Two December 2013 Good Deeds

Ana Samways writes the almost-daily and always-entertaining column Sideswipe for the New Zealand Herald. Readers sometimes send her accounts of good deeds that they have experienced. For example, here are two good deeds from December 2013: 1) “Chris decided to take his two young daughters to see Taylor Swift for their first-ever concert experience. ‘We got the cheap, last-minute release $90 dollar tickets and found we were at the very back of the seated section of the floor at Vector Arena. When Taylor came on, everyone stood up so my girls stood up on the back rest of their chairs with me behind them holding them up for safety. Along comes a big burly security guard and I figured he was going to tell me to sit down. Instead, he says, ‘come with me’. So we and another two awesome dads with daughters follow him down the aisle past everyone, right up to the front of the stage … I’m now wanting to take them to The Rolling Stones hoping the same thing happens.’” 2) “A mother writes: ‘My son had a bit of a setback after major surgery, so back to Starship [Children’s Health, a hospital] we went. Parking was atrocious, so after dumping him in the ED [Emergency Department] I set off in the pouring rain to park the car (after being told off by a security guard). I found a park [car park, aka parking lot] across from the hospital and in the pouring rain tried to pay using my Visa. Try as I might the machine could not read my card — by this time I am a wet, dithering, crying mess … to the lovely lady in the black and white dress who paid for my pay and display ticket, thank you very, very much and Merry Christmas.’” (67)

On 7 December 2013, Greg Parady, a 40-year-old financial planner and owner of Parady Financial Group in The Villages, Florida, went to a local Walmart to get some bicycles for Toys for Tots. He then decided to do an additional good deed, and he spent over $20,000 helping people pay off their layaways. Walmart operations assistant manager Deb Davis said, “I can’t believe [his credit cards] didn’t melt he was running them so fast.” He used the credit cards to pay half of every layaway balance above $200 — thus helping approximately 80 customers. Ms. Davis said, “We’ve had layaway Santas that will do a couple thousand here or a couple thousand there, but $20,000 was just an amazing amount.” Cindy Nazzaro, the 58-year-old managing partner at Parady Financial, said, “I came back here and I saw him standing here with his credit card and he was just swiping and swiping.” She added, “He had heard a lady out in one of the aisles talking about how she needed to pay off her layaway, but she didn’t think she was going to be able to take care of all of it this year. So he just walked back here and started in — it’s crazy.” Mr. Parady also swiped his credit card for people who walked up to the layaway counter intending to put items on layaway. Ms. Nazzaro said, “He would swipe his card and say, ‘Merry Christmas.’” Ms. Davis said that the reactions of customers were “tears, surprise. There was one lady after she cried she had to sit down because we thought she was going to faint. It was a true Christmas story.” Mr. Parady said, “Every time I looked over at her she would mouth the words, ‘Thank you.’” Ms. Davis said about the customers, “They didn’t know what was happening at first. This one girl in particular, she goes, ‘What do I owe?’ My associate goes, ‘That gentlemen right there just paid for you.’” Ms. Nazzaro said, “I’ve known him for years, and he just does things because he feels like doing them. It brought us all to tears … and made me realize we work in an awesome community. This is Greg’s way of giving back to the community, paying them back for how gracious they’ve been to us.” Mr. Parady got a lot of attention because of his good deed. He said, “I didn’t intend for the attention, but I hope it motivates other people. I hope everyone will use it as a tool to give in their own way. It doesn’t have to be money — it can be time, or just something kind.” (68)

“I’m Like, ‘Come On.’ She Goes, ‘No, I’m Serious.’ ‘Shut Up!’ ‘No, Really!’”

In December 2013, a Layaway Angel helped Danielle Dubois, a single mother of three sons in Torrington, Connecticut, by paying for an over-$100 Lego city police set for her 10-year-old son, Aydyn. Ms. Dubois said, “Christmas is hard for anybody, doesn’t matter what your circumstances.” She had put the Lego set on layaway shortly before Thanksgiving and had made small payments on it. Then she received a telephone call from Walmart: “‘Hi, this is so and so from Walmart,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, I haven’t paid in a couple of weeks. They’re calling to remind me.” Instead, Ms. Dubois learned that a Layaway Angel had paid for the Lego set. Ms. Dubois said, “I’m like, ‘Come on.’ She goes, ‘No, I’m serious.’ ‘Shut up!’ ‘No, really!’” The gift came at a good time for Ms. Dubois because her mother had passed away a few months previously; the gift helped her regain her holiday spirit. Ms. Dubois said, “Losing my mom four months ago, everything’s been a little bit bland and sad. You wonder what she’s doing, and you remember how it was last year.” She added about the gift, “It brought the special back a little bit. And we needed that. So whoever it was, thank you.” (69)

