Karma comes for us all. Do something good and the universe rewards you. Do something bad and you'll end up suffering. Here are some real life stories that prove just how quick the hand of karmic justice can be.
Dignity Costs Extra
I'm an old guy (46) and I use to buy newspapers. One day I paid for one, but took two papers (because I was sick of co-workers rifling through MY paper).
As I walked off with both newspapers, I noticed that my shirt tail got stuck in the newspaper box when it slammed shut. I had to put in another $0.25 to get my shirt out.
Politeness Prevents Penalties
I was pulled over by police for speeding (2nd time in 30+ years driving). Before the officer got out of his car I made sure my window was rolled down, shut my truck off, turned on interior light (it was night time), and put both of my hands on the steering wheel.
He told me how much he appreciated this and sent me on my way with a verbal warning to pay attention to speed limit.
Nice Reward
I was a $10/hr. employee at a ski resort, found a wallet with $500 in it which I turned in. Later I was called to the office to meet the man who owned the wallet. He gave me $100 as reward.
Coin Collector's Dream Come True
A woman was 70 cents short on her purchase, so I let it go. When counting her change I noticed a 1960 silver dime. It's funny. Everytime someone pays in change, they apologize.
I get excited because that's the time I usually get something old and awesome.
Extra Credit
I saw this lost dog sign in the neighborhood. the dog had a distinct face, so when I saw it, only a few blocks away, I recognized it at once. So I picked it up and took it home. The whole family was there, and they all cried and thanked me.
The next week when I started a new year of high school, the husband/father was my English teacher. I got an easy A in that class.
Moving On Up
Me, my brother, and our friend decided to be funny and get on an elevator ahead of our other friend so we could get to the hotel room first and lock our other friend out for kicks and giggles.
We got trapped on the elevator for an hour and a half while our other friend that we ditched got to chill by the pool for that time. I guess we deserved it.
A Glitch in the Matrix
I go through periods of insomnia, and I have stayed up through countless nights over the years. One such night probably about 1.5 years ago, I went to 7-11 at like 6:30 a.m. for I don't remember what. On the way out I see this native homeless guy I call Hobo Joe.
I've seen him around my city (Norfolk, VA) for years. Anyways, I see him and as usual he's begging for change. I don't mind helping this guy out because he doesn't spend it on booze, he legitimately needs food. So I go back in and buy him 2 microwave 7-11 hamburgers, and heat them up.
I give him the burgers and proceed to Tropical Smoothie which opens at 7 a.m. I park the car and open the door, look down and what do I see? A fresh $20 on the white line of the parking spot.
So that's cool but then this is the really crazy part: I come back out of Tropical Smoothie and as I approach my car, what do I find? Another $20. In the exact same spot. I checked my pocket, the first one was still there. A glitch in the matrix?
What Goes Around Comes Around
A few years ago, my infant son couldn't sleep, so we walked out to my local supermarket to get some basics and blow off steam. I look terrible: Sleep deprived, grumpy, disheveled and bedraggled. Yes, just like any other new parent. My son was in a sling on my belly.
I don't remember what I was purchasing, but as I was checking out, the woman behind me stepped forward and said: "Please let me pay for this. I've always wanted to help out like this."
Now, I was actually pretty well off, despite my appearance -- but she wanted this, and I didn't have very much to buy so I graciously thanked her and walked out, both of us smiling. Was a beautiful night, my son was finally asleep so I just loitered and eventually noticed someone trying in vain to start a car.
Yep -- it was the lovely young woman who "helped" me out. :) I'm a decent mechanic, happened to be toting a multi-tool around with me, and it was a fast and easy thing to get her running. Felt awesome.
The Perfect Reward
I found a purse left in a cart outside a store I used to work at, against policy I opened the purse and found a name and then contacted the lady, and it was her purse and she was frantic looking for it.
So I waited at the store after hours for her to come by and get the purse, and she gave me an envelope, to open when I got home, which turned out to be almost exactly how much I was short on rent. $120!
Brotherly Vengeance
My brother and I were stuck in a friends house because they had a wild guard dog that broke its chain. My brother pushes me out, so I have to run to the gate as the dog chases me. I managed to escape and went home.
My brother got home 30 minutes later and went to bed crying because I told my mum he was sleeping over and I ate his dinner.
Secret Millionaire
We went out with my uncle and his family for dinner at a really nice restaurant in Dallas/Ft Worth. There were 7 of us eating and we were all drinking wine and really just trying to see how much we spend on one dinner I guess.
This increasingly drunk guy from the bar kept coming up to our table and making conversation, commenting on how awesome my 6 month old son is etc…
By the end of the night he really starts to get annoying and my uncle is discussing with us whether or not he should say something, but we tell him no don't worry about it he is just having a good time, he seems like a good guy.
So when it comes time to pay our bill the waiter just says "have a nice evening thanks for coming in." My uncle and I are confused and ask the waiter about the check, he tells us that the guy that kept coming up to us paid our tab and that it was already done and nothing we could do about it.
He evens tells us that the guy does this all the time. Our bill was 1500 bucks. My uncle sought the guy out in cigar room and gave him a big hug and the guy just said "you have such a beautiful family, pay it forward sometime."
The guy even tipped the waiter some crazy amount from the look the waiter gave us. So I learned always be nice to the loud drunk guy in bar, you never know who is a millionaire. spickett84
Hats Off
I was out with my girlfriend at a late night movie when I spot another older couple walking. Now, I have to admit now, the guy I saw had on a long coat, cane, sunglasses at night, and one amazing bowler-type hat.
Now the wind was blowing that night, and all of a sudden, I watch this guy's hat fly off out into the street. He didn't seem to mind and just kept on walking. I assume so he wouldn't look silly chasing his hat down the road.
I, on the other hand, have no shame and begin chasing the hat just for fun as well as just trying to be helpful.
I bring the hat back to the guy and he says, "Thank, brother" to which I reply, "No problem, man. I just like chasing stuff." He goes in for a hand shake, and I feel something in his hand.
Once we get in the car I turn to her and say, "That guy just gave me this." I unfold a crisp $100 bill and proceed to buy liquor for everyone that night. Easiest $100 I've ever made. Permalink
Bonus: Kitten!
Pulled into a parking lot to go pick up a little kitten we saw curled up on the ground. Immediately ran out of gas,
If we hadn't pulled in there, we would have run out of gas in the middle of a busy, traffic-heavy road. Bonus: kitten! Permalink
Karma Stings
One time when I was about 8, me and my older sister were fighting over a seat. This seat was godlike and was the softest and coldest in the summer heat. She won the arguement with brute force and sat down on it in victory.
There was a wasp lodged into the cushions stinger exposed, right where she sat. She is allergic and was crying the whole day. Joddyzz
Ouch!
A coworker who slightly outranks me was joking being mean to me on Saturday. She was giving me a hard time, saying I was stupid, and they paid me too much to browse the internet all day long.
She went to sit down and somehow got her right hand stuck awkwardly underneath her. It broke her pointer finger.
Through the tears she looked at me and said, "Guess I deserved that" and chuckled a little. henny_316
Solid Tip
I worked in a bar when I lived in Newfoundland. As I was on my way in one night, I saw a guy standing by road with a sign that said something like "far from home, no place to sleep, and hungry". I waved him over and gave him $5 (the only cash I had) and told him to take care of himself.
This was a Thursday night, and I always worked on the back bar which never saw any traffic. I usually took home about $5 in tips for a Thursday, or $10 on a good day.
That day, three separate people won big on the slot machines and gave me $20 tips each, and I ended up taking home about $75 in tips. nyerinohio
I.O.U. Karma
I have been a lifeguard for the last few years and this past summer started working at a new pool. Now you can ask any lifeguard and they will almost always have some favorite families that come to the pool (and families they hate) and one of my favorites was a family of four.
The dad would come sometimes but most of the time it was the mom (who was incredibly beautiful) her 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter.
Both kids have bright blond hair and are always smiling. They never talk back and always listed which is pretty unusual for kids all hyped up at the pool.
