Kindness

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What is the Kindest Thing a Person Has Done for You?
1.8k words
4.59
11.7k
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Part 1 of the 4 part series

Updated 11/02/2022
Created 12/08/2013
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What is the Kindest Thing a Person Has Done for You?

I was recently on a flight from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale and, to help pass the time, I looked through the airline's monthly magazine. Hidden between all the restaurant advertisements and enticing photos of destinations that we must all visit, there was an interesting little article titled "Helping Hands." It recounted a small number of stories sent in by readers of the kindest thing a stranger had ever done for them.

That got me to thinking. Here it is, the time of the year when most of us do think about others and giving some help to those who need it. Whether or not we participate in projects like Angel Tree, giving to charities or help put together baskets of food for the needy, we at least think about others during this season.

I thought it would be interesting for us to share experiences of what others have done for us without any expectation of payback. Below are a couple of my favorite memories of what people did for me.

After you read them, I would like for you to send me stories of how people (either friends or strangers) were especially kind to you or helped you become a better person through some action that they took. I will collect your accounts and put them into an additional chapter and post it here. Each story will be attributed to you as either "Anonymous" or with your member name, however you prefer.

Since Literotica requires each submitted chapter to be at least 750 words long, I may need to include several stories in each chapter. So here is a chance for you to become a writer and contribute to this site.

My Stories:

First a little background: My family was poor - very poor. My dad was honorably discharged from the Army in 1947 after serving in the Philippines and Japan following the surrender. He found, like so many others, that the job market for soldiers without high school educations was tough. He had been drafted when he was a high school junior.

Millions were returning from war and, even though the economy was OK, it was not a good situation. All the factories supporting the war effort were shutting down. He took a laborer's job at a construction company and work many long hours, taking on as much overtime as he could get. He and my mom (who were sweethearts since 1943) were married about a year later and I came along a few years after that. I had two brothers and a sister before they called a halt. Dad worked very hard, often doing odd jobs for people on weekends and working double shifts when big construction jobs were active. He seemed to always be away trying to earn money for our growing family.

We never had money for more than just the essentials. My clothes were pretty much all hand-me-downs as we used to say. They were always clean but well used. None of us kids had new stylish clothes like our schoolmates.

I'll never forget the first time we got indoor plumbing. Dad finally got enough money together to have a well drilled and to buy the bathroom fixtures. We boys helped him frame out a small bathroom between our bedrooms to install it. I was 13 years old. No more outhouses and their ass freezing experiences in the wintertime. I did miss the Sears & Roebuck catalog, however.

My parents raised us the way parents should. They took us kids to church every Sunday, no matter what. No excuses. They went with us, not just dropped us off and picked us up later. We were disciplined with hands, switches, and the occasional leather belt but mostly with words. We kids knew our place and we respected our parents and what they said and did for us. If we got our legs switched or butt smacked, it was because we deserved it. Mom would even make us go break the switch off the bush, and it better be a sturdy one or else.

All of us kids learned from our parents just what it takes to be successful in life – hard work and discipline and no excuses. All four of us kids ended up with degrees from major universities in various worthwhile fields like engineering and medicine. We all have achieved business and personal success and so have our children. We can only credit our parents for giving us the life skills to be successful. We never received a single dollar from the federal, state or local government to help us. We did it ourselves with the unconditional love of our parents guiding us through life.

In today's society, the "know-betters" would have mom thrown into jail for such a thing as using corporal punishment. Back then, we cried and apologized for what we did – and then we never did it again. Today, the undisciplined kids go to jail or to the grave, whichever comes first in their young wasted lives. All the time, their parents want to blame others for the failure of their children to be successful. If you want to see who is responsible for you son or daughter being a worthless individual, just look in the mirror. No excuses. (End of my soapbox time but I'll be glad to loan it to anyone who wants to use it.)

So much for my background; now a couple of my stories:

Trout Fishing

I suppose I was ten or eleven years old when my Sunday School teacher invited me to go trout fishing with him one Saturday. I had never been and had no clue about fishing but he wanted to teach me and spend some time with me. He knew we were poor and that I had no equipment and couldn't afford to buy any. I agreed to go, only because it was exciting and I thought it would be fun to wade in the stream.

He and his fishing partner picked me up at our house at 5:00am. Now that is early for most people, but not for trout fishermen. I was excited and ready to go.

