My new signature

I wanted to post for the first time the reason for changing my
signature. Last Sunday at the liquor store where I went to cash
my check for the ot I worked the week before. As I drove up and
parked and hopped out of my car. This tiny petite, very young black
lady, was meandering back and forth out towards the street, in
front of the store. Looking of fear and confusion, as we made
eye contact I was surprized to see her fearlessly bolt straight
for me.
Now let me just say at this point, that my appearence is anything
but approachable. My build, my stride, serve to compliment a
rather uncivilized long hair and handle bar mustache more menacing
appearence. Far from approachable even to gangless gang bangers.
Yet, this sweet little person approached me out of several others
I would have thought she would approach far before my viking
looking ass.
Never the less as she approached me, I could see the tears well
up in her face as she shivered from the cold high desert wind.
She spoke in a confirming accent of what she was saying. I quote,
" Hello can you please help me with someone to talk to. I am lost
from Nigeria".
Do I have to tell you I melted like putty in her hands? Even tho i'm
very aware of cons, as it turns out she was legit. But after asking a few
questions I was convinced that she was either a good enough actress
to go ahead and let myself be fooled. Or she was no actress at all.
I told her, "Look wait right here, ( in front of the door) let me go
inside and get some more money. I'm going to take you to my wife".
After business, I went thru the door.
She was waiting right there where I told her, but became as expected,
apprehensive when I told her to get in the car. She asked in hesitation
where my house was and I pointed to it being visible thru an open
field, but still around the block. I assured her sternly speaking, " Look
little lady, you we're right to approach me, don't let any second
thoughts mess all that up for you now. You will not be harmed."
That was all it took, she hopped in the car and long story short. Her
Dad had brought her here from nigeria. She was staying with her sister whom,
for what ever reason, dispensed with her and basically tossed her to
the wolves.
My wife made sure the proper authorities got involved so she could get the
safest outcome possible, for her debacle. After pondering the good feeling
it gave me to do this sporting deed and not knowing if it was even okay to
feel good about doing someone a solid, pondering this in my head for several
days. I realized something. My sig.

And the people said: Amen.

a reply to: randyvs

You, sir, are a very good person.

That's the way it should be - Help not out of hope of reward but because someone needs it. It's the truest charity.

So many people help, not because they care about the people on the other end, but because they want everyone to see how good they are.

Good on you randy. I remember talking with you on the phone a while back when i was down and out. You a good man indeed. Keep paying it forward always. I hope god gives you special blessings for your acts of kindness.

a reply to: ketsuko

Ah! The Father is Good Ket.

a reply to: The GUT

How are you doing wise old friend?

a reply to: proob4

I see you're still hang'n tuff guy.

a reply to: randyvs

I like what you did... and your new signature is a wonderful reminder of what is good and right.

Long hair and stash aside, you're one of them there good guys

Being over fifty and disabled, I wouldn't have taken any chances and just offered to call the cops to help her. It's nice that all turned out well for you and this little lady though.

a reply to: Night Star

I have no fear when I'm in the right Star. But that doesn't
blind me from seeing what you're saying either. I just gave
her what little she was asking of me. Someone she could talk
to and help her to figure out what she wanted to do.

a reply to: randyvs

I'm not sure if everything has a purpose in life or not. Maybe it was the 'most high' that caused you to extend the hand of charity and maybe it was your genes? You've always come over as a warm and genial guy so there's a good chance you did what was right because you knew it was right.

You might like this anecdote as it supports your belief that the 'most high' pulls all the strings.

I saw a tall, old lady who looked distressed and lost and pulled over the car to ask if she was okay? She was old-fashioned to the point of having talcum powder on her face and those little red circles of make-up on her cheeks. Turned out she was in her 80s and visiting her late husband's grave and had gotten lost. She was a Carmelite Catholic.

She was easily 6 feet tall with a long coat, skinny frame and a handful of dead flowers from the grave.

