Stories about me.

I stumbled across this sort of touching article on the internet the other day where people wrote letters to other people who would never read them. It was fascinating stuff really. One example was a woman, now in her 40's, writing a letter to a man who helped pull a thorn out of her foot when she was just a child, then sent her back home to her parents. She was crying too hard to thank him at the time, and always felt bad for not telling him how much that meant to her.

I've got similar stories from friendly passer-bys who would pick me up and drive me somewhere when my piles of junk in high school would break down on my way to school. Hell, even the old lady at the gas station who sometimes gives me free sodas makes my day just a little brighter, but I'll probably never actually tell her that.

Anyway, in reading those stories I kind of wondered to myself if anyone ever tells a story about something I did anonymously. I don't mean ways I've helped my friends and family, since those are a given. I mean more like random people I've never actually exchanged names with, but whose lives I brightened just enough that they'll always remember it. Maybe a waitress who was having a bad day, and I was nice enough to her to change her mood? Or the old lady at Wal-Mart who can't reach something off the top shelf and asks me for help? Last summer I saw a car broken down on a busy street, so myself and about 3 other concerned people pushed him into a parking lot. Another guy loaned him a cell phone to call a tow truck. I left without ever shaking his hand or telling him who I was.

Anyway, I guess my point is that I'd like to be included in more anonymous stories like that. And I guess the best way to do that is to just maintain a good attitude, help people when they need it, make yourself open to helping others, and being friendly enough to make someone's day a little brighter. It's hard to do when your brain gets so wrapped up in your own problems, your own issues, your own schedule. But maybe it's worth trying a little harder for.