Circle of kindness

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

“THEY MADE OUR VACATION EVEN BRIGHTER!” My daughter and I were in Pensacola, Florida, visiting my grandson, who is a Marine.

Our first evening, we met another military family at the beach and chatted with them for a while. The next day, we ran into the family again at the beach. Seeing we had only brought towels with us, they told us their “beach van” had extra chairs and insisted we borrow them. They also loaned us an umbrella and gave us cold drinks. We will always be grateful for this unexpected kindness and the generosity of strangers who became sweet friends. — Rosanne Mcconnell, Baldwinsville, NY

“HER KIND GESTURE EASED MY SADNESS!” My husband and I recently had to put our dog down after 14 years of loving him.

I was at work one day and was so upset. I was crying, and a customer asked me what was wrong. When I explained about my dog, she gave me a big hug. Two days later, she returned to my job with a calla lily plant. She said that it may not ease all of my sadness, but she hoped that it would help a little. It certainly did. I will never forget her act of kindness! — Lois Cosentino,

St. Augustine, FL

“HER FACE LIT UP WITH JOY AND MADE MY DAY!” Every year, my granddaughter sells Girl Scout cookies,

and I always get orders from my friends. When the cookies come in, I drive to Virginia, where she lives, to pick up the cookies. On the trip home this year, I stopped at a garden center and began chatting with the owner. When I mentioned the Girl Scout cookies, she told me that she loved them but had been unable to buy any this year and was disappointed. So I gave her boxes from my personal order. It felt great to see her face light up with joy!