I love that story! Thank you for sharing. Here's mine.... About 17-18 years ago (give or take a year or so) my husband and I found ourselves in severe financial trouble. We both worked decent paying jobs and were never really big spenders but due to an unexpected, and very large, medical expenditure it happened. We never told a soul, not one person, as we struggled. We got out of our mess within something like nine months by working OT, selling some of our adult 'toys' (small motorhome and jet skiis) and paying off the debt. About four months into this we got a card in the mail with $300 in it. Neither of us recognized the writing or even where it was mailed from and, of course, no return address or signature. As I said, no one in either of our families or our friends knew what we were going through and to this day we still don't know where it came from. We never did touch that money. The card, along with three $100 bills, is on our refrigerator door. We've moved twice since receiving it and it's always there were we can see it and be reminded of someone with a good heart who wanted to help. One of these days we'll play that forward. Now we occasionally pay for an elderly couple's meal in a restaurant or if we see an older person putting something aside because they can't afford it we pay for it for that person. Something we also do every so often is to invite a single older person to join us at our table for a dinner out. So many people have so many wonderful stories to tell. Here's another little story within that story....we invited one really elderly man to join us and he did. He appeared to have trouble talking and seemed to be really frail throughout our meal but when my husband went to pay the dinner tab he said clear as a bell, "absolutely not, dinner is on me". My husband argued with him and the man said "I have more money then you'll probably ever make in your lifetime so I'm paying". As we sat there stunned he started laughing, got up, did a fast walk over to the cashier, handed her cash and walked out. The cashier walked up to us as we were leaving and tried to give the change to us, which was quite a bit. We left it for our waitress which we think was his intention also. Neat, huh? We're retired now and live on a fixed income but we can still afford to do these little acts of kindness. I really wish more people would do random acts of kindness, even if it's helping an elderly or disabled person with a door. Not just during the Christmas season when we hear so much about the good that some people do, but all year long. Sometimes in this often messed up world that we live in doing something nice for someone else is the only thing that helps them get through their day. Jenna

I think you're misreading the situation. In casinos, I've seen people spend hours gambling in one spot (at take your choice - a crap table, a blackjack table, roulette, etc) with nary a crumb given to dealers, cocktail servers, etc. It all changes when someone wins a big payoff, because they're suddenly everyone's favorite uncle (seems to be a male thing). Big tips for the dealers and cocktail servers, drinks for the table, whatever. Instant generosity after a gambling win is a way of celebrating by boasting and gloating. It's not kindness, it's really done for themselves rather than for others. That's what's behind a lottery winner buying someone else a lottery ticket or taking co-workers to lunch after a payoff, it's a way of boasting. Almost all gamblers lose on a net basis. If they refrained from the activity, they'd have more to share with others in sincere acts of "generosity".

I love RAKs! Out of the blue, unexpected, and so sweet. They put a smile on my face even when they're not for ME, but I was able to witness. I work at a thrift store and many of the customers are shopping while they wait for their turn at the food pantry next door. When I started, if someone was "short" a little bit I'd make up the difference. Over time, I learned I just cannot sustain doing that. Anyway, this past week, a lady who didn't speak much English was making a purchase and she was 55-cents short. She kept talking to her GF, who rolled her eyes and said it happened all the time as the first lady had trouble thinking in Dollars and Cents. Another food pantry customer heard the conversation, while the first lady was trying to figure what to put back and came up and paid the 55 cents. First lady was thrilled and thanked the stranger profusely. An hour or so later, first lady and her GF came back through and bought a little more. This time, the GF paid and she took all her leftover change and put it in our Donations jar. In my eyes, that was TWO people paying it forward!

Aww, that was sweet. Of course, no one who saw it happen was going to buy that particular bag lol. (Love the name Fabio!)