"Earlier this year, I had a phone call with a woman named Debbie about one of her toughest days as a parent. While she was carting her two sick toddlers to buy medicine, one abruptly vomited across the floor of the local shopping mall. A passing stranger stopped, grabbed a roll of paper towel from the display in front of the chemist, and sopped up the mess then went inside to pay for what she'd used, insisting on footing the bill."
"Working as a journalist often involves speaking to people on, or about, the worst day of their life. But for the past year I have had the tremendous pleasure of interviewing Australians (and the occasional Briton) about something very different the acts of kindness they've received from a total stranger. Guardian Australia asked readers to send in these stories, and we have been publishing them in our weekly Kindness of Strangers column."
"I've now conducted over 50 of these calls and while every story has been unique in loveliness, I've found that many share a similar pulse. There have been several that came from people who put themselves in a potentially risky situation accepting a ride or offer of accommodation from a stranger and instead of being met with our worst fears, experienced only generosity."
A woman named Debbie was taking two sick toddlers to buy medicine when one vomited in a shopping mall. A passing stranger grabbed paper towels, cleaned the mess and paid for what she used. Numerous people reported similar encounters in which strangers offered small practical help or life-altering assistance, such as securing rehab places. Recipients retained vivid memories of these acts for decades. One elderly woman recalled a surfer saving her from drowning as a teenager; another remembered a classmate's precise words of encouragement during a daunting first year at university. Many stories shared a common pulse of unexpected generosity.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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