“It’s Fun. It’s Fun for the Kids. It’s Fun for Me”

In December 2013, Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson held his seventh annual Toys “R” Us shopping spree for 12 at-risk children in Houston, Texas. Each of the 12 children now lives with an extended family member after suffering through some sort of parental abuse. The children grabbed as many toys as they could in 80 seconds. (Mr. Johnson wears number 80 on his football jersey.) A glass retail display case with high-priced gaming systems was at Toys “R” Us, but the children did not have to wait for a clerk to unlock it. Mr. Johnson gave each of the 12 children an Xbox 360 and two games. How much was the tab for all the toys? $17,352. “It just gives them a chance to go through the store and get whatever they want,” Mr. Johnson said. “They don’t have to ask nobody for it. Whatever they have on their Christmas list, they can pick-up, so that’s the reason why I do it. It’s fun. It’s fun for the kids. It’s fun for me. It’s something I enjoy seeing every year. I just figure why not keep doing it.” He added, “It’s the holiday season. It’s a time for giving. People that know me know I have a big heart. I just like to give back and help people out.” (70)

During the holiday season of 2013, Redditor BaconBazinga found a first-grader’s wallet at the parking lot of a Walmart in Minnesota. He decided to mail it back to the first-grader along with this letter from Santa Claus:

“Dear [redacted],

“Merry Christmas! I can’t believe another year has gone by so quickly and it’s almost time to visit you in [redacted] again.

“The elves have been very busy this year and I’ll be bringing you something very special they created just for you. I’m sure you’ll like it!

“Well, it looks like the elves need me in the toy factory now, so I have to say goodbye. Be sure to leave a little snack for me and the reindeer on Christmas Eve because we get hungry flying to visit so many kids.

“Keep being good!

“P.S. — While I was making sure you and other girls and boys were being good at Walmart, I found your wallet and thought you would like it back.

“Love,

“Santa Claus”

“Santa Claus

“North Pole, Canada H0H 0H0.

“Yes, his postal code his Ho Ho Ho!” (71)

On 17 December 2013, Pope Francis celebrated his 77th birthday. He did not eat breakfast alone. Joining him were three homeless men, all of whom were from Eastern Europe: the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia. They also joined him for Mass and gave him a bouquet of sunflowers. During the same week, Pope Francis focused attention on the impoverished and quoted Matthew 25:35-46: “Whoever has nourished, welcomed, visited, loved one of the least and poorest of men, will have done this to the Son of God. On the contrary, whoever has rejected, forgotten, ignored one of the least and poorest of men, will have done this to God himself.” He added, “Let us act so that our brothers and sisters never feel alone! Our presence in solidarity by their side expresses not only through the words of but also through the eloquence of deeds that God is close to everyone.” Francis was elected Pope in March 2013 and has been very popular. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, said, “I mean, everybody from the bartender to the cab driver [is] telling me, ‘Cardinal Dolan, we love this guy. We’re not even Catholic, and we might not even be believers, but this guy is getting us thinking about God and eternal things.’” He added, “What we were after was [not only] a good pastor with a track record of a solid administration, but [also] fatherly, warm, tender care for the sheep, for his people. And, boy, we got that on steroids with Pope Francis. He’s the world’s parish priest.” (72)

