General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums50 Shades Of Blue
(9,995 posts)Leghorn21
(13,524 posts)this story, but yeah it would take me an hour, and I am...lazy
But THANK YOU!!
So sweet!!
Rorey
(8,445 posts)malaise
(269,004 posts)Best post for the day
matt819
(10,749 posts)Take an extra second to say hi to the cashier in the supermarket. If you go to same coffee shop all the time, get to know everyones names. Same at the library. You get the idea. Were all looking for human connection in an increasingly impersonal world. Doesnt take much time or energy to make these connections. Its not always reciprocated, and thats okay. You will have made the effort.
And, no, Im not always consistent, or ina good enough mood to try, but I feel better when I do.
N_E_1 for Tennis
(9,724 posts)Not to you matt you get it.
Hey cashiers, waiters and waitresses so forth and so on dont wear name tags just in case they forget their name. Mention them by name, tell them how well they packed up your groceries, brought you your food whatever the service. Thank people for what they did for you. Its a very little act to do it could change someones outlook on the day. Bet youd like it if the situation was reversed.
matt819
(10,749 posts)But if I'm still thinking about it, in a positive way, then maybe the other folks are as well.
Another incident: I asked a bagger to try to put it all into one bag, though I didn't think she could. All with a smile. She said, well, okay, we take that as a challenge, again with a smile. She did put it all into one bag, and we all had a chuckle. I paid attention. She had (I hope) a pleasant rather than a mundane, boring encounter. Didn't cost either of us a thing. And a month later I'm mentioning it in a post here.
Also, in a couple of stores in town - farm store and indie coffee shop - I know the names of most of the people, and we're at the point after several years of knowing about each others' kids and their lives. It's a small thing, maybe, but in a life that is otherwise pretty mundane, it brightens my day.
Okay, pollyanna over. Be nice. Be kind. Try not to lose your temper (BTW, I'm not always successful, but I try). Stuff you learned in kindergarten, I suppose, but we all still need to be reminded.
Canoe52
(2,948 posts)Cattledog
(5,914 posts)TomSlick
(11,098 posts)Recommended.
RandomAccess
(5,210 posts)Thanks.
Snackshack
(2,541 posts)Judge a book by its cover.
Its cliche but very accurate!
blogslut
(38,000 posts)rec rec rec rec rec
UpInArms
(51,284 posts)am always in need of remembering there are good people in this world
Staph
(6,251 posts)So in one of my Management classes I sit in the same seat in the front every day. Every single day I sit there.
Now, I also sit next to some foreign guy that barely speaks English. The most advanced thing I've heard this guy say in English is "Wow, my muffin is really good".
This guy also has a habit of stacking every item he owns in the exact space I sit. His bag, his food, his books, and his phone are ALWAYS right on my desk space.
Now, every single time I walk into class this guy says "Ah, Tom. You here. Okay." And starts frantically clearing my desk of his belongings. He then makes it a habit to say "Ready for class, yeah?" And gives me a high five. Every day this guy gives me a high five.
I was ALWAYS annoyed with this guy. I'm thinking "Dude, you know I sit in this seat every day. Why are you always stacking your shit here? And the last thing I want to do is give a guy who barely speaks my language high fives at 8 in the morning" Just get your shit off my desk
But today I came to class and was running a few minutes late. I'm standing outside because I had to send a quick text. I could see my usual space through the door out of the corner of my eye. Of course, my desk was filled with his belongings. The usual.
As I'm standing there on my phone another guy who was also late walks into the class before me and tried to take my seat since it's closest to the door. The guy sitting next to me stops this dude from sitting down and says "I'm sorry. My good friend Thomas sits here."
It was then that I realized this guy wasn't putting stuff on my seat to annoy me. He was saving me the seat every morning. And this whole time he saw me as a friend but I was too busy thinking about myself to take him into consideration.
Cheesy as it sounds, I was touched.
I ended up going into class and of course he cleared the seat and said "Ah, Tom. You here. Okay." And I did get a high five.
At the end of class I ended up asking him if he wanted to get a bite to eat with me. We did. And we talked for a while. I got through the broken English
The guy moved here from the Middle East to pursue a college education in America. He plans to go back after he gets his degree. He's got two kids and a wife. He works full time and sends his all his left over money back home to his wife.
I asked him how he liked America as well. He said he misses his family but it's exciting to be here. He also said "Not every American is nice to me like you are, Tom."
I bought lunch, of course. Dude deserves it. He gave me a high five for buying lunch. Gotta keep up tradition.
Moral of the story? Don't do what I do and constantly only think about yourself. It took me nearly the entire semester to get my head out of my ass and realize this guy was just trying to be my friend. Better late than never I suppose.
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,002 posts)And after reading it, yes, it was well worth reading.
Thank you and thank you to the OP.
Mr.Bill
(24,292 posts)I grew up in Silicon Valley, so I've always been around a diverse population. My high school in the 60s was 49% Mexican and 39% black. In the 70s Asian and Middle Eastern people came to the area in larger numbers. I cherish the time I got to spend around people of other cultures in school, at work and in my social life and neighborhood. I would not have wanted it any other way.
I should mention I'm as white as Opie Taylor.
keithbvadu2
(36,806 posts)Good ending.
mcar
(42,331 posts)Thanks for posting.
kimbutgar
(21,148 posts)Then the gloves are off. If you are a jerk I want nothing to do with you.
