Like many people, I loved the Feb. 12 story of the TGI Friday waitress “rescuing” a distressed 2-year-old at the Atlanta airport — “Kindness led to $12K ‘tip’ and lasting friendship” — followed by the creation of a GoFundMe by the mother of the boy the Atlanta waitress had comforted, to reward the waitress. What a cheerful story of random kindness.
Sometimes a small act of kindness can lead to large rewards. One of our daughters, a graduate of Hall High School in West Hartford, is a family practice doctor in Oregon, living with her husband, kids, and big dog. Last month, in a big storm, a 300-year-old, 120-foot tall Grand Fir tree fell on their house while they slept, destroying the front porch and living room. No one was hurt, but they had to move out. Two weeks later, someone broke into their house and stole some family jewelry and valuable tools our son-in-Law uses in his self-employed building business.
A friend created a GoFundMe for them, and within two weeks, 119 people, mostly local, contributed $36,000 to help them replace the tools, a good guitar, and other stuff. They are pretty well known in this close-knit community; and the acts of kindness by community members will help them recover.
Insurance coverage also looks promising, but they will likely suffer PTSD for months. I am now writing a story for our grandkids about the life of that old, beautiful tree that met its end in their living room. They’ll remember this series of events all their lives, but especially the kindness of their community, the kind of place where folks usually don’t lock their backdoors and look out for each other.
David C-H Johnston, West Hartford