Last week, Spring Herbison Bowlin was on the checkout line at the Clarkson, Mississippi WalMart. The customer ahead of her was an elderly man. When the clerk rang up his order, he looked back at Bowlin and apologized, then dug in his pockets for change. Holding the handfuls of change, he counted and recounted, then got flustered. He looked back at Bowlin and apologized again. His hands shook. The cashier took hold of his hands and reassured him. Dumping all the change on the counter, she told him, "This is not a problem, honey. We will do this together." And they did. Bowlin snapped a photo of this small kindness.
When it was her turn to checkout, she thanked the clerk for helping the elderly gentleman and being so patient with him. The clerk brushed away her praise. "'You shouldn't have to thank me, baby. What's wrong with our world is we've forgotten how to love one another." Back home, Bowlin posted this small interaction on Facebook. The post went viral. Apparently, tens of thousands of us crave this sort of decency.
Cork, Ireland barber Donncha O'Connell has been cutting Evan O'Dwyer's hair since he was a little boy. Now 16, Evan has severe autism and sensory processing disorder, so unusual or unpredictable noises frighten and agitate him. He is non-verbal, so when stimulus overwhelms him, he cannot express himself. Even though O'Connell and his hair-cutting routine are familiar, some days the busy barber shop is too much stimulation.
Last Monday was just such a day. Right in the middle of a haircut, Evan became agitated. He fled to his safe place, his mom's mini-van parked outside. Rather than leave the teen with a half-done haircut, O'Connell followed. While Evan's brother kept him calm and his mom captured the barber's exceptional kindness on video, O'Connell finished with the clippers in the mini-van's back seat, climbing in and around the seated teen.
Thomas has received an offer to go for training in nursing. He hasn't made any decisions, but thinks he might like to return to a job he once had as a rehab tech in a residence for adults with disabilities. He was also quick to praise his supervisor and his fellow wait staff, since they pick up the slack at his other tables while he helps Ma with her meal.
Anchorage Alaska has a new hero, Patricia Christophersen. This unassuming young woman was busing tables at Carlos Mexican Restaurant last week when she noticed a customer in panic. Rachel Saldana was frantically searching the restaurant for the diamond which had fallen out of her wedding ring.
Rachel was with a group at the restaurant planning a fundraiser for the Alaska Miss Amazing Pageant, a pageant for young girls and teens with disabilities. Folks at the dinner joined restaurant staff in the search for the missing diamond. No luck. Rachel left broken-hearted later that night, sharing her cell phone number just in case the stone was found.
After closing, Patricia decided to take another look in the ladies room. She knew Rachel had taken her baby into the ladies room for a diaper change at one point, and Patricia had a hunch the diamond may have been jarred loose there. Sure enough, she found it behind the bathroom door.
When Rachel received the call after 11pm, she was obviously surprised, but delighted. She and her husband gave Patricia a cash reward for her honesty.
Patricia's honesty is even more remarkable given her circumstances. She was involved in a multi-vehicle pile up a few weeks back and cannot afford to fix her car. She has no money for her own apartment and is currently living in a friend's paint store.
But Patricia wouldn't have it any other way. She told interviewers that her decision to return the diamond was simple. She believes it was common sense to return something that did not belong to her.
Strangers on a NYC subway car don't typically interact much. But Saturday night, Gregory Locke was on the 1 train headed toward West 72nd Street when he noticed graffiti on the subway car's advertisements. Closer inspection showed the graffiti to be anti-Semitic phrases and swastikas written in marker on all the advertising panels in the car.
Even in our adversarial political climate, decency and generosity live on.
During the Trump inauguration, Rosalind Harris was working her part-time waitress job at Busboys and Poets, a DC cafe known for attracting political activists. Jason White, a Trump supporter from Lubbock Texas, attended the inauguration and stopped in the cafe with some friends for lunch before their flights home.
The friends looked around them - the cafe's walls decorated with pictures of famous black leaders, fellow patrons in Women's March T-shirts. One of White's friends was wearing a 'Make America Great Again' hat, and they started 'getting looks' from the other patrons. The hat was tucked away.
