Moments of kindness....yes in NOVA! (coupon, driveway, recycle) - Northern Virginia - Virginia - Page 9 - City-Data Forum

chocolatelover · 08-09-2010, 04:40 PM

This is from this past winter, but it's still one of the nicest things I've noticed since moving here last year. I walked out of a store after making a purchase (after I waited in line for a looooong time), stepped outside into the cold, reached for my hat, and realized I had dropped it somewhere. Just as I was about to go back into the store to look for it, the guy that was behind me in the checkout line ran outside and gave it to me!

Do a Barrel Roll · 08-09-2010, 09:56 PM

There are a dozen examples of random acts of kindness I notice, especially in Northern VA. The most common one for me included my co-workers driving me to the Metro station after we closed shop for the night (even if the station was a 10 minute walk away) when I used to work in Tysons and Springfield Malls. A recent act of kindness was when I watching UFC 117 at the bar in Ballston last Saturday when a dude who I was talking MMA with paid for my beer.

But at the same time, I think it's sort of sad these events stand out, seeing as these acts that seem to be common in other parts of the country but aren't nearly as common here. This isn't against Northern VA, especially considering that it's the place in the DC area where I have experienced the most genuine (or at least the least arrogant) behaviors. Not that genuine people don't exist in MD and DC, but for every one cool person in DC and MD (especially PG County), there are 3-5 a-holes; Montgomery County I'll give credit and say the genuine/a-hole people proportion is more evened out.

But then again, this just makes these random acts stand out and makes one more grateful when these things do occur.

Caladium · 08-10-2010, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Fairfaxian

But at the same time, I think it's sort of sad these events stand out, seeing as these acts that seem to be common in other parts of the country but aren't nearly as common here.

Just my opinion, but I've been doing a lot of travelling this year and other parts of the country don't seem to be quite as nice these days as they used to be.

In the last few months I've spent significant time in Ames, Iowa; Hot Springs, AR; and Los Angeles. Arkansas used to be the nicest place, but this spring I got run off the road. I used to live in LA and the people there always struck me as friendly. They weren't nearly as friendly this trip. There's a souring mood in LA right (at least among the people I encountered). And what on Earth's happened to the nice people of Ames Iowa? The people at my favorite coffee shop there were rude--that really surprised me. I hope this is a passing trend, but it just seems like all over the country people are starting to act surly.

ajzjmsmom · 08-11-2010, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caladium

Just my opinion, but I've been doing a lot of travelling this year and other parts of the country don't seem to be quite as nice these days as they used to be.

In the last few months I've spent significant time in Ames, Iowa; Hot Springs, AR; and Los Angeles. Arkansas used to be the nicest place, but this spring I got run off the road. I used to live in LA and the people there always struck me as friendly. They weren't nearly as friendly this trip. There's a souring mood in LA right (at least among the people I encountered). And what on Earth's happened to the nice people of Ames Iowa? The people at my favorite coffee shop there were rude--that really surprised me. I hope this is a passing trend, but it just seems like all over the country people are starting to act surly.

Unfortunately I think this is becoming the trend, my husband was saying yesterday how nice people used to be in his hometown in TN and now they are rude.

The Dissenter · 08-11-2010, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caladium

Just my opinion, but I've been doing a lot of travelling this year and other parts of the country don't seem to be quite as nice these days as they used to be.

In the last few months I've spent significant time in Ames, Iowa; Hot Springs, AR; and Los Angeles. Arkansas used to be the nicest place, but this spring I got run off the road. I used to live in LA and the people there always struck me as friendly. They weren't nearly as friendly this trip. There's a souring mood in LA right (at least among the people I encountered). And what on Earth's happened to the nice people of Ames Iowa? The people at my favorite coffee shop there were rude--that really surprised me. I hope this is a passing trend, but it just seems like all over the country people are starting to act surly.

With the tough times today I'm not surprised. You really know who people are once they get into trouble.

Caladium · 01-12-2011, 10:14 AM

Want to do a random act of kindness today? If you know a neighbor is out of town, why not take an extra ten minutes and clear his driveway for him? After all, it's much easier to clear snow right after it snows than it will be after it refreezes tonight. Plus it's a nice surprise to come home to a cleared driveway.

If that seems like too big of a thing to do, why not take 60 seconds to walk up to his door and back and a few times. Footprints in the snow make it look like someone is home and deters burglaries. Burglars look for walkways with virgin snow.

pcity · 01-12-2011, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caladium

Want to do a random act of kindness today? If you know a neighbor is out of town, why not take an extra ten minutes and clear his driveway for him?

I was all set to do this earlier today since someone shoveled my walk last time. Then I looked out the window and realized the sun did it for me. I can still take credit right? My heart was in the right place.

Quote:

If that seems like too big of a thing to do, why not take 60 seconds to walk up to his door and back and a few times. Footprints in the snow make it look like someone is home and deters burglaries. Burglars look for walkways with virgin snow.

Interesting- never thought about that. My walk didn't appear to have human footprints this morning, but it (and most of the ones around) did have animal prints (from stray cats I think). I wonder if that has a similar deterrence effect.

The Dissenter · 01-12-2011, 10:42 AM

I messaged a lot of my NoVA friends about my father's sickness and his grim prognosis. Not even an hour after that, every one of them replied to me by text and Facebook and offered their prayers and support. While that isn't a random act of kindness, it means a lot to me that my NoVA friends are walking with me through this grim situation.

Caladium · 01-12-2011, 10:52 AM

Alanboy, I'm so sorry to hear that, and I'm glad you reached out to people. That's a very stressful situation, and even though there isn't much we can do to help, it makes a difference just to know that other people care.

Alltheusernamesaretaken · 01-12-2011, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caladium

Want to do a random act of kindness today? If you know a neighbor is out of town, why not take an extra ten minutes and clear his driveway for him? After all, it's much easier to clear snow right after it snows than it will be after it refreezes tonight. Plus it's a nice surprise to come home to a cleared driveway.

If that seems like too big of a thing to do, why not take 60 seconds to walk up to his door and back and a few times. Footprints in the snow make it look like someone is home and deters burglaries. Burglars look for walkways with virgin snow.

Love these ideas!