Sometimes the mother would bring one of the large tubs that people have to store things in and she would fill it up with a little bit of water and let her 2 year old stand in it while she taught her son to swim.
Made it a lot easier for everyone since the 2 year old would just stand there and play with her toys and not wander all over the pool and possibly get into trouble.
However, one day the mom had her 2 year old out to change her diaper and her son walks over to grab a toy out of the tub and basically falls in face first.
Now he wasn't in too much danger from drowning but I'm sure it was scary for him. He started yelling and crying pretty quick.
So I ran over to him and picked him up and "saved him." Now the karma comes in when the a few days later they come back and he walks over to me when his thank you card. It's two notecards that he had attached together with a ring.
Mostly it's just colorful scribbles but on one side it's a poorly written thank you and on the other side is I.O.U. I have always thought it was adorable he thought that he thought he owed me for doing my job.
Still have my thank you card in a box at home along with some other notes that swimmers wrote me when I was their summer league coach. It's a good memory box. Permalink
Kindness Works Both Ways
When I was 16 I lived out of my car, because I couldn't get an apartment, because no one would rent to a 16 year old. It was an old beater, and I had to push start it everywhere (it kicked off pretty easy in reverse.)
I had just pulled into walmart to buy some decent clothes (needed more than the parts for my car) and there was a purse in the basket of the cart next to me.
I opened it, and inside the wallet was a thousand in cash, and several credit cards, and an ID. I soo wanted to spend it, and I was going to. Score!
New clothes, and the parts I need. So I grabbed the cash, and put the purse back in the cart. When I was paying for my clothes, I just couldn't bring myself to pay with her money.
So I paid with mine, and went back to my car. Purse was still there, so I put the money back in, and looked at the address.
It was right down the road, but it took me about an hour to find. I finally get there, park in the street, and the lady is standing in her garage next to her nice new car, in a fancy neighborhood, on the phone, cancelling her credit cards. I walked up, and asked if she had lost her purse.
I was pretty rough looking, and I could tell she was a bit nervous. So I handed it to her, and told her I had to open it to find her address.
She didn't really say anything, and I got in my car and left. I was disappointed because it seemed she didn't even appreciate it.
But I went on to where I work (I stayed there in my car most of the time.) The next day before work I woke up, went to McDonald's to get breakfast.
I got to work, and saw the lady leaving. Then thought, "ahh, that wasn't her, just coincidence." When I went inside the parts for my car were there, and $100, and a note saying thanks.
I was confused as hell, (how did she know what parts? how did she know where I worked??) A few days before, I had gone over what I needed for my car, and wrote it down on the back of a pay stub, and the number to the parts house.
Apparently, when I got out at her house, this paper came out of my car. She said in the note, she saw it after I left, and picked it up. After she realized all her money was in her purse, and everything, she went down and picked up the parts, and dropped them off for me.
Easily the nicest thing anyone has ever done. So for about an hour's drive, I got ~$300 worth of parts, and $100 cash.
The good feeling I had for weeks was worth way more than the $600 more I would have made if I kept the money. Permalink
45mph Couch Potato
Adopting a greyhound. Wherever we go, dog people tell us how great we are for rescuing a greyhound.
Truth be told, we just got him because we heard they were lazy and we didn't want a hyper pup. Rescuing him was just a bonus. goose_egg
Car-ma
Just finished grocery shopping. Loaded the bags in my car, get in and turn the key... nothing. My car is dead for whatever reason.
I sit there for about another 20 minutes checking the wires on my battery, making sure everything is properly in place. I just changed the battery a month ago, it can't be that.
So I call my girl to pick me up. Says it's gonna be about 20 minutes. I got some time to kill. I happen to see an elderly lady pushing the cart to her car. This cart has 4x more bags than mine did. I already know it's going to be a struggle for her. I go over and offer her help.
She accepts so I help her load her groceries into her car. Go back and think "Why not give my car one my try?" Bam. It starts. My first thought, "This car must run on karma." Ih8YourCat
Passing it Forward
I've got two pretty positive ones. The first one came a few years back when I was delivering pizzas. I was taking a redelivery for an order that was wrong the first time. It was going to the worst hotel in our delivery area. The redelivery was a single, one-topping medium pizza.
I pull up and there's a guy that says he needs some cash for a tow truck. He gives me the typical sob story about wife and kids and blah blah blah.
Normally I don't give into those things, but occasionally I take the approach of, "Well, if this guy is lying to me, shame on him."
Aside from that, for some reason his story seemed more plausible. We graduated from the same high school (supposedly), although he was a bit older than me.
I cut to the chase, asked him how much cash he needed, and gave him the $7 he asked for. He ran back over to the gas station and I didn't see him again.
I had a pizza to deliver! I run up the stairs to the hotel to the room, give them their replacement pizza, apologize for the first mistake and leave.
As I'm walking away the guy comes out and is like "Oh wait, we forgot to give you a tip." Any tip on a redelivery is a win, so I hustle back to the room.
The guy hands me a $50 bill and tells me to have a good night. I work for an events company and the morning of our biggest annual event last year, I was sent to the office to pick up a couple things. As I'm leaving the office, another guy approaches me with a similar sob story as the one above.
I'm in a hurry, and I cut him off and was just like, "How much do you need?" He said $10 would do it, so I gave him $10 and headed on my way.
Event went fine. Wasn't great in terms of the money we made. We sometimes get bonuses at my job, usually tied to this event based on the amount of money it makes.
I wasn't expecting a bonus due to a sub par year, but two days later I had a bonus check worth 5% of my salary sitting on my desk.
Would either of these events happened without the monetary donations? Probably. I like to think the karma gods were smiling on me, though. WhiteLightEcho
Nerds: 1, Jocks: 0
Drama nerd that I am, I once had an armload of bags and was running late for a rehearsal. No parking spots were available outside of the theatre, so I got stuck parking outside of the quad on my campus and walking to the theatre.
There was a load of jocks throwing a football around by my spot, goofing off. I parked, and proceeded to struggle with balancing the bags, looking like a complete geekburger.
As I passed by the jocks, the ball "accidentally" came my way. AKA right towards me. But as it ebbed towards my legs, I coolly kicked the football upwards and caught it with my non-dominant hand, although both arms were loaded down with bags.
I then proceeded to toss it back to them casually and continue on with my journey, while they stared at me with surprise. I have never felt so cool in my life. dotheraptor37
A Woman With Good Taste
Long line at a fast food place; guy finally gets his turn, and finds he forgot his wallet. I stepped in and said "I'll get it," which completely floored him; he was in complete awe/thankfulness. He tried to figure out how to return the money and I said don't worry about it.
What kind of instant karma? At that moment, a chick in the area witnessed it and decided she needed to be my future wife. We just bought a house together. clark_ent
Never Underestimate a Napkin
Out at Subway with a buddy, I put my napkin in my lap like I always do. He laughs at me so hard a meatball falls out of his sandwich and onto his lap. greytrench
A Raise in Karma
I was at Wal-Mart and the lady in front of me was buying a bag of dry beans and some baby food. But she didn't have enough money in her food stamps account. I said let me buy that for you.
I was a little annoyed at the cashier because when I said that, she said, with a smart aleck attitude "You don't have to do that, she gets more money tomorrow, she can come back then and buy it." I was like I don't care if she can come back tomorrow.
She's obviously buying food for her family and they may need that tonight. The next day my wife got a job offer that would give her a significant raise over what she was currently making, solving our financial problems.
The two events may not be related, but it was close enough for me to think something else was at work there. jeffnnc
Surprise Cop
It's about 10pm at night. Myself, my sister, my now ex and my mate all decide to go for a curry. We call up the curry house (as we know it's late) to make sure they're ok with us coming down. The owner answers and he's say's it's no problem. Great, we think.
As soon as we get there we're greeted by the owner (we go there a lot) and we get seated. It becomes pretty obvious, very quickly however, that the guy serving us really doesn't want to be there.
We brush it off. He then starts throwing our plates down and generally being obnoxious so we have a quiet word with the owner.