It was early in April and cool in the mountains of East Tennessee. The water was cold but the fish were active and hungry. Gene and Ken surprised me with a new pair of hip boots when we arrived at the stream. That was the first gift I think I ever received from someone outside my family. At least, I don't remember anyone else giving me anything. I was so proud of those new boots. They loaned me a rod, reel and line as well as several flies Gene had tied and guaranteed to catch big trout.

The first few times we went, the results were predictable. Whoever I was with at the time taught me everything they knew about approaching a pool, what a good pool for fish looked like, how to attach and weight a fly and how to cast it to give a fish a good look at it. I got really good at retrieving flies from tree limbs where I always seemed to cast them. I also noticed that the person teaching me rarely hooked any fish. His partner who would be either up or down stream from me would be doing fine. I gradually learned the reason for that. I was making too much noise in the water by turning over rocks, tripping on slick ones and generally not know what the hell I was doing. I was a slow learner but they were patient and never gave up on me. Gene and Ken must have taken me ten times before I had the skills to go it alone.

I remember their kindness to me just like it was yesterday. They knew that my dad would never have the time or opportunity to teach me, but they did and they wanted to do it. I have enjoyed trout fishing in mountain streams my entire life and learned a lot about nature and people along the way.

Over the years, I taught two other young students in my boys Sunday School classes to fish for trout. I also gave them a new pair of hip boots on their first day with me. They were as proud of those boots as I remember being. It was the least I could do in memory of Gene and Ken who are now fishing the streams of heaven.

A School Report

I was in the fifth grade when our teacher announced one day that the class would be taking a field trip to see a play. A nearby university's drama department was presenting "Macbeth" and was doing afternoon shows for local school kids. Each of us was told to bring a dollar, the cost of admission, and a permission slip from our parents allowing us to go.

On the day the dollar was due, I didn't have one. A few days before, I overheard my parents talking about money one night and I knew they didn't have an extra dollar for me to see the play. That would be a waste of a good dollar in my opinion.

My teacher, Mrs. West, asked me to stay after class that day. After all the others had left, she said she had a special assignment for me. I was to go to the play and pretend I was a critic and write a report to present to the class. Because I would do an "important" report, I didn't have to pay the dollar.

Now I knew that this was a made-up assignment and that she would be paying the dollar for me. But I was touched by her generosity, her commitment to my learning and letting me earn the dollar that she knew I didn't have.

I got permission from my mother to go with all the other kids. She never knew about the dollar.

I took notes and wrote a report similar in format to what the local newspaper critic would write. I'm sure it was terrible but it was mine and I took the job seriously. The next day, I timidly stood and read it to the class. Mrs. West said she was proud of me.

That was one of the formative moments of my life. I've often thought about Mrs. West and her wisdom, her unconditional love for her students, and the total commitment she made to teaching. She taught fifth grade for more than 30 years at that school and hundreds of students were the beneficiaries. Rest in peace, Mrs. West. You did just great.

Now it's your turn

Tell us your story of how unexpected gifts or actions by others impacted you and helped you to become a better person. I know this is a site pretty much dedicated to erotic stories, but I would like this one to be non-erotic in keeping with the spirit of this season.

You can send your stories to me using the contact link on my profile page or the feedback link. I will pulled them together into additional chapters of this story and attribute the story however you request.

I look forward to reading about your experiences.

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  • COMMENTS
6 Comments
chytownchytownover 10 years ago
Good Read***

Thanks for sharing.

stetson044stetson044over 10 years ago
All I can say ...

… is 'thank you.' Just posting these stories is an act of kindness in itself.

memorable_eventmemorable_eventover 10 years agoAuthor
More Coming

I have received three more wonderful stories from readers and am putting those into a new chapter now. Will submit to the editors but it does take a week for them to post new stories. Patience will be rewarded. In the mean time, please send me your stories of kindness for future chapters.

betrayedbylovebetrayedbyloveover 10 years ago
Interesting Concept

I'll be waiting for more stories.

AnonymousAnonymousover 10 years ago
A way of life!

Consider that everyone you meet needs a sincere smile, an unwavering look straight in their eyes and if you do get to be more to them, be a real friend.

You've heard of random acts of kindness. Try being that act of kindness with everyone you meet.

You will be a very rich person for what doing this does to you!

Alan

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Kindness Series Info

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