
A couple dollars
Anonymously given
Brings a secret smile
Gives hope to a heavy heart
And peace to a worried mind
©2021 Annette Rochelle Aben
More Than You’ll Know — Annette Rochelle Aben
A couple dollars
Anonymously given
Brings a secret smile
Gives hope to a heavy heart
And peace to a worried mind
©2021 Annette Rochelle Aben
More Than You’ll Know — Annette Rochelle Aben
When you go to the store
Put yourself in the mood
Pick up some extra food
For you to share
Put together a box
Make someone’s day brighter
Whose budget is tighter
Could use some help
©2021 Annette Rochelle Aben
Feed the World — Annette Rochelle Aben
Good Deeds
• In December of 2010 in Dayton, Ohio, police officer Jonathan Seiter stopped a man for a routine traffic violation, and the man started to attack him. Officer Seiter was unable to draw his gun, and the situation was dangerous. Angela Pierce, an African-American, was in a car with an elderly aunt, and she jumped out of the car and started punching the attacker with her fists. She later told CNN, “I didn’t even think about what [the suspect] could have had. I didn’t think about what he could have done to me. I just went and tried to help.” With her help, and with the help of police backup in the form of Ohio Highway Patrol Sgt. Chris Colbert, who arrived after Ms. Pierce, Officer Seiter was able to subdue the attacker. Usually, ordinary citizens should not get involved in altercations between police officers and other people, but in this case Ms. Pierce did the right thing. Sgt. Larry Tolpin of the Dayton Police Department said, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not endorsing that citizens participate in this manner. But under this particular circumstance, it was very commendable of her.”
• In January 2011, Eva Orchard of Clearfield, Utah, experienced car trouble while driving on a cold mountain road. Because she knew little about cars and had no cell phone with her, she simply waited in her car and hoped that someone would stop and help her. Fortunately, after 20 minutes, a kind man named Bill stopped. Investigating the source of the car trouble, he thought that she had a faulty fuel pump. He had a cell phone, so he called AAA to come and tow the car, and he called Ms. Orchard’s daughter. After the AAA tow truck arrived, Bill drove Ms. Orchard to where her car was being towed. He also declined payment for having helped her. In a letter to the editor of the Standard-Examiner, Ms. Orchard wrote, “I want everyone to know there are some really good Samaritans out there. I thank Bill for stopping and for all he did to see that I was well taken care of on such a cold morning.”
• In September of 2010, a taxi driver in Thailand found US$6,500 and Bt26,000 that a passenger had left behind. Duan Sosarn, age 34, whose right hand had been amputated, is an honest taxi driver. He took the money to Police Radio FM 91, which then located the passenger who had lost the money: Myo Htut, from Burma. Mr. Sosarn said that he wanted to be a good example to his son and that keeping the money would have been wrong. The police gave Mr. Sosarn a shield of honor on October 13, which is National Police Day in Thailand.
• Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach celebrated Purim in 1963 in grand style. Flush with money from a standing-room-only concert the previous night, he hired a small truck and a driver, and then went to three stores — a wine shop, a pastry shop, and a grocery shop — where he bought out the entire inventory of each of the three stores. After the truck was fully loaded, he started to make deliveries of shalach monos(gift baskets for the needy) to families throughout Jerusalem.
***
Copyright by Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
Good Deeds
• When the Germans defeated France (temporarily) in World War II, lots of Jews went to Bordeaux, where they hoped to find passage away from France before the Nazis arrived and took them to concentration camps. The ship Kilissiarrived in port with a cargo of bananas, and the captain was astonished to see 600 people, all of whom were begging to be taken away before the Germans arrived. The captain of the Kilissi spoke to his crew, asking them whether they were willing to risk their lives in trying to save the Jews on shore. Every member of the crew was willing. The crew then dumped most of the bananas overboard, since they had no time to unload them. The Jews crowded on board, and the Kilissistarted to sail them to freedom. Almost immediately, however, the ship’s engines stopped. Fortunately, the ship had stopped only to allow on board two men and one woman who were in a rowboat and screaming to get the ship’s attention. The ship took the Jews to Portugal, but authorities there would not allow the Jews to disembark. However, the Jews were allowed to get aboard a French warship that was going to Morocco. Terry Wolf was one of the 600 Jews saved by the captain and his crew. She calls him “a gallant man to whom the value of human life meant more than bananas, profit, comfort, and personal safety. Whenever his final voyage, I hope it is to Paradise.”