In June 2013, the Harley Davidson Motor Company presented Pope Francis with a 1,585 cc Harley Davidson Dyna Super Glide motorcycle to celebrate the company’s 110th anniversary. In keeping with his focus on charity, in November 2013, Pope Francis donated the motorcycle to be sold in February 2014 to raise money for the charity Caritas Roma. Ben Walker, head of motorcycles at Bonhams, which will sell the motorcycle at an auction, said, “We are incredibly honoured to be selling this item on behalf of Caritas Roma. We hope to be able to do both Pope Francis and Harley-Davidson proud by raising a significant amount of money for a very worthy cause.” He added, “I suspect that it will [have] a very limited mileage.” The motorcycle is thought to be worth approximately 12,000-15,000 euros ($16,400-$20,500). Pope Francis signed the motorcycle’s gas tank and a Harley Davidson leather jacket that will also be sold. The money raised will help renovate Caritas Roma’s Don Luigi di Liegro hostel and soup kitchen, which are based in the central Termini rail station in Rome. Update: The sale of the motorcycle and the leather jacket greatly exceeded expectations. The Dyna Super Glide motorcycle sold for 241,500 euros ($328,300), and the Harley-Davidson leather jacket, also signed by the pope, sold for 57,500 euros. Mr. Walker said, “It has to be a world record for a 21st century Harley-Davidson and certainly for a Harley-Davidson leather jacket.” (73)

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and contralto Marian Anderson both did a lot for the Civil Rights Movement. In 1939, Mrs. Roosevelt showed up for a meeting of the Southern Conference for Human Welfare in Birmingham, Alabama, with an African-American friend and educator named Mary McLeod Bethune; however, the auditorium in which the meeting was held had segregated seating: blacks on one side and whites on the other. Told that she would be breaking the law if she sat with Mrs. Bethune, Mrs. Roosevelt sat on a chair placed in the aisle that separated whites and blacks. A few weeks later, controversy arose when Ms. Anderson, an African-American, was not allowed to sing in Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. Constitution Hall was part of the headquarters of the Daughters of the American Revolution; this organization had decreed that no black artists would be allowed to perform there. Mrs. Roosevelt was a member of the D.A.R., but she resigned her membership. She wrote in a letter to D.A.R. President General Mrs. Henry M. Robert, Jr., “You had an opportunity to lead in an enlightened way, and it seems to me that your organization has failed.” She also wrote about quitting the D.A.R. in her widely distributed newspaper column, thus making it a national issue. Ms. Anderson ended up performing a free concert in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday: 9 April 1939. A few years later, on 7 January 1943, Ms. Anderson sang a concert in Constitution Hall in front of the hall’s first-ever non-segregated audience. She had been invited to sing there by the D.A.R. She sang there again in a farewell tour before retiring. Asked if she had forgiven the D.A.R., she replied, “Ages and ages ago. You lose a lot of time hating people.” (74)

“Have You Ever had a Victory Against a Creep/Harasser?”

On 31 January 2014, myhusbandswife asked on r/askwomen, “Have you ever had a victory against a creep/harasser?” This is the story that she recounted:

“I remember a few weeks ago I was out walking my dog, and it was actually somewhat warmer than usual, so I wore my lighter/not ugly coat. Usually when I get honked and yelled at while walking, I can’t help but feel anxious, my heart races, and I involuntarily jump a little, and I might look in the direction of the perp. I’ve realized now that this is exactly the reaction that they want from me.

“So when I was crossing at a street light, this man was relentless honking at me. First a little ‘beep’, and I was cool as a cucumber, didn’t flinch, didn’t jump and look around, just kept walking as if I was deaf. So he gave a longer ‘BEEP’, and I kept walking, giving no response whatsoever, just talking to my cute puppy and interacting with him. Finally the perp was getting peeved I wasn’t responding to him or at least facing him (Had my back to him the whole time), so he let out a long ‘BEEEEEEEP’. Oh, teehee, sorry, having too much fun walking my dog, I didn’t even hear you! It was a huge revelation for me. Finally the light turned and he sped away angrily, and I went along my merry way, enjoying the odd case of sunshine and warmth in this especially cold winter, with a new spring in my step.

“When I came home, I told my husband about it, and he looked at me, awestruck and smiling, and said ‘Oh, my god, … You Won!!! You WON!! I’m so proud of you! GOOD!’ And that is when it really sunk in what I had done, and I actually hopped a little in place and did the seal clap, hah!”

As usual, Redditors had some good comments:

1) [Name Redacted] wrote, “This is so bad, but I do feel like it was a victory in a way. I’d NEVER do this knowing what I know now about life, but when I was 18, it’s what I did.

“I worked late and had to park in a multi-level parking structure. It was winter time, and at midnight, I walked out of my place of work, down the block, and into the parking structure. I noticed a man following me as I walked down the street, but hoped he was just going the same way. Then I heard him calling at me, saying he was going to do things to me, and those things were disgusting.

