Kindness To Strangers

What is the Best Thing You Ever Did For a Stranger?

The things we do for helpless strangers who cannot repay or benefit us are one powerful measure of character, as well as a way of shaping it. When you feel safe in the world, it is possible to be more compassionate…and sometimes change lives.

When I look back over my life, I can think of one event that stands out. It happened in the early 80’s, I think. I was living near Los Angeles City College, working from home while my girlfriend Toni (Later to be Nicki’s mom) was at work. Late afternoon.

There was a knock on the door, and when I opened it, there stood a little old lady I’d neveer seen before. There was an odd mixture of fear and hope on her face, and she began to babble at me in a language I didn’t know. I recognized the signs of approaching despair and fatigue, and resisted the urge to shake my head and close the door.

Something was wrong. She needed help, and I had no idea how to help her. Her legs were shaking, and I figured that that, too, was either terror or exhaustion. Was someoe chasing her..?

I decided that, although I had no idea what to do, I was going to do everything in my power to help her. She was someone’s mother, or grandmother. Someone’s sisster, or daughter. She was a PERSON, and I could tell she that she was feeling like an object, lost in a sstrange land, and terrified.

I invited her in. she satt in my living room, shaking and starting to cry. I brought her a glasss of…