• On 25 April 1989, at St. Anne’s Catholic School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Carl Boney and Michael Etowski, who were both 14 years old, climbed aboard the school bus. Things happened as usual for a while, but the bus driver, Richard Perry, suffered a stroke and slumped over. With no one steering the school bus, it went off the road and toward a utility pole. Mike said later, “I saw blue sparks and heard all this popping sound. I was slammed around. Then I jumped on the seat so I wouldn’t get shocked. Everyone was freaking out. I looked up front. It didn’t look like anyone was sitting in the driver’s seat.” Once past the utility pole, the bus headed for some trees. Carl, an African-American, went to the front and stepped on the brake, but he needed help because Mr. Perry’s foot was still on the gas. Mike reached the front and helped Carl. Mike managed to turn off the ignition, and the bus came to a stop. Mike used his Boy Scout training to open Mr. Perry’s airway and keep it open until paramedics arrived. Unfortunately, Mr. Perry died later in a hospital. According to Mike, “We’re just ordinary boys.” Carl added, “What we did was natural.” Because of these two boys’ actions, no kids were hurt on the bus.
• Grammy nominee violinist Philippe Quint was seriously worried when he left a 285-year-old 1723 Kiesewetter Stradivarius violin — loaned to him by owners Clement and Karen Arrison — in the back seat of a New York taxicab on 21 April 2008. Fortunately, the driver of the taxi — Mohammed Khalil, a Muslim who was born in Egypt — contacted him and returned the violin. Mr. Quint said, “I cannot describe it in words, the feeling that I was going through at the time. I was frantically looking for the violin that whole morning.” Mr. Quint gave Mr. Khalil a $100 reward, performed a 30-minute concert for Mr. Khalil and other taxi drivers at Newark Liberty International Airport, which is only 15 miles from Midtown Manhattan, and gave Mr. Khalil and his family tickets to one of his concerts at Carnegie Hall. In addition, the city of Newark gave Mr. Khalil a medal. The Italian Antonio Stradivari made the violin, which has been owned by the 18th-century German composer and violinist Christophe Kiesewetter.Mr. Khalil says that he was simply doing the right thing in returning the violin.
***
Copyright by Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
Tipping the Balance—Either Way
According to the Talmud, all of us ought to consider the world as being equally divided into good and evil. That way, we will regard our own actions as important. If we act evilly, we will tip the world onto the side of evil and all Humankind will suffer, but if we perform good deeds, we will tip the world onto the side of good, and all Humankind will benefit.
“Don’t A T’ing Like Dis Make Ya Feel Good?”
Comedians Jimmy Durante and Eddie Cantor were very giving of their time to good causes. On New Year’s Day of 1943, Mr. Durante met Mr. Cantor while taking a walk. “Eddie,” Mr. Durante said, “I’m just thinkin’. This must be a tough time for the guys over there in that hospital. Here it’s New Year’s Day, they’re sick, some of ’em have amputations. What do ya say we go over and entertain?” The two comedians rehearsed for a short time, then entertained at the hospital from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Afterward, Mr. Durante said hoarsely to Mr. Cantor, “Eddie, tell me, don’t a t’ing like dis make ya feel good?”