When I was young, hot, skinny and single I dated a rich guy, good looking, good job and he was into me. We went out one night and he was so rude to this waiter who didnt speak English well, but was trying to do the best he could. The guy I was with was a real jerk to him and complained about the foreigners who needed to go back to their countries. It was an eye opener to me. We went out one more time and again he was rude to a person with disabilities. That was it for me. I stopped accepting his dates and we drifted apart. Ran into him years later and he told me I broke his heart. But I couldnt accept him being mean to people below his socio economic status. No regrets. Hes tried to Facebook me as a friend but no friggin way would I ever.
iluvtennis
(19,858 posts)TxDemChem
(1,918 posts)I think we all need to take a moment and re-evaluate our place in the world and how we perceive and treat others
cachukis
(2,239 posts)uponit7771
(90,339 posts)Obvious85
(259 posts)wonderful post
Ferrets are Cool
(21,106 posts)Jarqui
(10,125 posts)I've been having a tough time
And that made my day and probably my week!
Wonderful story
Canoe52
(2,948 posts)mountain grammy
(26,621 posts)Toorich
(391 posts)extended credit to an Iranian college student who had been denied a car by several other dealerships.
A couple of years later he got a call from the State Department, the car company Headquarters in Detroit, and the Office of the Shah of Iran.
It seems that college kid was the son of the Defense Minister of Iran and the nephew of the Shah.
The Iranian government intended to buy new cars and trucks for the entire Iranian military.
The Iranians would not close the deal until that Oklahoma car salesman came to Detroit and personally sold them the cars.
That decent guy instantly became a millionaire. He opened a dealership in an even smaller Oklahoma town and remained a good man until his death several years ago.
I guess the moral to the story is the same. It don't cost extra to be nice and sometimes it can pay dividends.
Anyway, that salesman also sold me a car on credit when I was barely hanging on financially and became a dear friend.
KT2000
(20,577 posts)I bet the car dealer was in shock when that happened. Good for him and the son who remembered a kind person.
Pluvious
(4,310 posts)vlyons
(10,252 posts)The Boddhisattva path is a path of compassion, where we work for the benefit of others. Put aside our selfish concerns to make altriustic concerns for others more important. We have more in common, than differences, with our immigrant neighbors. They want to be happy and not endure lonliness and suffering, just like us. They love their families and want them to be well and happy, just like us. They want to learn and grow, just like us. They want to relax and feel at ease at the end of the day, just like us. They want their kids to get a good education and grow up to be good accomplished people, just like us. They want their homes to be safe and peaceful, just like us.
BuddhaGirl
(3,607 posts)thank you!
onetexan
(13,041 posts)Renews my Faith in humanity
AwakeAtLast
(14,125 posts)Thank you. I needed that.
Bluepinky
(2,268 posts)misanthrope
(7,417 posts)Thanks for the heads up!
sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)HurricaneWarning
(220 posts)Thanks so much for posting it. It makes me want to be a better person.
C Moon
(12,213 posts)KT2000
(20,577 posts)I shared it with others because it is such a good reminder.
BobTheSubgenius
(11,563 posts)At least his comeuppance wasn't too abrupt, public, and painful.
Demovictory9
(32,456 posts)TeamPooka
(24,226 posts)Cha
(297,240 posts)too! .. Sweet story, Cattledog.
lol@stackingbooks
Awsi Dooger
(14,565 posts)On the other hand it's somewhat pathetic, demonstrating how poor someone can be at evaluating situational variables.
I guarantee I would have figured out on the first try that the guy was blocking the seat as opposed to creating a mess. Granted, that type of instinct is a strength of mine and besides, my friends and I used to save seats for each other at school and at games dating to first grade. Not exactly operation unknown.
syringis
(5,101 posts)I think it depends much on the way people have been raised, the values taught them.
I would have figured like you, as I was taught to give the benefice of doubt to anyone. To try to understand what's behind a word, an attitude.
In other words, to stay open to the others.
syringis
(5,101 posts)It is a nice story. One of those which makes me keep faith in humanity.
Basically, we're all the same. Humans made of flesh and blood. We +/- react the same way to pain, to joy.
Yes, we have different languages, different cultural habits, different ways of life. But bridges can be built and connect people.
We should preserve, as much as we can, all these differences. We always, always, have something to learn from each other. This is what really enrich us and make us evolve.
stuffmatters
(2,574 posts)Kurt V.
(5,624 posts)that made my day and my day is just starting.
raven mad
(4,940 posts)Or that I just fell out of bed (for real) and Breakup is in full swing.
Your post has made my day golden, doctor's appointment, x-rays again, possibly winning the Breakup Pothole Contest (in my driveway) and all the usual walker-or-wheelchair indecision aside.
I'll try to Pay It Forward today.
bronxiteforever
(9,287 posts)Wonderful.
niyad
(113,308 posts)I loved the fact that people immediately jumped in to see how they could help.
there are days I do have some faith in human beings.
jimmy2.0
(13 posts)for sharing this.
mainer
(12,022 posts)It's beautiful.
FSogol
(45,485 posts)KY_EnviroGuy
(14,491 posts)always applies and returns tenfold.
Wonderful OP for me today, thank you!
...... .......
chwaliszewski
(1,514 posts)Awesome story.
argyl
(3,064 posts)We've all been guilty of misinterpreting other people's actions, assuming them to be something other than a real act of kindness.
I know I have, and reading this gives me reinforcement to not prejudge others, and accept them as the caring people we should strive to be.
I wish Tom's new friend the very best. He certainly deserves it. And all the best to Tom as well.