I ended up giving her a lift to a bus station some six or so miles away. Man, it was a great experience. She told some tales of her youth and we even sung 'Show Me the Way to Go Home' as we drove into town. Peggy was her name.

When I dropped her off, she told me about her daughter. She said her kid didn't come down for breakfast one morning on a school day. When she went upstairs, she found her dead in her bed aged 14 or 15 (I forget the exact age). This would have been back in the 1950s.

She then said that her daughter had sent me in her hour of need. As you know, I'm not a religious person and for a second I almost said something sceptical. Instead, I agreed that it was possible and 'who knows?' As she shut the car door and walked away, goosebumps flared up and I was struck by how extraordinary this little encounter had been. Her beliefs in God and that her daughter was watching over her were all confirmed and that's exactly how it should have been.

She left behind some tiny dead flowers on the passenger seat and I drove away with a profound case of the 'Twilight Zones.' I kept those flowers because it was a moment in time when it felt like something extraordinary touched us both.

a reply to: Kandinsky

Your lil story Kandy is squeezing water from my eyes.
Good God, or not, I love your story. And FYI, you
aren't any more religious than myself, as a vague way
of saying something.

a reply to: randyvs

Religious or not, it might not matter as long as people do something kind for strangers. Let the chips fall...

You're a good guy Randy and you did what came naturally.

a reply to: Kandinsky

You're a good guy Randy and you did what came naturally.

This is where it gets complicated for me. Because I did something good
when I had the opportunity. In my mind, in no way, makes me a " good guy".
Does this good turn forgive all the wrong I have done? No. Does the wrong
I have done make me a bad person? Hell yes. See I believe that to
walk this earth constantly doing only that which is good and righteous.
Then I might actually be considered good. But for all I've done that is wrong
even in the slightest way. I am not good. I don't even have the right to feel
good about it when I do sometghing good. So in my mind, the only way I can
excuse feeling good about something I've done for another person? Is by my
sig.
So I can't accept what you say Kandy. That I'm a good person. I'm not, if you
look at my past I've hurt a lot of people. Some by blood, many by their
feelings. Still I can't deny the good feeling it gave me to know this lady was
made safe. Not by me, but thru me, is how I can allow the feeling.

i commend you for the assistance you gave that poor young lady. and i wish to point out that regardless of what faith inspired you to act, in the end, YOU acted. no one else. a human helped out another human being, not for profit but out of genuine compassion. i see that as reason to celebrate the human condition and leave the credit there.

a reply to: randyvs

Nice story. I enjoyed it.

“He who sees all beings in his Self and his Self in all beings, he never suffers; because when he sees all creatures within his true Self, then jealousy, grief and hatred vanish.”
― Paramananda, The Upanishads

Not because you are a great person. But because The Most High is answering prayer thru you.

i think your intentions are good. but you think you a great person instructed by god,
which would make me think your a deluded fruitcake.

politly i'd say 'i'm sure youre not'.
but you probably are

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: randyvs

You, sir, are a very good person.

That's the way it should be - Help not out of hope of reward but because someone needs it. It's the truest charity.

So many people help, not because they care about the people on the other end, but because they want everyone to see how good they are.

Statement of the year is above! Right on the button in my opinion.
Good stuff Randy, I have never met you in person but I get good vibes every time I read one of your posts or threads.
S&F
Regards, a smiling Iwinder

a reply to: randyvs

Because I did something good
when I had the opportunity. In my mind, in no way, makes me a " good guy".
Does this good turn forgive all the wrong I have done? No. Does the wrong
I have done make me a bad person? Hell yes. See I believe that to
walk this earth constantly doing only that which is good and righteous.
Then I might actually be considered good. But for all I've done that is wrong
even in the slightest way. I am not good. I don't even have the right to feel
good about it when I do sometghing good.

i would call that a mental illness. not a serious one, but still an illness. its a shame to think someone as helpful as what you did could turn around and look at themselves like a bad guy because of something they did when they were 12. loosen up and let go. holding onto that shame and self-vilification is NOT a healthy response by any stretch of the imagination.