Stranded in Kent, Ohio
In Kent, Ohio, early in his vaudeville days, W.C. Fields found himself stranded. (At this time, he was still being victimized by tour managers who would abscond with their performers’ salaries.) He had six dollars, sold his coat for two dollars, then went to the railroad station to inquire about the fare to New York. The railroad agent told him that it was just over $10. (Ten dollars in 1894 was the rough equivalent of over $200 in the year 2000.) “Well, I guess I’m stuck,” Mr. Fields said. “I’ve got eight dollars.” The agent asked if he was an entertainer, and on hearing that Mr. Fields was, he said, “People don’t put much trust in you folks, do they?” (At this time, being an entertainer was about as low on the social scale as a person could be.) “We’re used to it,” Mr. Fields said. The agent then gave Mr. Fields $10 and said, “I’ve always wondered what there was to that story. When you get a little ahead, send this back.” That rare act of kindness impressed Mr. Fields so much that he sat on a bench and cried. Two years later, Mr. Fields was finally able to repay the debt. On Christmas Eve, 1896, he sent $20 to the railroad agent ($10 was for “interest”), then he stood in line at a free soup kitchen for a Christmas dinner. After Mr. Fields became a huge success, he looked up the agent, as did other famous show people who learned what the agent had done for Mr. Fields.
What’s Something Good to Do Around Christmas — or Anytime?
My sister Brenda Kennedy wrote this on a Christmas card to me: “For Christmas this year we each, including the grandkids, filled a bookbag full of water, washcloths, notebook, two pens, two pair of socks, tooth, toothpaste, one roll of toilet paper, Bandaids, Chapstick, granola bars, pencil box filled with candy, tampons, pads and baby wipes. Then we filled the bags up the rest of the way with single bags of chips. Everyone will find a homeless person or someone in need to donate their bag to.” What a great idea!
Ring! Ring!
“Hello, David speaking. How may I help you?”
…
“No, thank you.”
…
“No.”
…
“I said no.”
…
“Hey, baby.”
…
“You turn me on.”
…
“Send me a dick pic.”
…
“How rude!”
Hangs up.
PS:
That was a scammer calling me to try to get ,my bank account info, my credit card info, and my Social Security number.
I wanted him to hang up, and he did.
I could have hung up, but this way I get to irritate the scammer, and maybe my telephone number will be put on a DO NOT CALL list.
Thanks for reading.
“Couples of Reddit, What’s the Most Unromantic Thing that’s Happened Between the Two of You that Actually is a Stronger Indication of Love than Others Might Think?”
1) appleappleappleman wrote this:
“During her first pregnancy, my wife vomited brown, congealed blood every night for her entire second trimester. We went to multiple doctors and took a few trips to the E.R. [Emergency Room], never got a reason why. The vomiting happened every night after midnight, sometimes continuing sporadically for eight hours. Don’t know why, but it never happened during the daytime.
“One night, she thought she was finally doing better, so she went to sleep early and seemed fine. Then suddenly around 1:00 AM, she jolted awake (which instantly woke me) and tried to run to the bathroom to puke, forgetting the puke bucket on her bedside table in her moment of panic. Unfortunately, she slipped and fell on her side (nothing hit her belly) and puked blood all over the carpet. She immediately started sobbing.
“That poor woman went through such a rough time.
“So I carefully picked her up, took her to the bathroom, held her hair back while she finished throwing up, then cleaned her face and got her some water to rinse her mouth out. I carried her to bed and then got to work cleaning up the carpet.
“We were just kids, still in college together. Those three months of misery galvanized our relationship. Nothing serious has ever come between us in the years since.”
2) KeeksTx wrote, “Nursing my late husband through squamous cell carcinoma and thyroid cancer. Diagnosed end of November, went into hospice (at home) end of February, died March 21st. I took time off work most days just to be with him and feed him and give him his meds. I had to convince him that he wouldn’t become addicted to morphine since he was actually in hospice so he finally started taking it every time I offered it. My mom (an RN and cancer research nurse for 52 years) couldn’t believe how much I stepped up and took over my husband’s care. He is the love of my life; all I could do for him was make him comfortable so that was my priority. I was going to do everything in my power to make him comfortable through the end of a f[**]king [*]ssh[*]le of a disease. He died at home, and we had been able to say ‘I love you’, ‘Thank you’, and ‘Good-bye’. I miss him every day even four years later.”
