Circle of kindness

Readers share little reminders of how much goodness there is in the world

“THEIR GIFTS MEANT SO MUCH!”

I am disabled and live alone on a fixed

income. I struggle to make ends meet each month, so imagine my surprise when I found that someone had anonymously left cash under the windshield wiper of my car. I asked everyone I knew, but nobody admitted to leaving the money. A week later, I found more cash under my wiper—and this continued weekly for quite a while. The gifts meant the world to me, and I wish I could tell this angel “thank you!” I pray that someday I’m in the position to do something as kind as this person did for me.

“SHE SAVED MY WHOLE VACATION!”

I was in Hawaii with two friends, and I decided to rest

under a tree while they went shopping. I took off my fanny pack containing my wallet, money, passport and cellphone and sat enjoying the breeze. A few feet away, a mom and her three kids sat in their car enjoying snow cones. Before long, my friends returned and we went back to our hotel—when I realized I’d left my fanny pack! I went racing back, but it was gone. I began to cry. Just then, the woman in the car called me over and handed me my pack! She’d sat in her car for almost an hour in the sweltering heat waiting for me to return! I was so grateful. I tried to give her some money, but she just smiled and drove off. Her kindness will stay in my heart forever. — Michelle J. Nattrass, Seaside, CA

“A STRANGER’S KINDNESS TOUCHED MY HEART!”

I had gone on a bus trip to Atlantic City. At the end of the day, I had a few minutes before we were scheduled to depart and decided to get a cup of coffee with my travel points. I ordered a small coffee, but it turned out that I didn’t have enough points to cover it. Suddenly, the lady behind me said, “Give her a large coffee, I’ll pay for it.” I told the woman that my husband had my wallet and I could go get the money. But she insisted, explaining that a stranger had once done a kind thing for her, asking her only that she pay it forward! I was touched by her kind gesture— and plan to pass the kindness on myself as often as I can! — Grace Barker, Atlantic Highlands, NJ