This, of course, made things worse. He proceeds to be even more rude but there's not much we can do. We leave the restaurant and shrug the whole thing off.
As we're driving back home, who do I see driving up behind me on the way home? You guessed it, that server.
He must've seen me get in my car. He pulls up beside me stopped at some traffic lights. He's swearing and showing me a rather impressive display of hand gestures.
We ignore it, but I'll admit he was starting to annoy me. Anyway, the lights change green, he's speeds off like a lunatic trying to run me off the road swerving all over the shop. Sadly he failed to notice the cop car that had pulled up behind me at the lights.
I'm sure you can imagine what happens next, on go the lights and the sirens! They pull him over and book him! We glide off into the distance barely able to contain the euphoria from the instant karma. SeriouslyDave
Mud on Your Face
My family visited some friends one day after church when I was about 8 or so. They lived on a farm, so one of their kids and I went out to look at the cows. I was dressed in my Sunday finest, so I was very careful not to get all muddy.
The other kid noticed and grabbed this stick that was lying on the ground with some muck on the end of it and started chasing me around, threatening to wipe it all over me.
He finally cornered me against some fencing and was about to throw the stick at me when I see their huge (70lb) golden retriever sprinting towards him from behind. At the last second, he raises the stick above his head and the dog, trying to get it, leaps and full on tackles him.
He lands face first in a mud patch, and I ran away. IrritableGourmet
The Best Reward is Knowing that You Helped
My parents and I were about to take a flight for a vacation, was about 12 years old at the time. As everyone was getting seated I heard a young boy, about 7 or 8, crying -- the kind of cry you'd hear from a kid that got lost.
Apparently he was flying unaccompanied. I thought about it for a minute, then asked my parents if it was OK to talk to him. I'm not sure what they were expecting me to do, and neither did I.
After walking up to him and asking if it was alright to sit in the empty seat next to him (he had the 3 seats to himself), I made small talk just to get him to feel comfortable, taking his mind off his situation.
We spent the next couple hours of the flight playing games, doing puzzles, reading, coloring -- the usual stuff that a kid would do. After the flight was over, we said our goodbyes as we headed to the baggage claim.
Both of his parents were there to receive him and I watched from the other side of the baggage turntable as he talked to his father and then pointed in my direction. His dad walked over to me, extended his hand and thanked me profusely. I felt pretty good after that. El_Fader
Taking One for the Team
I gave an old lady a walk across the street late in the day and I got hit by a drunk driver, I healed and she gave me $500 for "taking one for the team", that old lady was my gramgram. Permalink
Learning a Lesson From the Universe
My friends and I had just went to a concert and stopped to get gas. A man came up to our car and asked us for some change. He was in pretty rough shape. All of my friends said they didn't have any money (which was a lie). I got out of the car (I was pumping the gas) and gave him five dollars.
I had about fifty on me. He thanked me and walked away. When I got back in the car my friends said that I shouldn't have given him any money. That he was just going to use it to buy drugs. I said they were probably right and that was the end of it.
The concert was in a new city to us so we decided to explore a bit. We started driving around the city.
About twenty minutes later we drove past a Mc Donalds. I saw the same man walk out of the store with a burger in his hand and a bag in the other. (it looked like it had other burgers in it).
It was nice to see that he used the money for something good. It was like the universe was teaching me a lesson, telling me to do the right thing regardless of what other people may say. I wish I had given him more money though... ProtrudedDemand
Honesty Pays
I was in a taxi with my uncle, and I saw what appeared to be a dollar bill between the passenger seat and the console (sort of that cupholder thing). I pulled it out and found it to be a 100 dollar bill. Out of instinct I gave it to the driver, who was shocked.
Apparently somebody else left it there. Later, my uncle gave me a hundred dollars for doing the right thing and probably brightening that cab drivers day. Permalink
That's Why You Should Always Unload Your Weight
I was at the gym and some jerk left 275 on the bar in the squat rack. Some petite girl immediately comes over and wants to use the rack, so she starts unloading the weight. All of the weight.
From one side. So the bar does this sort of catapulting/seesaw thing, flies off the rack, and smacks the jerk who left it loaded with weight. I_SHANK_BATS
Fair Trade
While driving down the high way I saw this HUGE poster about a lost chihuahua. I continued my drive and about 20 miles down the road the little dog from the poster ran out in front of my car. Luckily, I was able to stop in enough time to save the dog. I picked it up and took back to the owner's house.
They were so happy and crying, I was so happy for them. When I went to get back into my car, it stalled and wouldn't start (it was a piece and it turns out the engine was dead).
Well, it turns out their daughter had just graduated college and was looking to sell her car. In return for their dog, they gave me the car. The car still runs awesome. pusher91
Camo Cop
I was on my way to work one morning and it was snowing/sleeting pretty hard. I took a shortcut down a residential street, so only two lanes.
Up ahead, a guy in a big pickup decided the person in front of him was driving too slow in the wintry weather and gunned it around the smaller car.
Too bad he didn't see the cop driving behind me. CannonballSplash
Not-So-Short Shortcut
I was running late for work one day and approached a light where I had to make a right turn. Normally, this isn't a problem, but this light doesn't have a dedicated turn lane, it was red, and there were a lot of people wanting to go straight.
There's a convenience store on the corner here that has entrances leading from the street I was on and the street I was wanting to turn on.
I was pretty angry at this point and wanted to get going, so I cut through the parking lot in an attempt to make the turn.
Got to the other exit, realized the entire thing was blocked off for construction. First thought: "I deserved that."
I was too ashamed to try to merge back into the traffic I had just exited, so I went into the store to get a drink instead. Permalink
Be Nice to Service Workers
I was working at a grocery store bringing carts in from the parking lot. I was stopped at the doorway waiting for customers to get out of the way when a really nasty woman comes running into the store and catches her foot on the front cart, falls flat on her face.
She started screaming for the manager, saying how I knocked her down. A nice old man was standing nearby and saw the whole thing. He politely told the lady to stop lying, and that he would tell the manager exactly what happened.
A couple of days later I was working the cash register and the same man came through my line. I only charged him for about 1/3 of his items. "These steaks don't seem to scan." conniption_fit
Owning the Moral High Ground
When I was 13, for a few weeks I worked at a vineyard, pruning. It was hot, so I walked the 400m to the ute to grab a drink.
The boss saw me and gave me an earful about wasting time and threatened to not pay me for that time. On the walk back, I see his wallet lying in the dirt, stuffed full of $50's.
I walked over to him again, by which time he was pretty angry. Before he could say a word, I placed the wallet in his hand. Awkwardness ensued. Although there was no karma, I still felt victorious.
Lightswitches are So Misunderstood
I used to work as tech support for a college campus. There are classrooms with motion sensors connected to the lights, so if no one is in the room, the lights shut off.
I had a professor come into our office and tell us the classroom didn't have working lights. I instantly knew what happened.
The light switch was on, but the motion sensor turned them off. When she flipped the switch, she was turning the lights off instead of on. So I bought a soda on the way to the classroom, and hit the lights. They turn on.
I go to the room where she's temporarily teaching the class and tell her "The lights are on in the room." She asks "How did you turn them on?" I smugly reply, "I just flipped the switch."
Her entire class starts laughing. Feeling full of myself, I turn around and open the soda bottle I got from the vending machine. It explodes and sprays my face and shirt with Dr. Pepper.
Crunch
I was visiting my mom for a weekend and decided to walk her dog through the park nearby. As I'm walking in the direction of a playground one of three 10-12 year olds starts swearing at me, over and over. It was really weird, and even his friends were begging him to shut up.
I'm in my 20s at the time and I don't really care what some little kid has to say, so I ignore him and walk through the playground and find a bench to sit on.
Fast forward 5 minutes later and as I'm leaving, two of the three kids are climbing an 8' ladder to a slide, with the punk on the bottom rung.
The one on top got distracted by me walking by, slipped and fell on his friend, breaking his arm or hand. I didn't stick around to find out which, I just laughed hysterically and left.
