Pretend you're Harriet the Spy or Amelie or a Rockefeller... What secret, good deed would you do or prank would you pull, if resources weren't an issue?
Amelie is my favorite foreign film! Lurve it. Not to steal the same idea, but I would pull a George Clooney, too. Since my Friend Circle involves two people whom I've known for over 20+ years (each), it'd be just a dinner and the amount I'd give them would be, like, 5 mil or something.
I read somewhere that friend groups are getting closer and smaller. When you factor in inflation... a million doesn't go as far as it used to, so you make a solid point there. Five gets shit done. Just what a gift to be able to GIVE without fear. That's what I love about Amelie... she's a cafe waitress (not Clooney) and yet she finds a way to be this stealth, low-key instigator of happiness.
Inspired to add a story about a friend who passed away 10 years ago. Maria was a HS buddy. In her adult life she lived in Paris and had an elderly neighbor widow who lived alone. Maria brought her flowers every week which always brought a smile and many Merci’s from the widow. I heard this story told at Marias funeral. The smallest of gestures can change a life.
I love this! The tragedian in me can so totally see myself ending up as a terribly lonely old widow in Paris... Think: Miss Clavel (from Bemelmans' Madeline books) plus 40-odd years? I can only HOPE some fabulously thoughtful neighbor (who isn't simply waiting for me to croak so she/he can scoop my apartment and convert into a duplex) does the same thing. 😂
I’ve been in the process of rescuing 19 abandoned kitties at an evicted drug house up the rural dirt road I live on. If I had unlimited resources I’d gift a gazillion dollars to the national parks so they could buy the land and build an international cat sanctuary. (I confess, my altruism only extends to animals today, feeling grumpy about humans at the moment.) And yes, this would be secret...errr...to the cats. I won’t tell them who made the donation.
19 kittens, oh my goodness!!! That is a project! You are a courageous Cat Saint to take on that one! Animal altruism totally counts... The national parks idea isn't a bad concept... they did a ranking the other day of the most rodent-infested cities and NYC was no longer the top... I suppose they could make wonderful deterrent squads if given mini sanctuaries in cities. Fully-equipped indoor/outdoor Putty Parks ??? Lol. Mice would just relocate... but then you could zero in on them, I suppose?
I have been practising small kindnesses everywhere I go over the last year. Admiring someone's nail polish or commenting about how good a certain colour looks on them, or how beautiful their eyes are. These are strangers and the effect these small gestures has on their face and body language is incredible. I can literally feel their body unfold as they smile and say thank-you. It makes me feel good to make others feel seen. Especially when they are just going about their daily routine and not expecting it. It also helps me practise being in the present moment.
Agree 1000%. I used to work with this woman at a museum in NYC in the archives and she had this incredible knowledge of film history and music and she was highly introverted... before being introverted was a known thing...and a small gesture like this would make her whole day/week/world. I really treasured her.
I love this idea! I don’t think planning a secret good-deed prank could fail to make one happy. Just reading about that fantastic Wi-Fi prank made me happy!
I love these stories. Instead of just News at 6 or whatever there should be a show called Good News-- all positive stories about people helping others. I once paid for a woman's groceries when she didn't have enough money. One of the most gratifying times in my life was when I was a baby cuddler at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. Once a week for 2 years. It was bliss. I stopped when Covid hit.
A baby cuddler!!! That sounds so soul-healing! They used to have a program like that through our church (St. Monica's)--you did it at an orphanage in Tijuana so it was a bit of a commitment. But the groceries is something I will always LEAP to do if someone is stuck and I am able. We live in a country where no one should feel food insecure... there's so much here. I DO love reading all these stories. xoxo
Wonderful that your church had a cuddler program. Most of the babies I cuddled were born drug addicted. Their ma was in rehab or jail and if there wasn’t a gparent the baby had no one to hold it. Nurses too busy. They loved when a cuddler was on during their shift.
I was leaving a Shakira concert in a towncar from backstage (don't ask) -- this was before her English language crossover. There were some young girls waiting out back for her. It was getting late. I rolled down the window just enough for my arm and waved. They were ecstatic. My friend said that was a jerk move. Now they'll think Shakira waved at them and she didn't. I told her they looked about 16 and had school tomorrow. Now they could go home, get some rest and believe that Shakira waved to them (which she totally would've). Maybe I am a jerk, but it was coming from a good place. xo
This is the best thread ever! I always wanted to fly around the country to every guitar shop with a layaway program, and pay off all the girls guitars. I'd also love to have a secret foundation to pay off the medical debt of women over age 40. Just like, write to us and attach your bills, and we'll take care of the whole thing. And something for the low-income children of professional artists, a college fund or therapy resources. IYKYK!
OMFG… I love all of this so much! I would so totally take you up on the guitar program as I’ve always dreamt of becoming a later bloomer Joni Mitchell. I think I would also set up a single-mom fund to save little families whose husbands/partners leave them in the lurch—so they could keep their homes and their kids could stay in the same schools b/c that is super traumatic for little kids to be uprooted just because some doofus decides he wants to head off into the sunset. I guess I’m asking for better family courts, but since we’ll probably never have them, I’d love to be the band-aid… :)
YES love the single mom house fund! And while we're improving women's lives, shouldn't we startup that fund for our elderly single women's beachside housing commune?