“I walked faster, and heard his footsteps quicken too. When I got inside the parking structure, I ran up some steps. But in my terror, I had forgotten which level I’d parked on! He chased me, laughing all the way, across parking levels, up and down stairs, for I don’t know how long. I had my keys out and was prepared to fight if necessary.

“Finally, I spotted my car. I was able to get in and lock the door before he got to the door. I started it up, and threw it in reverse to back out of the space. He ran out and jumped on the hood of my car. I backed up more, slammed on the brakes, punched it fwd, and slammed on the brakes. He rolled off but landed on his feet. Then I punched it again and ran his f[**]king foot over with BOTH my front tire and back tire.

“And I never looked back. But I heard a couple screams.”

By the way, in my book (the one you’re reading now), [Name Redacted] did a good deed.

Also by the way, duckduck_goose commented, “I’m sorry but I laughed with joy, and glee, at what you did to him.”

And MessedupMakeip commented, “Hopefully you stopped him having the ability to chase after other women.”

2) lazybarista wrote, “A guy was being a skeeze (grabbing at girls and not accepting no) so I told the dudes throwing the party. He was not so gently removed from the premises.”

3) LadyBam wrote, “My bestie is a bad[*]ss chick. I call her my bodyguard, she’s heavily training MMA [Mixed Martial Arts], and is now a second degree black belt in Karate.

“She moved to London for a year, she went out solo to go dancing one night. She’s dancing enjoying herself la la laaaa, some guy approaches her and aggressively tried to get her to dance with him. She politely points to a group of guys and says, ‘Sorry, I’m with them.’

“She heads to the group of guys and gives a ‘hey, I kinda need to dance with you cats for a moment.’ She’s hot and the group was all for it. She had a lovely evening chatting and dancing with them.

“When she is ready to go, she stands in line for the coat check. The same aggressive guy approaches her again, grabs her arm hard, gets in her face, and says ‘I don’t think you were actually friends with any of those guys, you’re coming with me.’

“Bold move, guy.

“She looks at his hand that’s wrapped around her arm, leans in closer and says with confidence, ‘Excuse you?’

“He backs down IMMEDIATELY, lets go of her arm and runs off.

“God [help] the man that ever tries to truly cross her.”

4) EllaMinnow wrote, “It was the worst week of my life. I was walking back to my apartment from the Hunter College subway station on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, on a sunny afternoon in the summer, and I was so miserable for a wide variety of reasons. Plus, I had a hickey on my neck.

“I walked past a huge, huge dude, who was flanked by two shorter guys. They were standing outside a moving truck. I heard the huge dude suck on his teeth as I walked by and go, ‘Mmmm, girl, you got a hickey on your neck, mmmm, what’d you do to get that hickey, girl?’ It sounded sick. It sounded the way a tongue in your ear feels.

“I just kept my head down and kept walking, thinking, ‘Don’t react. Don’t react. Don’t react.’ I never reacted. I never gave them anything. I never smiled when they told me to, I never said ‘thank you’ when they called me beautiful, I never gave them the finger when they called me a b[*]tch. I never gave them anything.

“I rounded the corner and I thought, You know what? F[**k that.

“I turned back around and high-heel-stomped my way back up the sidewalk, straight up to the huge dude. ‘What’d you say to me?’ I demanded. His eyes went wide. I backed him up against the moving truck. I’m a tall chick, 5’11”, but this guy had six inches on me and arms like Ed Hochuli’s. ‘What’d you say?’

“‘I just said you had a hickey,’ the dude muttered.

“‘You think I don’t know that? You think I don’t know I've got a hickey on my neck? I’m the one that got a hickey! I know I have a hickey! What makes you think you can say anything to me about my body? What makes you think you can ever talk to a woman on the street that way? Don’t you ever dare talk to women the way you just spoke to me.’

“I straight up lost my mind at him for a solid three minutes. I definitely took out the fact that I was having the worst week of my life out on this dude, who had to have been the thousandth man in six years worth of living in New York to harass me, and just so happened to pick the one time to do it when I was just done.

“His two friends were laughing so hard at him by the time I finally wheeled around and stomped away.