Nacho Problem
Ordered nachos bell grande at Taco Bell, so did the man immediately behind me in line. we waited together for our food to get done, when they called my number he grabbed my food.
But he looked at me and said "You ordered the same thing as me but I'm in a hurry, so you can just take mine when it's ready."
This guy didn't care what I had going on, he was in a suit and a tie and I was in my construction work clothes. He took one step toward the door and slipped on something on the floor.
Spilling his drink and my nachos all over his shirt and jacket. That was the exact moment they called his number, I picked up his nachos thanked him and walked out the door.
The Bus Always Wins
We planned a trip for our high school reunion but several of my classmates who wanted to go couldn't afford the trip cause they wanted to bring their kids with them and it would be too expensive.
I offered to pay $10,000 to charter a bus. More people were able to go cause of that.
The next weekend I happened to be at a nearby casino to meet up for lunch with a friend. I put 20 in a slot machine and in 2 minutes I hit $19,000.
A Christmas Miracle
When my brother and I were kids, there was a Christmas where our family didn't have enough money to buy us presents, food or decorations.
Some distant relatives sent my brother and I 50$ each - so we gave the money to our parents, so that they could buy a tree and Christmas dinner.
We accepted that we wouldn't get presents, and that was fine - and we went outside to play in the snow. While rolling the base to a snowman, I noticed a leaf sticking out of the snowball - and plucked it out. It was a 100$ bill.
We went to the neighbor and asked if she had lost it, she was a very elderly woman who was rather well off, and she told us that she had lost it. She commended us on being noble, and returning the money - and let us keep it, she also handed me a Christmas card for my parents.
In the card, was another 100$. We got presents that year. Every year thereafter, I get that woman a Christmas present. Best old lady ever.
Ticket to Ride
About a year and a half back, I was about to get on a bus. The guy in front of me wasn't moving onto the bus, and I quickly realized he was frantically searching for his wallet.
After 20 seconds (which felt like 10 mintues) had passed, I finally piped up and offered him two bus tickets.
He clearly had a problem accepting charity, but he did take the tickets and thanked me profusely. He promised me that I'd see tickets again.
6 months after that, I was about to get off a bus on the totally opposite side of the city, when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder.
I turned around, and the person who tapped me asked if I remembered him. I thought about it for a second, hoping he wasn't some friend of my dad's that I had met and forgotten about.
Once he saw that I clearly did not remember him, he told me that I had given him bus tickets a while back, and he was repaying me. He gave me two bus tickets, and promptly got off the bus.
Those two tickets are still in a hidden pocket of my wallet. I'm saving them for the next time I see someone who has forgotten their wallet, and needs them.
Digital Reward
So I was playing Team Fortress 2 (the world's premier hat simulator) and it was christmas time. A new set of items was released including a shiny new sniper rifle which I would have given my left nut for.
A friend of mine who is a bit more wealthy on TF2 just randomly gave me the sniper, which was incredibly rare (worth around $25 US in real money), because he heard somewhere that I wanted it. He saw someone was selling it and bought it for me as a christmas gift.
The next time he opened a crate (cost him $2.50), he found the (much more rare) Medigun of the same "Strange Festive" style. The odds of this are pretty slim. Those weapons are worth even more money now, since you can't get them anymore.
Heads Will Roll
Back in high school I was a cart boy for a grocery store, one afternoon it was really terrible out, pouring and windy as hell. This new black Escalade pulls up next to me while I'm pushing about 10 carts.
The guy gets out and yells at me saying I better not scratch his truck because "Heads will roll", I'm not in any way endangering his new car, but he proceeds to yell and warn me.
Just as he finishes yelling at me, a sign from the Pizzeria next door crashes into the side of his truck. That made my night a little better, even if I was soaked.
Butterfingers
Buddy and myself having a drink on a large wooden deck patio at ocean side bar/restaurant. A slightly over middle aged couple sitting next to us.
Picture the following: Cocky too-cool to be pleasant guy, slicked back black hair, goatee, lots of jewelry; his wife (g/f maybe), lots of work done, lots of jewelry, lots of big hair, but more pleasant seeming than her husband/bf.
Our tables are right next to each other and they are rather close to us. As my buddy and I are just taking in the view, he sort of catches eyes with the dude, and say something like "good evening" or something innocuous like that.
No kidding, the guy says "Mind your own business and keep your eyes to yourself." Now at this point, my buddy and I look at each other with sort of a "did that just happen expression".
My buddy looks back over at him and says something like, "relax buddy, sorry to bother you" or something similar.
At this point, we are a little put off that the guy could so be so nasty so effortlessly. In any event, we got back to our beers and enjoyed the sunset.
2 minutes later, the guy pulls out a ring for his wife/gf or whatever. I got a good look at it and it was a big one, large diamond, etc.
Now I don't think this was a proposition for marriage or anything, but she was clearly excited, and he had a sufficiently smug, self-satisfied look on his face.
Well, anyway, she goes to hand it back to him, and when he grabs for it, he fumbles it, and it falls to the deck, rolls an inch or two, and then promptly disappears, falling between two slats of the deck.
I felt bad for the lady, but the guy was like a pot about to boil over. His face went white, and then immediately flush red. He was barely able to maintain his composure. It looked like he wanted to strike his lady friend.
He was fidgeting and exhibiting tics, all the while trying to maintain his very cool composure. He was failing badly.
My buddy and I catch the whole exchange. The dude looks over at us and now we are looking straight at him. Not laughing or pointing, just smiling casually.
The girl, I truly felt bad for. He on the other hand, couldn't have been worse. He called a waiter over, and started discretely explaining to him what happened. We couldn't hear this part of the convo, but as it went on, he became louder and more animated.
Apparently he wanted someone to pull up the deck slats. That was NOT going to happen. The waiter was cool as ice.
Despite the guy raging at this point, the waiter flatly told him something to the effect of "look man, you can come back tomorrow and talk to the manager, or pay your bill and leave now".
The guy sat down, and his lady friend was visibly shaken. Still sort of feeling bad for her. My friend and I, enjoying our beer and the sunset, remarked about how karma, while certainly inspiring, is almost magical when it's instant.
A Hundred Items or Less
Yesterday at Walmart I was standing in check out line number 4, when this ignorant dude walked in front of me. I say "excuse me" and he goes "you have only one item. My cart is full."
So I decide to just let it go, and move to a different line. (he had like 739472 things in his cart.)
As soon as I switch lines, to number 5, they turn the light off for number 4 and explain the register isn't working. He just stood there dumbfounded. It was great.
A Tip Worth Waiting For
One Saturday afternoon, we had just opened the doors to the restaurant when an Indian couple walked in. It was the other server's turn to be seated, since she had been there first. But once she saw the ethnicity of these guests, she told me in a really awful tone that I could take them.
Their bill was pretty cheap, so I was admittedly annoyed when I opened the check presenter to find a $100 bill.
I politely tell them to give me just a few minutes to get change, and head off to do that. I got back to the table, and they handed me another $100 bill.
I'm about to get super frustrated, as people always try to get us to break big bills for them since we are near a casino. But before I could open my mouth, the man told me that it was for me and thanked me for excellent service.
You Snooze, You Lose
This girl absolutely tried to ruin my life (no exaggeration. We were in college and she tried to start an unofficial "I Hate You Club"). She screwed around for a few weeks after graduation but I went on the job hunt right away.
By the time that she got around to sending our resumes, she sent one to the place I had already started working.
My new boss asked me if I knew her because she noticed the similar major/uni on our resumes, and I said yes, and added that if she got hired there, I would be leaving.
She ripped up her resume right there, and I laughed for about a week straight.
Bad Cop, Good Cop
I was in a hurry to get to a funeral and was speeding; the road switched from 40 to 30 and I didn't. I also neglected to put on my seat belt (very rare for me), and it was click it or ticket weekend. So the cop HAS to pull me over and HAS to give me a ticket.
Apparently, there was a mandate that said no warnings. So he gives me a minimum speeding ticket and the seat belt violation ($28 total). Well after the funeral (of my boss) me and the boys from work go out for drinks for camaraderie's sake.