3) theamazing6 wrote this:
“I had an ingrown hair cyst surgically removed from my butt crack. My SO had to help me stuff new gauze in the 1.5 in [inch] hole in my flesh so it could heal properly. I bent over the bed while she removed the gauze used during surgery and she did her best. I ended up having to pull it out myself in the bathroom leaving blood all over the floor and myself. Even after the trauma of trying to remove the first gauze, she came back to help me get the new gauze in place after I cleaned up.
“We called it my double b[*]tthole.”
4) 1kingtorulethem wrote, “My wife passes out. A lot. It has to do with a medical condition she has, but it can happen at almost anytime. I’ve become so good at recognizing how she feels that I know when she’s going to go before she does, and I’ve gotten very good at catching her. It may look unromantic, and it can be. But her knowing I’m there, and me recognizing her signs are a big thing for us.”
5) StarbugRedDwarf wrote this:
“My husband’s family lived across the country and used to send us boxes of their almost-new, good-quality clothes that they no longer wore. The male clothes were great for hubby and sons, but the female clothes were always a bit too small as I had gained a lot of weight since they had seen me last. My husband always felt so bad for me.
“Then one time, my hubby lifted up a pair of pants out of the box and said happily, ‘These will fit you. They’re HUGE!’
“I still remember the look of horror that passed over his face once he’d realized what he’d said. But I loved the fact that he was happy for me getting a new pair of pants.”[1]
“What is the Best Random Act of Kindness You’ve Witnessed?”
1) Josh_Thompson wrote, “Well it was a rough morning I had a few years back. My little brother died after being hit by a drunk driver. I got pulled out of a meeting I was leading by my boss’s boss. He let me take the phone call in his office while he waited outside. I suppose they called my cell phone a dozen times, but I had it turned off. I didn’t cry in that office, I didn’t cry when I walked out of there leaving my brief case and cell phone. I walked to a nearby park and I cried there, I suppose I cried for a rather long time. There were a couple of homeless guys who came up and started talking to me; they felt sorry for me. We ended up drinking Heaven Hill vodka from a large plastic jug and eating canned meats with our bare hands. I slept in the park next to a water fountain that night and awoke to find one of their blankets draped over me. Thanks, guys.”
2) Ponchorello7 wrote, “Back in middle school, I saw one of the most ghetto kids round up his friends and defend a special-ed kid. I gained a lot of respect for him that day. He was still a cheap bastard who never paid me back for all the times I let him borrow money, though.”
3) [Name Deleted] wrote this:
“When I was younger, I was at a friend’s house and she and her mom were getting ready to get in the car. They had me join and said, ‘We’re going to Erin’s house.’
“The van was full of groceries. Apparently Erin’s family was having huge financial issues and could barely afford food. My friend and I ran the bags of groceries ($100 worth) to the porch, rang the doorbell, and we ran off. She still doesn’t know to this day who did that.
“My friend’s parents were some of the best examples of why you should care and give, whether the good comes back to you or not. Since then I’ve always given whatever bit I could afford to people who asked for it.
“An exception when I was living in San Francisco was when I came across a homeless guy begging for cash to get tobacco. He had these tears in his eyes like he felt like he is going to die. Of course he wouldn’t, but I guess I appreciated his honesty and something about the expression in these eyes really moved me, and I pulled out my wallet, but I had only $20 bills coming from an ATM [Automatic Teller Machine]. I was a near-broke college student, but too bad he already saw me pull my wallet out. So I handed him a $20 bill and made him promise me he’d also get something to eat.
“I walked off to a bus stop and waited with a group of people. Next thing I knew, he found me at the stop [while he was] smoking a cigarette happily, pointed and yelled, ‘I’d die in a fire for you! I would!’ Everyone at the bus stop stared at me as he walked away. I just smiled, and it totally made my day and I will never forget his face.
