a good day.”

(The old man gets off at the next stop. The young man’s stop and mine were the same, and as he rushed off to get out of the cold and home, I ran to catch up. As we walked, I told him that I’ve never seen anyone do anything like that before, and that he’s shown me the true path of generosity. I’ve not seen either of them since, but after that day, I’ve made sure that no matter how bad times get for me, I always reserve at least $50 and a few volunteer hours for charity a month, and a little bit of extra cash on hand for those I come across who need it most!)

(Our bookstore does special ordering, so we get packages almost every day of the week. To show our appreciation for the delivery company’s hard work, I go in with cookies from our local bakery, which are in a clear display package with a bow on top.)

Clerk: *looks worried* “…Can I help you?”

Me: “You can deliver this to your break room.”

Clerk: “Uh… I’ll have to get my manager.”

(A minute later…)

Manager: “I’m sorry; we can’t.”

(I’m a bit confused, so I assume there must be a rule about home-baked goods or something.)

Me: “It’s okay; it’s from [bakery]. See? It’s still sealed.”

Manager: “But we can’t ship things that aren’t in a secure box.”

Me: “No, it’s a present for you guys! To eat here!”

Manager: “Oh…” *looks as if she’s about to cry* “…thank you!”

(It turns out the manager had just been on the phone with a customer who was mad that a driver hadn’t come out to her isolated farmhouse for a pickup; note that we were having a blizzard that day. The clerk who misunderstood me was brand new, and doing his first week at the counter in the week before Christmas. We all had a laugh over confusion and cranky customers.)

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(I’m a math teacher at a small high school. My boyfriend is an English teacher in the same school. He often leaves me notes on the board in my room during lunch, so my students and I see them as we come in. One day, I get into my classroom and see that all of my students are sitting in their seats, waiting for me, which is odd. One of my students hands me a paper.)

Student #1: “Here! [Boyfriend] told us to have you solve this equation on the board.”

(The instructions are to “solve the inequality for i in terms of u.” I can guess where this is going. I figure it’s just another one of his notes.)

Me: “Okay, but we only have a few minutes before class starts.”

(I start to solve the problem, but as I get closer and closer to the end, I notice something’s off about the problem. My students start to snicker.)

Student #2: “Oh, my God!”

Student #3: “What? What’s wrong?”

Student #2: “He forgot that when you divide by a negative number, you flip the signs!”

(I finished the problem and laughed. The answer was “i<3u”. I turned around and saw my boyfriend on one knee in front of the class, a box in one hand and his head in the other. I said yes!)

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(I’m headed into the centre of town to meet a friend. As I’m below the legal driving age, I have to catch a bus. I’m about to get on the bus when I realise that I only have notes, so I can’t pay my bus fare. Note that I live a few metres away from the stop.)

Me: *to the driver* “Um, sorry, but is it okay if you wait a moment while I get my fare? I just realised that I only have notes. Actually, I’ll just wait for the next bus.”

Driver: “Where are you going?”

Me: “Into town.”

Driver: “Get on.”

Me: “But I don’t have—”

Driver: “Just get on!”

(I do, thanking him profusely as I do. The journey passes quickly and we get into town. As I’m getting off the bus, I speak again to the driver.)

Me: “Thank you so much, sir! I’ll pay double fare on the way back.”

Driver: “No, don’t bother. You win some, you lose some. Losing one fare won’t hurt the company. Have a nice day!”

(My coworker, who has just gotten off shift, is leaning against the counter talking to me when an older gentleman walks in.)

Me: *smiling* “Good evening and Merry Christmas!”

Customer: *frowning* “Why are you here? It’s Christmas!”

Coworker: *smiling* “Well, we don’t close for Christmas. She’s closing up shop, but I’ve just gotten off and am about to go home.”

Customer: *suddenly grinning* “Wait right here!” *turns on his heel and goes out the door*

Coworker: “…Okay, what was that?”

Me: “I have no idea!”

(The customer returns and gives my coworker a $20 bill then lays one on the counter in front of me.)

Customer: “Merry Christmas, ladies, and a Happy New Year too!”

(We both stare after him as he walks out, gets into his SUV and leaves. We then look at each other.)

Coworker: “Wow, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s done all day!”

Me: “Well, this is the season for miracles, isn’t it?”

(I still have no idea who that man was!)