You'd never guess who's sitting at the bar. It's the cop who pulled me over. I hadn't changed from the funeral so he recognized me and bought the boys a round. Great guy.
Snow Truck
I remember taking a road trip through the frozen wastes of Ohio, somewhere past Columbus on my way to Cleveland a few years back.
I grew up around those parts, so I'm pretty used to snow, but that day it was a freaking blizzard, and you could hardly make out where you were going.
The roads were empty, and since my car wasn't really fantastic, I was chugging along at a slow pace in the right lane because I wasn't in that big of a hurry, and didn't want to crash.
Suddenly, a fully-loaded mac truck blasts past me in the left lane, kicking up a bunch of snow against my car and whiting out my windshield.
Was really scary, because I was literally flying blind for a few seconds while my wipers got rid of the snow.
When I recovered, he seemed to have slowed down, and was keeping pace next to me. Then he slowed down, revved his engine, and proceed to do it again.
Apparently he got his kicks off of harassing smaller cars, and there really wasn't anything I could do, because there wasn't any exits to get off, and I didn't want to speed up in such bad conditions.
So after about 3-4 more times blasting me, he apparent has had his fill and speeds off, probably laughing his butt off.
I spend the next half an hour grumbling about this jerk on the phone to my friends, and in the midst of chatting, lo and behold on my left I spot something.
The interstate took a sharp turn, and off the road on the left, there was a mac truck flipped on its top half-buried in snow.
Every Kid Deserves To Be Happy
I work at a summer camp with several local kids and one day we took a field trip to the zoo. As we were getting ready to leave a boy from a troubled family went through the gift shop and wanted a souvenir stuffed monkey.
He had 5 quarters which was not nearly enough for this monkey (which for the record was incredibly overpriced anyway). He went to the checkout and the lady was unable to sell him the monkey for the mere $1.25.
The boy, broken hearted walked out and boarded the bus. I felt the need to buy the monkey for him so I did, and I gave it to his mom to give to him when she picked him up.
The boy and his mom are not very close for unknown reasons but I felt this token from her could help their relationship.
The boy was ecstatic when he was presented the monkey. It's things like that why I work at the camp. Every kid deserves to be happy.
Suiting Up
In line at Wendy's and a gentleman realized he had misplaced his wallet. He ran to and from his car very flustered and jumped on the phone with his wife to have her look for it and drive to the Wendy's. While he wasn't paying attention I stepped in front of him and payed the ~8 bucks for his food.
We were both obviously on our lunch breaks and it was just a lame situation for the guy, so I felt bad, even though he drove a Lexus.
Guy insists that I don't, I said too late bro. Patted him on the shoulder and said pay it forward with a smile.
He approached my table and told me that was one of the nicest things he had ever witnessed, then he told me to come across the street after I get off of work to the tailor/suit shop. I payed 8 bucks for a guy's lunch and got a custom 800 dollar suit.
Just a Scratch
Back in the mid-80's when I was about 20, I was standing at a bus stop waiting for the bus. The street I was on had a little bit of construction going on and there were some of those orange barricades set up down the middle of the street.
(Back then, these were made of metal and had the yellow flashing light on top.) As I'm standing there, I see a Porsche convertible coming down the street with 3 guys about my own age inside. As they get closer, I can see them looking at me and talking to each other.
The car begins to slow down and I know at this point that they're going to do something stupid. Sure enough, as they pass, they all turn in my direction and, on cue, yelling at me as they pass.
Unfortunately for the driver, karma was quick. As he turned his head to the right to yell at me, he swerved his car to the left a bit, hitting several of the metal pylons in the street, tearing up the driver side of what I can only assume was his daddy's car! Needless to say, he sped off in a great hurry!
I spent the rest of my day in a surprisingly great mood!
Blowing Up
20 years old, doing my second big paint job on a race car. It was a 3 day project, painting a front grill and chrome accents on a stingray style body on a drag car. This thing is gorgeous when it's done.
Guy clears it, then claims he wasn't happy with the final product (my work, not the clear) and says he won't pay me the $500 he owes me.
He cleared it already so I couldn't even have a chance to fix it. As this guy was an ex marine and my boss's friend, I wasn't going to push it too hard.
I was bummed, chalked it up to not getting paid up front and don't give anyone leeway. Two days later when he takes it to race and he blows up the whole engine, costing him over $10,000.
Oh Snapple!
My friend works at a bar in a small college town. She was parked outside of the bar on mainstreet. Her nemesis throws a glass Snapple bottle at her car.
An undercover cop sees it gives out a littering ticket to her nemesis. The undercover cop realizes it is his favorite bartender's car, raises the ticket the ticket to the max he can go.
Thanks for the Donation
I was standing in line once at a convenience store, when I noticed that the man in front of me had dropped a twenty as he was taking out his wallet.
Me and one other person in line had seen it fall. I stepped forward first, and picked it up with the intention of returning it once his transaction was finished.
I made it clear that this was my intention, and the other bystander nodded in agreement. Before I could do so, the man freaked out and started yelling at the cashier because they were out of his particular brand of tobacco.
At this point, I looked back at the other bystander, who grinned and nodded at me in approval. I used that $20 to complete both mine and the bystander's purchases.
Puke Attack
I clean a local gymnastics gym on the weekends. The owner will rent out the place for birthday parties, and one of the coaches is always present for them.
One weekend, I saw a car pull up about an hour before the party was to start. I was finishing cleaning the lobby, and we had no power as our lights were being replaced. This woman comes in, and heads upstairs (I assumed it was a coach I hadn't seen yet).
About ten seconds later, she comes STORMING down the stairs and gets in my face and starts yelling, "WHY IS THERE NO POWER?! I'M SUPPOSED TO SET UP FOR THIS PARTY, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT WHEN I CAN'T SEE WHAT I'M DOING?!"
At this point I'm a little stunned, and tell her that per the owner's policy, she can't be in the building until the coach arrives, which is about fifteen minutes before the party is to start.
Her face went purple. "HOW DARE YOU TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT DO! I KNOW (owner) SAID I COULD BE HERE WHENEVER I WANTED, SHE NEVER SAID ANYTHING LIKE THAT! I WON'T TAKE THIS FROM SOME STUPID KID!"
I said, "Fine, but your power won't be on for another forty-five minutes. You might as well go wait in your car until the coach gets here." She stomped off, tried to slam the door (and failed), and proceeded to try and call the owner.
When the coach finally arrived, I told her what happened and how she acted towards me. I also left a note for the owner and called her to inform her as well. I left the gym, and went home for the night.
The next morning, I went in to get paid. The owner pulled me aside, and told me I did everything right in that situation.
I found out that not only was that lady completely awful to the coach as well, but that she didn't pay for the party, and stayed a full hour longer than what she was supposed to have rented.
Then I got the best news possible. When the parents were all inside, apparently her dog had gotten into the cake in her car and eaten about half of it. She then said, "Oh, we can still use it, we'll just cut around the parts the dog ate."
Forty minutes later, however, she came running back into the gym, grabbed a bunch of paper towels, and returned to her car. In the time that she brought the cake inside, to the time she went back out, her dog had puked EVERYWHERE in her car.
On the seats, floors, arm rests, even the dashboard. This car was COVERED in puke.
Patience is a Virtue
I drive a truck. While on a lonely 2-lane hiway in Kansas, I had another truck come from behind and start yelling in the CB for me to speed up. I was already doing 70 in a 60 zone so I ignored him. He pulled out to pass, ignoring oncoming traffic.
6 or 7 cars went off into the ditch to avoid him, I hit the brakes to get him out of that lane as fast as possible, and check on the cars in the ditch.
The last car turned on it's lights and spun around to give chase, jerk has just run a state trooper off the road.
I saw them a few miles further on. The trooper had him cuffed and laying across the hood of his patrol car.
Small Acts Make a Difference
Senior Year of high school: was a chaperone on the 5th grade camping trip my district sponsors every year for the wee ones (the same trip I went on as a 5th grader). I am sitting with my group at lunch for the very first day, and I notice everyone is pulling out bag lunches.