I turned the corner and heard him yell, ‘F[**]k you, too, b[*]tch!’” (75)

CATCHES A NAKED GUY TRYING TO CLIMB INTO BED WITH A GIRL WHO IS PASSED OUT DRUNK

On 28 January 2014, Redditor throwdownthrowawayy created a Good Guy Greg meme with the caption “I wish I could give him [a] medal.” The meme stated, “CATCHES A NAKED GUY TRYING TO CLIMB INTO BED WITH A GIRL WHO IS PASSED OUT DRUNK / GRABS HIM, KNOCKS HIM DOWN, THROWS HIM OUT AND CALLS THE POLICE TO REPORT A DRUNK NAKED PERVERT CAUSING A DISTURBANCE AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD.” On Reddit, throwdownthrowawayy added some details: “A girl saw the guy acting sketchy and sneaking into the room. She was worried to say anything, because she was not sure if he was maybe just a friend checking in on her. So, she mentioned it to my buddy and he rushed in there just as he was about to climb into bed.” Redditor InertBlowfish commented, “There are some sick f[**]king people in this world that have to rape an unconscious girl to get any. Inversely, there is a sick western culture that makes it okay for young people to go and intentionally get drunk enough to pass out in a party FULL of strangers. EDIT: And for context, I’m 20. I live in NZ [New Zealand] so it’s been legal for me to drink for a couple of years now. This culture is disgusting.” Redditor tratsky responded in this way to InertBlowfish’s comment: “I like this. All these people who say ‘HOW DARE YOU! WOMEN CAN GET AS DRUNK AS THEY WANT!’ Of course they can, if they want to, and it certainly is not their fault if they get raped; but I hate to break it to everyone: you will be safer from any crime if you don’t get black-out drunk. Shocking, I know! Don’t drink as much, and you will live a safer life.” Some Redditors commented on the difficulty of knowing when to intervene (clearly, in the above case, intervention was needed); for example, “My brother once […] almost beat the sh[*]t out of a guy trying to get a passed out drunk girl into his car. It was genuinely her boyfriend, and he’d come to pick her up.” In such cases, if you don’t know the guy, calling the police may be the best option. And, of course, not getting black-out drunk is also a good idea that applies to everyone, including guys. (76)

“You are Very Brave, and I have No Doubt in My Mind that This Woman Will Remember You Forever”

In January 2014, Redditor wheepete asked on AskReddit, “What is the most immoral act frequently carried out that we all turn a blind eye to?” One response was domestic violence, and MNWNM told this story:

“I was walking into Target one day and this guy was tearing into his woman in the parking lot. She was clutching a wailing infant to her chest and she was just standing there silently crying to herself. He was berating her and he kept inching closer and closer to her. Then he starts gesticulating wildly, and she just stands there, flinching and crying at his erratic movements. Well, I grew up watching my dad escalating just like this before he beat my mom, and sometimes us kids. I know what’s coming for her.

“But people just kept walking by her. They wouldn’t even make eye contact. I started to feel panicked because I’m SURE this is going to get really bad, but no one stopped to help. So I told my son to stay in our car, gave him my cell phone and told him to call 911 if something bad happened, and I walked over and put myself between him and her. I looked him in the face and said, ‘Back off.’ She just stood there, crying, and he started in on me, but I would rather him yell at me than her. I’m also female, and I’m sure he thought he could cower me, but I was not afraid of him. Guys like him are cowards and they talk a big game.

“He got in my face, called me names and told me to mind my business. I just kept saying, ‘Back off. Calm down. You need to back off.’ He finally tired of me, yelled something at her about how she could get her own ride home, and he took off in his car. I asked her if she was OK, and she would only nod. It was freezing out so I walked her inside. I asked her if she needed anything in the store, baby food, a blanket, a new car seat (since he took the one in the car). She said no. I asked if she needed me to call a cab. She said no, she has someone to come get her. I waited with her until she had a ride home. I bet it didn’t change anything and she probably went back to him, but at least she was safe for that 10 minutes I guess.”

BlackCaaaaat responded, “You never know, maybe you changed everything. Sometimes it takes just one caring person to give a victim of abuse the courage to stand up for themselves and walk out. Either way, that woman knows now that there are people out there who do care. You are very brave, and I have no doubt in my mind that this woman will remember you forever.” (77)