“And you never know what your act will lead them to do. One guy used the money to buy calling cards to call family. A nice mother went into an internet cafe with whatever cash I had to look for jobs online.
“Point is, an act of kindness toward anyone can seem like no big deal to you and cost you nearly nothing. But I believe in the effects it can have on people, that hopefully they still have faith in humanity. It’s this interaction that is more valuable than money and may save some from living in solitude, depression, crime, poverty, or addiction. Maybe that’s a big impossible dream, but if it’s no big deal to you, then why not help out a little?”
4) ChandyC wrote this:
“There was a teacher my sophomore year who I disrespected so much. I used to get baked before his class and just blow it off the entire time. I eventually got caught and got sent to an alternative school. Two days later I get a visitor. I’m sitting here thinking ‘who would want to visit a degenerate stoner?’ It was that teacher. He took time out of his lunch break to see me. It really takes a crazy guy in order to visit a kid who has disrespected him so much. Two years later, I’m his teacher aide and he is my most respected teacher.
“Edit [in response to comments by others]: It was weed, not meth.”
5) Minberg wrote this:
“About a week ago in work, a lady came up with a child in a pram, and had about €28-30 of groceries. She put her card in the machine and it was declined three times. She was flustered but she said she definitely had money in the bank. It wasn’t busy so there was no queue behind her. She asked if she could run to the ATM [Automatic Teller Machine] we had in the shop, I said, ‘Of course,’ and away she ran. She left the child in the pram beside me (no problem there, the kid was about four and she was going about 40 feet away).
“A woman who was being served at another till suddenly came over to my checkout, and stuck her own card in the machine. She insisted I charge her card for the ladies shopping, so I did. All she said was ‘we’ve all been in that spot.’ Just as the transaction finished the woman who owned the shopping came jogging back, with €30 cash in her hand, and the woman who had paid just walked out the door without a word.
“When I told the woman that someone had paid for her, she was in shock. She just stood there in awe at a stranger’s kindness. I’ve heard stories like that before but never actually witnessed it first hand. It was heartwarming.”[2]
“What’s One Selfless Act for Which You Don’t Get Enough Appreciation?”
1) gigabytestarship wrote this:
“Not me but my dad.
“He never divorced my mom because he didn’t want her to lose the benefits (insurance, etc.) She was still on his life insurance policy. In 2017, he lost his job of 20 years so she lost her insurance. She knew why so she never became upset with him. In November of the same year, he got a new job but had to wait three months for the benefits. At first he didn’t think he’d be able to pay for medical insurance for my mom. She accepted it because she knew he had a life of his own to take care of. He calls me one day and told me he was going to go ahead and purchase medical for her, too. She was disabled, on many medications and couldn’t work. She cried because she was so thankful. I always knew he was an amazing man but that just sealed it for me. They weren’t together anymore but he still loved her and cared about her enough to sacrifice some comforts to make sure she’d be ok. Unfortunately, she passed away last year, but I know and I’m sure he knows that she was grateful.
“He also helped raise two of my mom’s children from a previous marriage and he has also taken care of mentally disabled people for over 20 years. Now besides working, he lives and cares for my grandparents. He’s such an amazing person and I’m so grateful he’s my father.”
2) MobileAnimator wrote, “There are a couple of kids in my neighborhood who come over a lot and play with my kids, about 11-12 years old. They live with their grandmother because dad is in jail and mom abandoned them. One of them totes around an ipod 1 like it’s made of gold; they have nothing. My kids were going to a week-long overnight camp soon, and I could see on these boys’ faces how they would be missing my kids and I figured they had probably never done anything like that. I paid for these two boys to go to camp with my kids that week. I’m not rich by any means, but I managed to make it happen. The grandmother called me in tears and told me what a rough life they had and she didn’t have money but always tried to do right by them. I’ve never actually told anyone about this before.”
MsWhatsit83 commented, “Ten years from now you won’t give the money you spent a second thought, but those kids will still remember the awesome experience they had and what it felt like for someone to care about their happiness so much.”