One of the kids in my group doesn't pull one out. I take him aside and ask what's up, because I saw he was getting quieter and more upset as kids started eating.
Turns out his mom had forgotten to send one, or whatever. Point is, kid had no lunch on first day of camp.
So I got him a prepacked lunch that the camp had just in case. He was quiet when I first met all of them, but he was much more animated during the rest of the trip. Feels good man.
I Need a Wii
I worked a few jobs during my college years to make sure I have absolutely no debt after graduating. It was Wii release day one day and I decided to treat myself and buy one so I lined up outside an EB games to get one. A kid (probably around 7 or 8 years old) was behind me all excited to get one too.
Turns out I'm the last customer able to buy a Wii that day. The kid looked devastated but you could tell he was trying to keep his cool. I called him over and let him have the last Wii. His eyes were glowing with happiness. No treat for me but I felt good.
At this point I figured I probably would not get one to play with before school starts again. That same night, my friend heard my story and let me use his for a few weeks while he goes on vacation.
Made a New Friend
For the past 5 years I've been riding/participating in a charity bicycle ride. One year, at about the 50 mile marker (out of 60) I see a guy walking his bicycle.
This is a fairly large ride with a lot of participants, and people were riding past him not really noticing him.
So I slow down and yell "hey, everything ok??" as you normally should (road cycling edicate) So my friend and I stop and ask if needs a tube or tools.
As he speaks he starts to stutter a lot, I realized he had some type of developmental issue, and was bummed nobody else was riding with him or helping him.
I had my friend help me with the flat, we fixed it within minutes. I told the guy to ride with us until the end of the ride, just in case he had any other flats or anything.
Baby Formula Reward
When I was in Nicaragua I bought this woman baby formula. I was pretty lost in this city I was in and I was trying to find a box to mail stuff home... not to mention find the post office and my way back. I spoke a passible amount of Spanish.
Looking obviously lost this woman approaches me and asks me if I'm lost. Yes. She takes me all over the city getting me the things I need and helping me deal with the post office (which is a real pain). Then she takes me to a little food stand with the best food I've had in days.
After all this she asks if she can ask for a favor. I agree. She needs baby formula for her baby. Apparently baby formula in other countries is EXPENSIVE. It was $25 for a small thing of formula. Crazy.
I bought it for her and she's practically crying. I guess she comes to the city every day trying to sell things and do favors for people to get money for formula.
Sometimes It's Better Not to Be Invited
This happened to me about a week ago. It was just after prom and all the people who I thought were my friends went down to the beach. The catch is that they didn't invite me even though I was good friends with all of them.
So wake up the next day and log onto Facebook to find out that they all had gotten food poisoning from a restaurant the ate at the night they got there.
Free Sandwich
I got off the bus and was aproached by some homeless guy. He asked me for some change. For some reason my wallet was overflowing with spare change, quarters and stuff, so I just gave him a hand full of random coins and went on my way. I decided to to buy a sandwich at the station.
Some guy came up to me and said: "Oh you're getting a salmon/cream cheese sandwich? I don't like those much, but I have a coupon for a free one, you can have it."
Kid's Got a Point
Me (6 or 7), mom and my new German boxer puppy that was no longer puppy but rather a nice full grown well trained dog; riding in the bus.
A wild ticket-checking lady starting to give my mom a really hard time about not having a ticket for the dog (This was in Russia early 90's).
Mom was clearly losing the battle when i stepped in and said loud enough that the dog does not need a ticket because she was under 2 year of age. Whole bus burst out laughing. End result: dog rides free.
Getting Tired
Was driving home from visiting my parents last Friday and come up on this PT Cruiser with temporary tags (seriously, you BOUGHT a PT Cruiser?) just sitting in the left lane at about 70 mph. The speed limit on I-70 in Kansas now is 75, and driving in the left hand lane is illegal other than while passing (recent-ish law).
Multiple times I attempted to move past him (I was traveling at speed limit) on the right hand side, but every time I'd get just far enough ahead to think about moving into the left hand lane to pass a slower moving car in the right, this jerk off would speed up and block my chance to merge.
This happened for a good 10 miles before I said eff it, kicked it up to 80 and passed him for good. (Just as an aside, there were about 4 other cars that did the same thing I did right behind me...he'd be blocking us all).
So I get through the stretch of slow moving traffic and settle back down to 75 in the right hand lane when about 10 minutes later I notice him creeping back up on me, with another line of cars stacked up behind him. He pulls up alongside me when he suffered a blowout on one of his tires.
He actually handled it very well, just continued in his lane until he could get it onto the shoulder, but that was the end of his blocking the interstate for awhile at least, and I experience an intense feeling of schadenfreude.
Bad Day to Be a Deer
My old commute included a 10 minute drive on a single lane, backwood winding road towards the highway.
It was a 45mph road and always pretty full of cars during rush hour. There was nothing to do except follow the car in front of you until you got to the onramp.
One day some kid in a tricked out honda decided he was better than everyone else. He passed on double yellows on a blind curve, and nearly runs me off the road cutting me off when a car was coming the other direction. I'll admit, I have a severe case of road rage. I wanted to hurt him.
But I literally said to myself, "karma will get him. Just breathe." Fast forward 5 minutes, he's still the car in front of me, and as I get into the turning lane for the highway onramp he goes straight. As I wait for my light to turn green, I watch him floor it and drive maybe 50 feet past the highway.
A 10 pointer buck runs out right in front of him and his car was turned into dust. Im sure the kid was OK, the car didnt flip or anything.
It just rolled lifelessly to the side of the road, covered in deer guts. I've never had such a satisfying drive to work.
Cobra Attack
This woman had tailgated me and honked horn constantly while behind me in a traffic jam like I was able to get out of her way. She saw a squeeze and bolted through and when she passed me she flicked me off.
Luckily it was a traffic jam and when she sped by and looked at me to flick me off she flew right into a brand new shelby cobra.
Talk about an expensive wreck. I got out and handed the owner of the cobra my number and said I saw it all and just walked back to car and smiled at her.
Picking Up After Each Other
I was walking into Lowe's and this guy in front of me dropped his sunglasses. I picked them up, got his attention, gave them back, he said thanks, and then we went on our way. As I was checking out, the same guy was behind me in line.
I had a lot of stuff in my hands and as I was walking out, I must have dropped my debit card and some cash back I had gotten.
As I'm about to pull out, the same guy comes and knocks on my window and hands me my card and $20.
We both kinda just smiled at what had happened and then went our separate ways.
The Love Bus Demands Vengeance
Couple years ago at university I was dating this girl for about a month and things were not going well. She was gorgeous; however she was also a moron. So needless to say, I was hedging my bets.
One day she came to my place after a night of partying and asked me to go to a movie. I say "Sure." and away we go.
Walking to the cinema we started having another enormous row and I decided to end it right then and there. So I did.
She would not accept it for like an hour, we were just fighting and finally she walked away in tears and I was upset.
Immediately afterwards I called my best mate and asked if he wanted to get drunk because of my unfortunate day. Hung up, and saw the date.
February fourteenth. I broke up with a girl on Valentine's day and didn't even realize it. I sighed and started walking to my mate's place. Then I got hit by a bus. Not a serious disaster, but it hurt.
It Feels Good to Help
Last week, I had found a credit card on the post office parking lot. I picked it up, and immediately contacted the bank on the card to report a lost card.
I told the woman on the phone that I'll probably drop the card off at the bank and she told me how nice it was for me to do that.
So I drove off to the bank, gave it to the teller, and he told me "Bless you sweetheart." It felt great.
Be Kind to Your Neighbors
Our dog got out and was running the neighborhood (happens maybe a few times a month now that the kids are out of school and playing outside more). We have one set of neighbors that always helps us catch her and get her back home.
We have two other neighbors that live farther down the street (their dogs are always out and one of them has even attacked my dog and snapped at me and my kids) that yelled about how they were going to call the cops on us for having our dog out.