There are... Once, when I was between writing jobs and crazy poor, I listed my only nice thing... an insanely spendy handbag from my old married life on The Real Real... to make up the shortfall in rent that month... And a friend secretly went on the site and bought it... and gave it back to me. I was so stunned. There are so many possibilities.
A dear friend loves to do kind deeds disguised as "pranks." I've been party to sneakily cleaning someone's house when they're going through a hard time. When my MIL passed, and the meal train slowed down but our hearts were still heavy, she ordered all the ingredients for an easy meal, including cookies, delivered to our house from the other side of the country. Honestly, her pranks are the best!!
Oh, I LOVE this idea... again, I'm behind on responding b/c of computer annoyances... This is so great especially if you know that person's little special things... like fresh, clean sheets on the bed or even walking in and seeing folded laundry--all fluffed and perfect. Or just seeing the fridge stocked and gleaming... it can make all the difference!!! Huzzah to this!
Actually, I was on the receiving end of a good deed, today. I’m working remotely from my son and DIL’s house, this week. They’re both Marines and I’m helping out with taking care of the grandbabies... and didn’t realize until this morning that I’ve lost my wallet.
THEN I realized the random number that was trying to reach me (and the hubs) may be the person who found it?
YUP! I left it on the roof of my car while buckling the grandbabies into their car seats at the oldest’s preschool--tired Mimi walking, some things never change, LOL!
The best part of this story is that the person was driving a few cars behind me, saw my wallet fly off the roof of my car, stopped and turned back to retrieve it!
My husband is on his way to pick it up from this kind person (after dropping our oldest grandbaby at her preschool) but not before grabbing a gift card as a thank you for their being a solid human. 🥹
I am behind on responding because it has been a wacky computer day, but OMG... what an amazingly awesomely good Samaritan to notice and then to retrieve!!! WOW! What a solid human being! I am so impressed! And oh man, so much hassle SAVED with having to cancel and re-up cards and licenses. Taking the new DMV picture is the worst! What a cool person!!!
Amelie is my favorite foreign film! Lurve it. Not to steal the same idea, but I would pull a George Clooney, too. Since my Friend Circle involves two people whom I've known for over 20+ years (each), it'd be just a dinner and the amount I'd give them would be, like, 5 mil or something.
I read somewhere that friend groups are getting closer and smaller. When you factor in inflation... a million doesn't go as far as it used to, so you make a solid point there. Five gets shit done. Just what a gift to be able to GIVE without fear. That's what I love about Amelie... she's a cafe waitress (not Clooney) and yet she finds a way to be this stealth, low-key instigator of happiness.
Yassss! That's what I loved about her, too. I need to watch that again.
Inspired to add a story about a friend who passed away 10 years ago. Maria was a HS buddy. In her adult life she lived in Paris and had an elderly neighbor widow who lived alone. Maria brought her flowers every week which always brought a smile and many Merci’s from the widow. I heard this story told at Marias funeral. The smallest of gestures can change a life.
I love this! The tragedian in me can so totally see myself ending up as a terribly lonely old widow in Paris... Think: Miss Clavel (from Bemelmans' Madeline books) plus 40-odd years? I can only HOPE some fabulously thoughtful neighbor (who isn't simply waiting for me to croak so she/he can scoop my apartment and convert into a duplex) does the same thing. 😂
I love this thread and plan to savor it for the rest of the week.
I’ve been in the process of rescuing 19 abandoned kitties at an evicted drug house up the rural dirt road I live on. If I had unlimited resources I’d gift a gazillion dollars to the national parks so they could buy the land and build an international cat sanctuary. (I confess, my altruism only extends to animals today, feeling grumpy about humans at the moment.) And yes, this would be secret...errr...to the cats. I won’t tell them who made the donation.
19 kittens, oh my goodness!!! That is a project! You are a courageous Cat Saint to take on that one! Animal altruism totally counts... The national parks idea isn't a bad concept... they did a ranking the other day of the most rodent-infested cities and NYC was no longer the top... I suppose they could make wonderful deterrent squads if given mini sanctuaries in cities. Fully-equipped indoor/outdoor Putty Parks ??? Lol. Mice would just relocate... but then you could zero in on them, I suppose?
That’s a great idea. Nothing like a good mouser (cat). We have an outdoor cat. Gus keeps the mice away. And baby bunnies too. 😕
Darn. I like bunnies.
I have been practising small kindnesses everywhere I go over the last year. Admiring someone's nail polish or commenting about how good a certain colour looks on them, or how beautiful their eyes are. These are strangers and the effect these small gestures has on their face and body language is incredible. I can literally feel their body unfold as they smile and say thank-you. It makes me feel good to make others feel seen. Especially when they are just going about their daily routine and not expecting it. It also helps me practise being in the present moment.
I love doing this as well. It always makes my day when someone is kind or compliments me.
