Friday, September 21, 2012

Good News Friday...!

I know that usually we go traveling on Friday, but I wanted to share a good news story with you instead.

With all the bad news coming to us from around the world, I figure we all could stand a little bit of the opposite. It isn't often I find a story that is worthy of sharing, especially because of the goodness of the story itself. If you think that the actions of just one person can't affect a much larger number, then just read this and see if it changes your mind a little!

 Winnipeg Transit driver’s amazing act of kindness stuns passengers
 By Denise Campbell on September 18, 2012

 Today, as I was riding a Winnipeg Transit bus from Unicity to Downtown I did not realize that I would be a witness to something amazing.

The ride was, as usual, long and uneventful, until we reached the corner of Portage and Main. That’s when the driver pulled over. This of course surprised all of the passengers on the bus. But, what happened next still brings tears to my eyes. 

The bus driver jumped off the bus to chat with a man that looked to be down on his luck; by all accounts, a homeless man. I first thought the driver was going to offer the man a ride until our driver took off his own shoes and gave them to the man on the sidewalk.

That is when I realized that the man the driver was chatting with was barefoot. The bus was dead silent. I think we were all stunned and speechless. As we proceeded to our next stop, one of the passengers got up and said to the driver, that was the most amazing thing she had ever seen; and then she asked him, why did he do that? 

The bus driver answered because he couldn’t stand the thought of that poor man walking without shoes. Wow! No judgement; it was just, “Here buddy you need these more than I do.”

There wasn’t a dry eye on the bus. All the passengers were moved by this bold and selfless gesture. 

Now, a homeless man will have shoes for his feet because of a bus driver’s random act of kindness. 

Not bad for a Tuesday morning in downtown Winnipeg. 

It's a shame that we don't hear more stories like this one. Amazing how the kind and caring actions of one individual can affect so many others! Good stuff!

Coffee out on the patio this morning. Watch out for those hummingbirds! They are getting aggressive!

14 comments:

Gorges Smythe said...

God will bless him.

Phyllis (N/W Jersey) said...

How will that one act of kindness seen by everyone on the bus change the world? I bet many times. Sometimes people just need a nudge.
Coffee on the patio sound good this morning. Gonna borrow your stove - I'll make apple fritters for everyone!

linda m said...

That is truly an amazing story. God bless that bus driver for his random act of kindness. This world needs more people like that in it.

Anonymous said...

Hermit, thank you for this post. Random acts definitely have their reactions. Always. This story made me choke up and cry. Why do I cry with sadness(though)when I hear a beautiful act from one human to another? It is the fact that it counteracts and brings to mind all that is happening in our world and all it takes to solve all the issues and problems is to show love to our fellowmen by random OR planned acts of kindness.

Anonymous said...

I commend the bus driver. "How will it change the world?" It won't. I note that the person telling the story did not mention any of the passengers slipping the driver a few bucks to help replace his shoes. There might have been no dry eyes, but there were a lot of closed wallets.

Bob from Athens said...

I would like to believe that things like this happen a lot more than we know. However in our blood and violence news rating systems, this is not even a miniscule blip on their radar.

Dizzy-Dick said...

All we hear is the bad news. That is what the news vendors believe sells. It is refreshing to hear some good news for a change.

HermitJim said...

Hey Gorges...
I'd be willing to bet He already has!

Thanks for coming by today!


Hey Phyllis...
Apple fritters all around sure sounds good to me!

My stove is your stove, my friend!

Thanks for coming over today!


Hey Linda...
Probably more folks like that around then what we know. It's good to be reminded of them once in a while!

Thanks for dropping by today!


Hey Anon 8:07...
Maybe this man isn't trying to change the world or be a hero, but such acts have their own rewards.

Sometimes the smallest acts of kindness can become the catalyst for much bigger things!

Thanks for the visit today!


Hey Anon 8:54...
It may not change the world, but if it can soften the heart of just one person then some good comes from the act!

It would be nice if this turned into a ripple effect, though.

Thanks for dropping by this morning!


Hey Bob...
Just hearing about one such thing is enough to give me hope.

Bad news fills the air, but I'm sure that more good news is out there to be found and told!

Thanks for coming by today!


Hey Dizzy...
How true that is!

Many others besides me wouldn't mind if the daily dose of doom and gloom could be softened by just an occasional story such as this!

Many thanks for coming by, buddy!


DFW said...

Thanks for the goose bumps this afternoon!

Anonymous said...

In our town a woman gave a lady hitchiking & asking for food money the new jacket off of her back, a photographer from our only newspaper was right behind in his car, he snapped several pictures it was on the front page, the lady said she had been so poor when it is cold here, (all the time 300 days of a year) someone gave her a brand new jacket in the big mall we have here, paid for it and some lingerie she was eyeing and two warm blouses, the store would never mention the anonymous person who made it for her to get thru the winter which is long and dreary here, one could die of hypothermia easily without warm layerd clothing-she promised the good Lord if she could ever alieve some woman's suffering she did, she took off her new warm thick rain repellant coat and gave it to her and a scarf and some cash & a offer to take her where she needed to go, she refused the ride taking the bus to get some food at a food panty place..That lady was found dead in about 4 months near the railroad tracks, the lady who gave her the jacket, scarf and money was devastated, she was the same age as the lady who passed from this earth, she had a family but had problems with alcohol and preferred to be on the "street" to any relatives home...The story here is help others you never know if one random act of kindness could save another..it did for that woman until some thing happened and she left this earth too early, their was a write up for her burial the police chipped in and so did the homeless place she habitated to bury her, she had a very hard life, the coat meant a lot to her and the scarf and the little cash..sad story, YOUR STORY WAS AMAZING, GOD's BLESSINGS TO THE BUS DRIVER FOR HIS SELFLESS ACT OF KINDNESS, IF MORE PEOPLE THOUGHT OF A TINY HELP TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING THAN MAYBE OUR WORLD BE FULL OF LOVING LOVING HUMAN BEINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Manturity said...

Hey! This was the first post I have read from your blog and it was great. I got the link from Gorges Smythe.. Look forward to reading more!

HermitJim said...

Hey DFW...
I'm sure glad to have you stop by and hope that you'll make it a regular thing!

It's always a pleasure to have someone new come by!


Hey Anon 1:45...
Even in the good book it talks about casting your bread upon the water and getting it back ten fold!

Some folks are just good at heart and do things like this naturally. Others follow suit more times than not.

I'd like to think that being kind hearted is only human nature, but seeing what happens daily, it's very hard. That kind of compassion is God given, without a doubt.

Thanks so much for coming by today!


Hey Manturity...
I'll do my best to make things interesting for you. I always feel good if I can keep folks entertained a bit.

Many thanks for your visit today!

The Griper said...

right there was a very good example of the difference between the philosophy of collectivism vs the philosophy of individualism.

a collectivist would have gotten up and told the passengers to donate for a pair of shoes for that man.

guess which i am in favor of?

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Not many would do the same and even some might have complained about the unscheduled stop of this driver, but the end definitely justified the means. A heartwarming story of the beauty and goodness within this man and many others who are unspoken heroes.