As one of these neighbors was yelling this BOTH of her dogs got out and no one helped her catch them. We were just so happy karma decided to act quickly while we could watch it and enjoy it.
What Did He Think Was Going to Happen?!
Chicago Police squad SUV turned on its lights to respond to something and was trying to turn right at a crowded nightlife intersection.
Some drunk idiot was taking his time crossing the street and refused to either stop or walk faster to get out of their way.
When they honked at him to move he flicked them off with the ol' double bird. He was immediately arrested and many people cheered.
Plants vs. Zombies vs. Food
Today, my son and I went to Wal-Mart to get a new game for his DS. We got to the cash register I noticed the woman in front of me was upset. Her card had been declined and she was purchasing formula.
My son is fascinated with babies so he was talking to the woman about her little girl. He put the game down and handed her his money and said, "Your baby needs food more than I need Plants Vs. Zombies." My heart swelled at this, so I got the game anyway.
Well, as we were walking out, a lady approached us and said she saw what he did and gave him an envelope and said open it when you get home. When we got home, there was a $100 bill and a note that said "You deserve this young man!"
Slow and Steady
I was in the passing lane on the highway slowly coming up on a couple of cars in the right lane. The speed limit was about to decrease ahead and the another car came up behind me going pretty fast.
Instead of gasing it to get ahead of the traffic to my right I slowed down and pulled in behind them, with the car behind me right on my bumper.
Once I got into the right lane the car floored it and passed me honking the horn and the passenger's body was half out of the car window yelling at me and flipping me off as they passed.
Turns out the car I pulled in behind was an unmarked state trooper who promptly pulled them over. Justice.
Picture Day
Back when I was in high school, my aunt and uncle were getting divorced and it wasn't pleasant. The aunt was the type of person where her kids couldn't do anything because she never let them.
During the divorce, my uncle got custody until things were better settled. During that time, the female daughter joined cheerleading, which had always been her dream but her mom wouldn't allow it.
One day, my mom, who works at the school, got a notice from the office that the mom had just come and pulled the kids from class that day and the whole family panics because she had mentioned grabbing the kids and leaving the state.
They finally found them and the daughter was distraught because it was picture day at school and she wasn't going to get her picture with the team to go in the yearbook. I get pulled out of class and head to grab the kids to bring them back to school as their dad hadn't made it out of work yet.
I grab the daughter and tear it back to the school going 75 in a 35 never traveled side street. I end up getting pulled over by the only cop that is ever on that road. I panic and explain to him the whole situation and he walks back to his car for a moment.
I end up getting let off because he had just pulled over my uncle going the other direction, at the same speed, with the same story.
Crisis Averted
I live in London and you used to have to pay 30p to use the public toilets. A foreign middle aged guy was looking pretty distraught waving a £10 note around (the change machine only takes coins) and the guard wasn't going to let him in. The situation looked like it was gonna get messy.
I gave him 30p and he didn't poop himself - everybody wins.
Hitching a Ride
I was driving through my neighborhood and I saw a man running as fast as he could in his pajamas with a gas can in his right hand, so I stopped and asked if he wanted a ride to wherever his car was stalled.
He climbed in my car and (obviously flustered) explained that his kid needed to be at school and his wife needed a ride to work and unfortunately someone had stolen all the gas out of their car the night before.
He also told me that my right tail light was out and he owned a car shop. Later that day I took my car into his shop and he fixed the tail light and other minor problems for free.
"Take My Money!"
My wife and I took our kids out to a popular restaurant one night. I realize now that we had been biking and looked pretty dirty but we had such a good time that day I didn't notice or think of cleaning up before going out for a quick meal.
We were no sooner seated when a waitress comes up and hands me an envelope with a $100 gift certificate from "some people who thought we could use it." I tear out of the restaurant to the parking lot and actually find the lone couple who gifted us.
I try to give it back and thank them as we're not at all hurting for money but just happened to look a bit messy.
They won't hear of it. So karma is karma, and I went to the cashier and broke the $100 gift certificate into a pair of $50s and purchased another pair of $50s.
At the end of our meal I walked around with two of my (grubby) kids and let them choose who to give the four $50 gift certificates to. When questioned I simply replied, "pay it forward, people."
I really hope at least one person did so. I'd like to imagine everyone standing in line for gift certificates, screaming, "TAKE MY MONEY!!!" and handing them out as they left the restaurant.
Halloween Hero
I was about 16 and I dressed like it was Halloween everyday. I had a bright orange mohawk, piercings everywhere and I was wearing these baggy, fire orange camouflage skater pants with chains hanging off of them. I looked like a delinquent.
So, this elderly woman had come out to her car to see a flat tire, and I could tell she had no phone or anyone to help her so I stopped and changed the tire. I have never felt more appreciated.
She made humorous mention of my "costume" but was very sweet the whole time and couldn't thank me enough. I felt like a hero.
Free Drink and a Free Cookie
I ordered a sandwich and drink at Panera. When I was filling up my drink I realized they only charged me for my sandwich, so I returned to the cashier to make up the difference. She laughed, citing that it was her mistake, so there is no sense paying now.
I returned to filling my drink, and the manager tapped me on the shoulder. He was holding a cookie for me.
Apparently he'd never seen someone try to do that, and he felt I should be rewarded. I got a free cookie as a reward for my free drink.
Cash From the Heavens
My GF said she was feeling very sick and asked me to go to her place. I was a very poor college student and had just enough money to go there, but not for the bus fare to my finals the next day. Still, she said she needed me and I went, thinking I could ask her parents for a loan.
The next morning, I was already at the bus stop trying to stay out of the rain and wind when I remembered I had no money.
There was no time to go back. I just stood there for a minute thinking. Then a bill large enough to pay my fares for the month slapped against my leg.
No one else around as far as the eye could see. I've got do admit that even being an atheist, I had to look upwards that day. Just to check.
Rebound
My friend laughed at me for getting hit in the face by a basketball in which about 3 seconds later someone shoots from half-court, and the ball rebounds off the backboard and hits him in the face breaking his glasses too.
Friends in High Places
A friend of mine was at the library walking up the stairs when a toddler tripped at the top and started to fall down the stairs.
She ran and caught the little girl before she hit her head or got seriously injured but my friend scraped up her leg pretty badly from basically diving up the stairs to save the kid.
The little girl's father ran to the stairs as soon as he saw her fall.. and it was our English teacher. He was in tears because he was so grateful (the stairs were marble; that could have been bad).
That was in grade 11, and she had him 3 times in grade 12. She was a half decent student but always ended up with 90s in his classes.
The Other Benefit of Giving Blood
So I went in to donate blood, found out after a few tests on my blood that I had chronic Hep B. Kinda saved myself?
Money Well Spent
A few months ago at college I was behind a guy in a suit at Jimmy Johns he looked like he had a rough day and he was short a few bucks on his order so I offered to pay for it and he seemed in disbelief that someone would do that. Best 5 bucks I've spent.
A Necessary Humbling
I work at a car repair shop. This woman came in one day with a busted head light that she wanted repaired but not at the price we were offering.
She began to yell at the boss about how she's 'been a faithful customer' and how 'she doesn't deserve such unfair prices'.
Basically, she was being a complete pain. She stormed out to her car and the piece of junk wouldn't start. With her head hung low, she asked us to help and that she would gladly pay the price to fix the headlight.
A Pattern of Failure
As a consultant, I have worked with many businesses, among them I have come across a handful of amazingly obnoxious, abusive managers/VPs, etc. (Most were not, but some where).
They caused great pain to so many innocent people needlessly. Over the course of many years, I have seen every single one of them eventually get their comeuppance - lose their power and their jobs, and now struggle at menial jobs.
To my surprise, I derived no real pleasure from their failures. I guess failed lives are not a source of celebration, even when deserved. On the other hand, I praised karma for being the invisible hand of justice.
Making Up For the Past
I'm a former amusement park worker, who specialized in a game called ladder climb where we would tighten very shaky ladders to a buzzer and the player had to reach it.
