65 random acts of kindness equals...???
Doug Eaton wanted to celebrate his birthday on June 11 in a big way, so he turned to his friends for ideas -- ended up marking the day with random acts of kindness, including handing out free money to people passing by.
"I asked a bunch of my friends on Facebook what should I do on my 65th and I got a whole long list of stuff," he told KFOR-TV. "And one of my friends said, 'Why don't you do 65 random acts of kindness?'"
So that's exactly what he did, spending 65 minutes standing on the corner of NW 39th Street and May Avenue in Oklahoma City, handing out $5 bills to people who passed by. He told his Facebook friends that he handed out more than $375, but the response -- and the amount of good cheer he shared -- was priceless.
From a distance, Eaton looked a bit like any other panhandler holding a sign at a street corner. But instead of a plea for money, his sign read: "I have a home… and a car… and a job. Do you need a few bucks for some coffee?" Some people drove by several times, wondering if they read his sign correctly. Many people murmured "I can't believe this" or "bless you" as he handed them the cash. Others were reluctant to take his money, and he had to tell them "It's OK, it's just a blessing" and explain that this was his way of celebrating his milestone birthday. "One obviously needy truck holding a family came around the second time after misunderstanding the first time, to give ME $2 just to bless ME for what I was doing," he told his friends on Facebook. "I took their money AND gave them a $5. We kind of traded blessings."
"I think this is the craziest guy I have ever seen in my life and it's fantastic!" one driver told KFOR. "I am enjoying the moment out here."
"It's just been fantastic," Eaton told the TV station. "Some people who don't take the money just say, 'Man, I love what you are doing. I won't take it but would you give it to someone who needs it'."
The 65 minutes spent handing out money wasn't Eaton's only random act of kindness for the day. According to his notes, which he posted to Facebook, he also said "keep the change" when he paid $50 for his $12 haircut and $10 for his $1.09 cup of coffee, bought lunch for several diners at a local restaurant, and gave bus fare to a stranger and his daughter, among other things.
"This day has been one of the biggest blessings of my recent life," he told his Facebook friends. "I don't know if I can wait until another birthday to do this again. But what if it became a habit? Or what if everyone or a lot of people did their birthday number of random acts of kindness on their birthday? How good would that be?"
"I asked a bunch of my friends on Facebook what should I do on my 65th and I got a whole long list of stuff," he told KFOR-TV. "And one of my friends said, 'Why don't you do 65 random acts of kindness?'"
So that's exactly what he did, spending 65 minutes standing on the corner of NW 39th Street and May Avenue in Oklahoma City, handing out $5 bills to people who passed by. He told his Facebook friends that he handed out more than $375, but the response -- and the amount of good cheer he shared -- was priceless.
From a distance, Eaton looked a bit like any other panhandler holding a sign at a street corner. But instead of a plea for money, his sign read: "I have a home… and a car… and a job. Do you need a few bucks for some coffee?" Some people drove by several times, wondering if they read his sign correctly. Many people murmured "I can't believe this" or "bless you" as he handed them the cash. Others were reluctant to take his money, and he had to tell them "It's OK, it's just a blessing" and explain that this was his way of celebrating his milestone birthday. "One obviously needy truck holding a family came around the second time after misunderstanding the first time, to give ME $2 just to bless ME for what I was doing," he told his friends on Facebook. "I took their money AND gave them a $5. We kind of traded blessings."
"I think this is the craziest guy I have ever seen in my life and it's fantastic!" one driver told KFOR. "I am enjoying the moment out here."
"It's just been fantastic," Eaton told the TV station. "Some people who don't take the money just say, 'Man, I love what you are doing. I won't take it but would you give it to someone who needs it'."
The 65 minutes spent handing out money wasn't Eaton's only random act of kindness for the day. According to his notes, which he posted to Facebook, he also said "keep the change" when he paid $50 for his $12 haircut and $10 for his $1.09 cup of coffee, bought lunch for several diners at a local restaurant, and gave bus fare to a stranger and his daughter, among other things.
"This day has been one of the biggest blessings of my recent life," he told his Facebook friends. "I don't know if I can wait until another birthday to do this again. But what if it became a habit? Or what if everyone or a lot of people did their birthday number of random acts of kindness on their birthday? How good would that be?"
wow...I am stunned! This is so cool...why don't we see more of this??? Most times when I see someone at the store who is a few pennies or even dollars short, I pull out my change and say, "here, I got it for ya." They get all embarrassed and many refuse, instead putting something back! I was at a coffee shop a few years ago. I go through the drive through every day and saw the same gal every day. One morning I forgot my cash card. She GAVE me my latte anyway! She said, "aw, just hit me when you can...or not! It's all good!" Wow! If the world were this way more often, we wouldn't need wars.
ReplyDeletea wonderful story...we need more of these!
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