That's when a smiling Harris came up to their table. She chatted with the men, talking about Southern food and favorite menu items. White, a dentist, complimented Harris' lovely smile. The men relaxed and enjoyed their lunch.
After the men left the cafe, Harris looked at the receipt. White had left her a $450 tip and a note: "We may come from different cultures and may disagree on certain issues, but if everyone would share their smile and kindness like you, beautiful smile, our country will come together as one people. Not race, not gender, just American. God bless!"
Kudos to both Harris and White for the ability to look past their differences and see commonalities. That's where decency begins.
Joanne Griffiths has 10 kids. Ten! I'm amazed she can find time to brush her teeth, never mind think about other people's needs. But that's exactly what she did.
Kyle Bigler was a familiar, friendly face at the New Hampshire Dunkin' Donuts drive-through, and he handed Griffiths her coffee early one morning. On her way to work mid-afternoon, she noticed Bigler walking along the road. Just before 11 that same night, Griffiths saw Bigler a third time, working the graveyard shift at a local gas station. She offered him a ride home, which he declined. She discovered Bigler had been walking to both minimum-wage jobs, a trek of about 16 miles a day.
Yes, this young man walked six hours to these two jobs and had done so for about a year. He felt that his learning disability and speech impediment gave him few work options. "No places close to me would hire me and Dunkin' Donuts in Belmont did, so I took it and said I'd walk to work and work for them every day," he told TODAY.
Among the comments on Griffiths' post were offers of help for Biglin in terms of money and jobs. Autoserv Tilton, a local car dealership, offered another solution - a car.
“I was touched by Kyle’s work ethic and perseverance even when times were tough,” Ryan Parks, sales manager at AutoServ of Tilton ― which donated the car to Bigler ― told The Huffington Post. “I feel like that’s something we don’t see as much nowadays when I compare my generation to my parents’ or my grandparents’ and it was really refreshing to see that.”
Biglin will have to learn to drive and pass his driver's test, but he is overwhelmed and excited. Not only do these wheels mean he can drive to work, they also give him a way to visit with his 3-year-old son Steven who lives with his mother over 3 hours away.
"Meeting Kyle has humbled me and made me more grateful for what I have." Griffiths tells PEOPLE. “Everyone struggles in life. All that matters is how you respond to the struggle and persevere.”
Last Monday was just such a day. Right in the middle of a haircut, Evan became agitated. He fled to his safe place, his mom's mini-van parked outside. Rather than leave the teen with a half-done haircut, O'Connell followed. While Evan's brother kept him calm and his mom captured the barber's exceptional kindness on video, O'Connell finished with the clippers in the mini-van's back seat, climbing in and around the seated teen.
Strangers on a NYC subway car don't typically interact much. But Saturday night, Gregory Locke was on the 1 train headed toward West 72nd Street when he noticed graffiti on the subway car's advertisements. Closer inspection showed the graffiti to be anti-Semitic phrases and swastikas written in marker on all the advertising panels in the car.
Other passengers had noticed too, and shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Locke reports that someone stood up and announced, "Alcohol gets rid of Sharpie. Anyone have hand sanitizer? Tissues?" Smiling passengers dug through purses and pockets and sprang into action. With cooperative action and elbow grease, the words and imagery of hate were erased. 
After the men left the cafe, Harris looked at the receipt. White had left her a $450 tip and a note: "We may come from different cultures and may disagree on certain issues, but if everyone would share their smile and kindness like you, beautiful smile, our country will come together as one people. Not race, not gender, just American. God bless!"
“I was touched by Kyle’s work ethic and perseverance even when times were tough,” Ryan Parks, sales manager at AutoServ of Tilton ― which donated the car to Bigler ― told The Huffington Post. “I feel like that’s something we don’t see as much nowadays when I compare my generation to my parents’ or my grandparents’ and it was really refreshing to see that.”