Agree 1000%. I used to work with this woman at a museum in NYC in the archives and she had this incredible knowledge of film history and music and she was highly introverted... before being introverted was a known thing...and a small gesture like this would make her whole day/week/world. I really treasured her.
I love this idea! I don’t think planning a secret good-deed prank could fail to make one happy. Just reading about that fantastic Wi-Fi prank made me happy!
I love these stories. Instead of just News at 6 or whatever there should be a show called Good News-- all positive stories about people helping others. I once paid for a woman's groceries when she didn't have enough money. One of the most gratifying times in my life was when I was a baby cuddler at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. Once a week for 2 years. It was bliss. I stopped when Covid hit.
A baby cuddler!!! That sounds so soul-healing! They used to have a program like that through our church (St. Monica's)--you did it at an orphanage in Tijuana so it was a bit of a commitment. But the groceries is something I will always LEAP to do if someone is stuck and I am able. We live in a country where no one should feel food insecure... there's so much here. I DO love reading all these stories. xoxo
Wonderful that your church had a cuddler program. Most of the babies I cuddled were born drug addicted. Their ma was in rehab or jail and if there wasn’t a gparent the baby had no one to hold it. Nurses too busy. They loved when a cuddler was on during their shift.
I can just SEE it! Plus, babies SO need snuggling, plus positive/gentle voice & eye contact at that time! Hopefully they bring it back one day!
I was leaving a Shakira concert in a towncar from backstage (don't ask) -- this was before her English language crossover. There were some young girls waiting out back for her. It was getting late. I rolled down the window just enough for my arm and waved. They were ecstatic. My friend said that was a jerk move. Now they'll think Shakira waved at them and she didn't. I told her they looked about 16 and had school tomorrow. Now they could go home, get some rest and believe that Shakira waved to them (which she totally would've). Maybe I am a jerk, but it was coming from a good place. xo
You're wonderful... it's the same as my signing the book for the author... it gave them an OMG moment they'll never forget. xo
This is the best thread ever! I always wanted to fly around the country to every guitar shop with a layaway program, and pay off all the girls guitars. I'd also love to have a secret foundation to pay off the medical debt of women over age 40. Just like, write to us and attach your bills, and we'll take care of the whole thing. And something for the low-income children of professional artists, a college fund or therapy resources. IYKYK!
OMFG… I love all of this so much! I would so totally take you up on the guitar program as I’ve always dreamt of becoming a later bloomer Joni Mitchell. I think I would also set up a single-mom fund to save little families whose husbands/partners leave them in the lurch—so they could keep their homes and their kids could stay in the same schools b/c that is super traumatic for little kids to be uprooted just because some doofus decides he wants to head off into the sunset. I guess I’m asking for better family courts, but since we’ll probably never have them, I’d love to be the band-aid… :)
YES love the single mom house fund! And while we're improving women's lives, shouldn't we startup that fund for our elderly single women's beachside housing commune?
Yes!!! And we should get Melinda French Gates at Pivotal Ventures to help fund it!
TOTES!
This will be fun to ruminate on. So many possibilities!
There are... Once, when I was between writing jobs and crazy poor, I listed my only nice thing... an insanely spendy handbag from my old married life on The Real Real... to make up the shortfall in rent that month... And a friend secretly went on the site and bought it... and gave it back to me. I was so stunned. There are so many possibilities.
Your mom planting flowers in her neighbor’s garden! ðŸ˜
She was such a light. I want to remember to be that spontaneous.
A dear friend loves to do kind deeds disguised as "pranks." I've been party to sneakily cleaning someone's house when they're going through a hard time. When my MIL passed, and the meal train slowed down but our hearts were still heavy, she ordered all the ingredients for an easy meal, including cookies, delivered to our house from the other side of the country. Honestly, her pranks are the best!!
Oh, I LOVE this idea... again, I'm behind on responding b/c of computer annoyances... This is so great especially if you know that person's little special things... like fresh, clean sheets on the bed or even walking in and seeing folded laundry--all fluffed and perfect. Or just seeing the fridge stocked and gleaming... it can make all the difference!!! Huzzah to this!
Actually, I was on the receiving end of a good deed, today. I’m working remotely from my son and DIL’s house, this week. They’re both Marines and I’m helping out with taking care of the grandbabies... and didn’t realize until this morning that I’ve lost my wallet.
THEN I realized the random number that was trying to reach me (and the hubs) may be the person who found it?
YUP! I left it on the roof of my car while buckling the grandbabies into their car seats at the oldest’s preschool--tired Mimi walking, some things never change, LOL!
The best part of this story is that the person was driving a few cars behind me, saw my wallet fly off the roof of my car, stopped and turned back to retrieve it!
My husband is on his way to pick it up from this kind person (after dropping our oldest grandbaby at her preschool) but not before grabbing a gift card as a thank you for their being a solid human. 🥹
I am behind on responding because it has been a wacky computer day, but OMG... what an amazingly awesomely good Samaritan to notice and then to retrieve!!! WOW! What a solid human being! I am so impressed! And oh man, so much hassle SAVED with having to cancel and re-up cards and licenses. Taking the new DMV picture is the worst! What a cool person!!!