Thanks so much for this thread. I've enjoyed reading all the stories. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't take the time or space sharing all the random acts of kindness bestowed upon me. As a result, I am constantly trying to pay it forward in any way I can. Just a smile, a hello, hold a door. These are the small things I do.
One story: I was just out of college and going to Texas to visit friends on vacation. I was broke when I left so my Mom gave me her gas credit card for the trip. What I didn't know when I left was that that particular card was only good at certain gas stations. On my way back to Arkansas I ran out of gas still in Texas just before the Oklahoma border. A total stranger gave me money for gas to make it to the next state where I could use the card. Thanks to that person I made it home safely. He wouldn't give me his name and address to repay him. I've tried to pay it forward ever since.
Next story: A very similar situation happened while I was still in college. My siblings and I were going to CA to meet our father for the first time. Long story short, I lost (not really, my sister stole) all my money for the return trip. When we arrived at the airport we didn't have the money to get my car out of long term parking. We were more than 2 hrs away from home. A taxi driver offered to drive us, but that would have cost too much. Jokingly, I asked him to loan me the money to get my car out and to my surprise he gave it to me. I got his name and address and returned the money with a bonus and a nice note to let him know I would pay it forward since he was so kind to me, a total stranger.
I've been trying to pay it forward ever since. Just such a small act of kindness could be all it takes to change a persons life. You just never know another persons situation and by being kind, saying something nice, or sharing a couple of dollars is all it takes to turn someone around. Problem is: You never know how much of an impact you have on them. I know how much it's made a difference in my life, so I can only hope my acts of kindness have affected others in the same way. That's why I won't stop paying it forward. Even though most of the time I won't know what impact I had, I know I had some kind of impact.