3) ILikeToLieForKarma wrote, “One time, I saw a hungry old man on the street during the night. I gave him a couple hundred dollars and my gold watch. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so happy, especially after the man put his gun away.”
“What is the Kindest Thing a Pet has Ever Done for You?”
1) Haymouse wrote this:
“Our third toddler just barely able to walk, escaped through the front door running out with only his diaper on his narrow [*]ss. He made it to the mailbox and Gracie the Golden Retriever ran into the laundry to alert my wife.
“She was away from him only a few minutes and walked out to the front to see what was causing the dog to be so upset.
“She let the dog out and the dog bolted over to him; he was already in the neighbor’s yard. She chased him down all while he cackled and giggled and she caught him before he got to the main road.
“My wife tore her meniscus running after him and had to have surgery a week later, but the situation could have been far worse had the dog not reacted with concern.
“And yes, I installed a more child-proof latch that night. He was also ‘Mr. unlatch my 5-point harness while we drive down the road.’
“But Gracie was the best girl.”
2) campon615 wrote, “One time my dog would not come back inside from running around the yard. He was having fun running away from us as we chased him with the leash. My other dog grabbed another leash in his mouth, walked up to the misbehaving dog to play tug, and walked him straight into the house. It was amazing.”
3) Itslmntori wrote, “When I got my wisdom teeth removed, the dentist prescribed some sort of anti-anxiety medication for me to take before the removal. Despite my protests that I’ve had plenty of dental work done with no problems, and that medications hit me really hard, he said that I had to take it. That plus the pain meds hit me like a freight train. I got home afterwards and stumbled around like a drunk zombie. On one of my gauze-changes in the bathroom, I passed out and hit my head on the sink on the way down. It was around 3 am, I was too out of it to make any noise for help, and all of my family were asleep. But, out of the shadows, my mom’s dog (imagine a medium-sized black wolfhound) emerged and washed my face until I woke up enough to push her away. Calypso had heard me all the way from the other side of the house and decided to check in on me. She stayed with me as I washed my face, changed my gauze, cleaned up my mess, and crawled back to my room. I managed to pull my drugged self into my bed and she hopped in right behind me. Calypso stayed with me that whole night until my mom woke up and checked on me. She’s a great dog.”
4) followthedata wrote this:
“This past summer I had adopted my first kitten. We had all sorts of pets growing up, but she was my first on my own and she was so sweet. She ended up needing to be put down after less than three months after she developed Feline Infectious Peritonitis. It was awful, I was alone, and I didn’t want to burden my friends with something so traumatic and depressing.
“After the entire ordeal, I remember dragging myself home and just wanting to sit on my porch for a bit before going back inside to an empty home. There’s this fat black and white neighborhood cat that I had seen around since I moved in but never met. Within a minute of me sitting, he came from out of nowhere and hopped in my lap and let me pet him while I cried a bit more. Not sure if he just happened to be cruising the neighborhood for pets or if he really knew something was up, either way I really needed that in that moment.”
5) Jeheh wrote this:
“We were out walking the dogs. We live in an area out in the mountains where we can let them off leash to run around, but as we get back to the house they go back on leash so they don’t run after our neighbors’ dogs or run off after a rabbit.
“My dog Aka was on my left and we were just walking on the road and immediately went tense and crossed in front of me, stopped dead. I hadn’t been paying attention and plowed right in to him but since he is a big guy 130ish he just stopped me.
“About 7-8 feet to my right and forward was a huge rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike. We had taken our dogs to classes and one is a snake-proofing class and they are trained to avoid snakes, but he stepped in front of me between the snake to stop and alert me.
“My wife and I jumped back and gave it an extra wide berth. Aka got a hamburger when we got home.”
6) somebodybannedme wrote this:
“I have pet rats and when they’re bedding down, they sometimes like to treat my hand like another rat and wash it (rats are very sociable). They check under my fingernails, gently nibble away dead skin, and tug a little on rings or hair bands thinking they might be stuck on me. If it’s a ring I wear often they don’t bother, they always know what’s new and what I’ve worn before. Same with items in my hair, glasses, etc.