Naturally I know how to win it, although unfortunately all the people who try do not and it's very challenging.
Fast forward to this summer, I've been going back to the amusement park a number of times as a customer, and have been winning prizes for the little kids with my own money to make up for all the times I had to send them away sad when I was working.
$200 Yoyo
After hurricane Katrina we had a quite a few families relocate to Newport, RI of all places. I was working at a restaurant and saw two guys at a table outside who looked cold although it was only mid September. I asked them if they wanted to move inside, and after arguing with the hostess I had them move tables.
They thanked me for going out of my way and proceeded to explain why they were up here and had lost most of their belongings and how nice everyone has been. I felt I could do more so that night I donated $200 to the Red Cross.
I was still in high school so I could afford to donate since I was living for free. The next morning we had a work meeting and everyone takes a quiz about the topics discussed at the meeting and the winner gets a prize.
There are always a lot of people that get them all right so it turns into a lottery. Turns my name was chosen after I got all the questions right. The prize: $200.
Grandparents Needed to Learn a Lesson
Just last week my wife took my kids (6 and 3) for a visit to my parents. While romping outside, our 6-year old starts picking up rocks and throwing them.
My wife tells her not to (for reasons obvious to the both of us), but my mother proceeds to tell her it's OK, and also that she should throw them at the geese (my parents live on a lake, the Canadian geese are a nuisance because they are many and poo EVERYWHERE).
My wife, although mad that my mother has usurped her parental authority, doesn't say anything in the interest of keeping the peace.
Not five minutes later, my daughter, for no apparent reason whatsoever, whips a rock at my dad, hitting him in the temple.
Thankfully, he blew it off as an "accident", but at least he and my mother both got to witness why my wife told our child not to throw rocks in the first place.
The Happiest Place on Earth
I was at Disneyland with my fiance and there was a woman who needed help off the train that goes around the park. I offered to help her off the train since there were no employees around at the time.
I helped her off and got back on. When I got off an employee asked us to wait by the stairs and then walked away. 2 mins later she gave us a free fast pass to any ride!
Rebate
I walked up to an ATM to get some cash and found £50 just sitting that had not been taken. So I drop it into the bank and explain that it just happened and write down the time so that if there's any way to trace it, they'll be able to find the cardholder who is £50 short.
Next day, I get my mail and I have a £700 tax rebate. Needless to say, that was pretty neat.
Candyland Fail
When I was about 5, I was settling in to play a game of Candyland with my mom. My baby sister starts crying, so Mom left for a minute to attend to her. I then had a diabolical idea: I would rig the game so that I could win! I put the card which moves you to near the finish line, on top of the deck.
When Mom came back, I said I wanted to draw first. So after the first turn, I'm near the end of board and Mom is near the start.
But come turn two, I get the card that puts me near the beginning of the board, and Mom gets the card that puts her second-nearest to the end. I lost the game. I haven't cheated since then.
(Almost) Everyone's a Winner
Was out for dinner with my then-fiancee (now wife) and her dad, my (now) father-in-law. He's a bit of a jerk to her, he got divorced and re-married, loves those kids more than my wife, gives her grief over too many things, etc. etc.
So we're at the end of dinner, father-in-law offers to pay for the meal. OK, that's nice. My wife asks to get her leftovers boxed and she'll take them home. He starts with "well, you'll just leave them in the fridge, then they'll just get thrown out, blah blah".
I tell him "Listen, it's not your fridge, leave her alone". (She and I live together at this point). He gets all mad, "Don't tell me how to raise my daughter!"
I reply "Then don't speak to my fiancee that way!" He literally throws the bill & folder thing at me and says "FINE! YOU PAY THEN" and storms out.
OK, now everyone is upset. I am, my fiancee is saying "why did you have to start something??" etc. So I pay the bill and I'm just waiting for the receipt. Like we're waiting 10 minutes here, what is going on?
Tensions are rising, her dad is waiting outside, just building up steam and ready to blow once we get out there.
I ask the waiter, "Can I just get our bill and go?" "Oh no sir, you have to wait for the manager". Turns out they have a contest running where "every bill is a winner".
Normally you'll win a free drink, or appetizer with your next meal. Well we won the GRAND PRIZE, a trip for 4 to Florida. Whoever pays gets the prize. WELL GUESS WHAT DAD? I PAID BECAUSE YOU STORMED OUT!
David and Goliath
I was walking to the pub from work one rainy evening when I saw a fat, drunken yob intentionally shove into a fairly nerdy looking guy who was walking along with his girlfriend. He stopped and accused the nerdy guy of pushing him and then gave him a volley of abuse.
What follows was one of those moments so perfect, so full of justice and humour that you can't believe you've witnessed it, and it made a great anecdote in the pub.
The fat guy took a huge swing at the nerdy guy, slipped because it was raining and completely missed, ending up in a flustered mess on the floor.
The nerdy looked bewildered and his girlfriend was desperately trying to drag him away, but he stood his ground. The fat guy, who seemed to have been angered further by his embarassing fall, got back up and took another swing, which nerdy guy dodged. Again, fat guy slips and falls to his knees.
Nerdy guy, who is apparently as ruthless as he is good at not getting punched in the face, obviously sees this as a great opportunity to get this over with, and so smacks the fat guy right in the face with a sweet jab- one of those punches that makes a satisfying 'thwack' sound.
Fat guy goes down once and for all, sprawled on the bridge in the rain, while nerdy guy takes his girl's hand and they carry on their merry way together. Meanwhile I head on to the pub and have a pint in his honour. Beautiful, just beautiful.
Always Hold the Elevator
I work in a building with 10 floors, I am on the 5th. Last Thursday, I was coming back to the lobby from lunch and in a hurry, and I had just pressed the UP button and the elevator immediately opened up. Awesome!
Before I step into the elevator, I noticed someone coming up the stairs about 30 feet away. I usually like to wait for stragglers, so as to boost my own elevator karma.
As this person approaches, I notice she is fairly attractive and close to my age. Bonus points right? I also notice that she's in a hurry. She asks me, "Is CSG in this building?"
-Me: yes it is! 10th floor! -Her: Oh okay, thank you! I'm running so late for my interview! By this point I notice she is not only attractive, but she is gorgeous.
I press "10" as she enters the elevator (using the Floor Number + Door Close button trick to jump straight to the requested floor) and she says, "Oh do you work for CSG too?"
-Me: No but since you're late we'll get you there first then I'll go back down to 5 -Her: Aw that's sweet, you don't have to do that! Sure enough we zip past the 5th floor, and we hit the 10th. She gathers herself and catches her breath (from running to the building), & realizes she forgot her phone.
-Her: Oh my gosh I was supposed to call when I got here, could I use your phone I'm so sorry! -Me: Not a problem! She dials CSG from the elevator and clears everything up. She then goes on to say "You were a great help, thank you so much!"
I went for it, and said, "No problem! Let me know how it goes?" She smiles a bit shyly and says "I sure will" and proceeds to tap away at my phone. She hands it back, smiles again, and walks away.
I look down at my phone: 7 digits, programmed under contact name "Samantha Elevator." For a guy who NEVER gets the girl, I was pretty elated. We're going out for drinks tomorrow night.
There Was, In Fact, Snow
We had a light snow here in Jersey one day and my friends and I wanted to make the most of it. We took a sled out and took turns laying on it on the road and pulling each other down the street with a rope. Yeah kinda stupid but we were bored and it was entertaining.
Anyway some idiot in your typical bumble bee sounding Honda Civic rode by and screamed that we were stupid because there wasn't any snow. They then gassed the car, lost all control, and plowed into some bushes at the end of my street.
My friends and I then watched as they fought for about 20 minutes to get their Civic out of the bush because it couldn't get any traction and what little snow there was.
Super Blood
We had a blood drive at school after a classmate had gotten himself into a pretty serious accident. A while after, I decided to donate again. I was told that, after they tested my previous donation, I had missed out on some childhood disease (Cytomegalovirus Negative).
This meant my blood could be given to infants. I donate regularly now, and feel really good every time.