RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS

The Good Guys Club is a private organization of volunteers joined together with no other intent than to provide whatever aid is needed for those in the area finding themselves on temporary hard times. These temporary hard times could be work lay-off, illness, a temporary change in family status for whatever reason, or any number of reasons.

So, when a young couple traveling through the area were stranded at a nearby truck stop because of an expensive car problem, a trucker noted they were asking a waitress for milk for their little baby. The trucker, who was well known to the waitress, had them well fed on his tab and someone notified the Good Guys Club. The couple had been to Michigan because of a family emergency and were trying to get back home in Texas.

It took a day to get the automobile repaired properly and the young couple were sent on their way with plenty of food for the baby and enough money to insure they would make it back safely.

Locally, the Good Guys have harvested crops for sick farmers, put on a roof or two (and even a bathroom) for senior citizens on a fixed income and performed hundreds of good deeds over the years -- some of which were rather major deeds.

One woman with young child found herself out in the cold, for no reason of her own making, with no local family to fall back on. She quickly found a job and a landlady "rented" her a small apartment, knowing she had no money at the moment. In the apartment was a crib for the child and a kitchen table. Nothing else. When she came home from work the second night, the apartment had been furnished and stocked with food. Someone even made the bed. Nothing was new, but the young woman and child had a comfortable home and everything worked well.

Such gifts of money, goods and services are quietly provided to many in temporary need throughout the year.

They don't advertise and intentionally stay low-key. Yet, many thousands of people in Northern Kentucky know they exist and what they do. The Good Guys are known for action, not notoriety. They just "do it" and do not wait for recognition.

Anyway, there comes a time, about this time of every year, when merchants and distributors in the area start contributing. Quietly, with no fanfare of any sort whatsoever, money, food and goods fill nearly every space the Good Guys can find.

And that brings us back to the barrels. Picture, if you will, many pickup trucks being loaded with large barrels, each designated to a specific family, each jam packed with food, household goods and, where applicable, even toys. Each driver has his route. All goods are delivered in one afternoon. Then, the Good Guys return to their own families and it's all over, never to be discussed again till it starts anew the next year.

Many of these Good Guys also profess what I like to call a "random act of kindness." To me, a random act of kindness is like the trucker telling the waitress, "Give them whatever they need to eat and put it on my tab. I'll make it good later." Then, nothing else needing be said, he walked away.

Throughout our busy week, most of us see one or two occasions where we could do something anonymously that would be of significant benefit to another. Quite often, these are things that would be simple for us. Yet, we often tend to "mind our own business" and stay out of things that don't concern us directly.

That's where the random act of kindness concept comes in. Because, what if everyone reading this did one random act of kindness for a complete stranger just once a week between now and the end of the year -- then, just walked away and forgot about it?

Try it sometime. That stuff gets contagious fast. And, who knows, it might get returned someday to someone you love -- at a time they most need it and you are not available to help.

Every year, for about the past thirty years, something very remarkable happens in the town of Walton, Kentucky. On a weekend, the "Good Guys" of Northern Kentucky meet together to load up all their pickup trucks with large barrels of goodies. The Good Guys are known for action, not notoriety. They don't advertise and intentionally stay low-key. They just "do it" and do not wait for recognition.

What if everyone reading this did one random act of kindness for a complete stranger just once a week between now and the end of the year -- then, just walked away and forgot about it? Try it sometime. That stuff gets contagious fast. And, who knows, it might get returned someday to someone you love -- at a time they most need it and you are not available to help.

While you are at it, have a Very Happy Thanksgiving.

Now that is what constitutes real charity. Christian charity. Not to profess love toward one's fellow man, but to act with love toward him.

Thank you for posting this piece.

Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
Visit the Palace Of Reason: http://palaceofreason.com

My comment doesn't have anything to do with the story itself but with its headline. You see that phrase on bumper stickers on cars. I confess I've never really understood it. Why is "random acts" of kindness supposed to be so cool? I've always thought that CONSISTENT acts of kindness are the mark of a really truly caring individual of a good, solid Christian character.

"Consistent acts of kindnesss" are the mark of a caring individual, but in these times when so many acts of "kindness" or "charity" seem to be nothing more than an opportunity for the person doing good to promote himself as the focus of the act, "random" acts of kindness implies anonymous acts that bring no kudos or notoriety to the person doing good.

A random act of kindness gives nothing more to the person doing good than the quiet self-knowledge that they have done the right thing.

For example, I could see our current First Lady quietly giving assistance to someone and not only not publicizing it, but going out of her way to make certain it was not found out by the press. Could you see her predecessor doing anything she thought was charitable and not issuing a press statement informing the world what a noble and giving person she is?

Laura Bush certainly appears to be a fine lady. But I recall one tv show I saw after September 11th in which she appeared with Guiliani, a rabbi, a priest, and a muslim. (sorry don't recall the names). The muslim cleric said "we all serve the same God, there is no difference between Jesus and Mohammad" and Laura Bush just sat there and didn't say a word. Neither did Guiliani. The rabbi and the priest both shook their heads in agreement. My heart sank, that's all I can say.

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