“The only one who might notice what I’m wearing that day is my rats, but d[*]mn it’s adorable that they do notice.”[4]
“Bilinguals of Reddit: What’s Your ‘They Didn’t Know I Spoke Their Language’ Story?”
One reason to be kind is so you don’t embarrass yourself.
1) Itsjojosiwa wrote this:
“[…] once when I was younger I went to the park with my sister. We look very white and no one would know both of us speak Mandarin fluently unless we told them.
“Some money must’ve fallen out of my sister’s pocket and in Mandarin we hear a mother talking to her daughter and telling her not to let us know we dropped money so that they could pick it up after we left.
“Both of us turned around straight away and my sister picked up her money while both of us gave them dirty looks and we changed our conversation to Mandarin. The look of horror on both of their faces will forever be burned into my head.”
2) MerryDankmas wrote, “I was at a bar with a Russian buddy of mine. He grew up there and moved to the states when he was 12 or so. He adapted to English really well so he has no accent whatsoever. Both of the bartenders were Russian (you could tell by the accents) and were having a conversation. Friend looks to me and says ‘D[*]mn, they’re talking some mad sh[*]t right now’. I asked him about whom, and he said the other dude across the bar in the blue shirt. I asked what they were saying and he said they were just roasting him in general. I asked if they said anything about us and he said not yet but he would say something back in Russian if they did. They ended up not saying anything about us but right before we left, he said to them in Russian, ‘You should speak a bit nicer about your customers’. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone’s face turn a brighter shade of red than that.”
3) earlymusicaficionado wrote, “I was visiting South Korea with my wife, a native of that country. I’m shaped like a lumberjack, and have a big, red lumberjack beard to match. A group of Korean women in their 50s and 60s nearby were laughing and calling me a ‘bear,’ which I found hilarious. So one of the older ones says, ‘Gom’ (‘bear’) to me as she passes by, and I start laughing. She makes that face like, ‘Did he understand what just I said?’ So I raise my arms and make a playful growl at her. She is horrified and starts apologizing while her friends all cover their mouths and giggle, as Korean women customarily do. I love Korea.”[5]
[1]Source: Roivas14, “Couples of Reddit, what’s the most unromantic thing that’s happened between the two of you that actually is a stronger indication of love than others might think?” Reddit. AskReddit. 5 January 2019 <https://tinyurl.com/y9kupnk2>.
[2]Source: johnnnyk32, “What is the best random act of kindness you’ve witnessed?” Reddit. AskReddit. October 2013 <https://tinyurl.com/y87yfc5h>.
[3]Source: mastermaniac10, “What’s one selfless act for which you don’t get enough appreciation?” Reddit. AskReddit. 6 January 2019 <https://tinyurl.com/y78dezcp>.
[4]Source: DragonWizardKing, “What is the kindest thing a pet has ever done for you?” Reddit. AskReddit. 6 January 2019 <https://tinyurl.com/y8xdgfuf>.
[5]Source: SpiralArc, “Bilinguals of Reddit: what’s your ‘they didn’t know I spoke their language’ story?” Reddit. AskReddit. 6 January 2019 <https://tinyurl.com/yda9tgkw>.
***
SOMETIMES FREE EBOOK
John Ford’s The Broken Heart: A Retelling, by David Bruce
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/792090
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/792090
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079V5BCJZ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i8
***
SOMETIMES FREE EBOOK
William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure:A Retelling in Prose, by David Bruce
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/530136
https://www.amazon.com/William-Shakespeares-Measure-Retelling-Prose-ebook/dp/B00V7IRT9O
***
SOMETIMES FREE EBOOK
Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist:A Retelling
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/731768
https://www.amazon.com/Ben-Jonsons-Alchemist-David-Bruce-ebook/dp/B0738VSHPY