Random acts of kindness

Yes Ann, there are many kind people out there, you are one of them.
Karma, get back what you give out, you know the drill...
I also had a airport experience in Budapest.
After a very very long haul 3 connection ordeal we "old folks" arrived home in Hungary.
This was my trip before last, so hard to remember when one is always coming and going as we are.
The lift to go down to the luggage carousal was broken we had to take the stairs down to get to our large bags.
We were overloaded with carry on's and small bags, I was post knee surgery and weak, I had a job holding onto the stair railing and carrying my gear. Husband's hand were full too.
Out of the blue, a big, muscle man in his 20's with the shaved hair just picked up my bags like the wind and they were left at the bottom of the stairs for me, darn it was so fast I could hardly call out a thank you, he just did it like nothing. Really made me feel both old and grateful at the same time.
Good deeds do not go undone, it's true, I admit I have personally escorted people across the st. in Budapest several times, if anyone is in worst shape then I am I help them out.
Just the old Girl Scout in me kicking in.

Kindness balances out the evil minority, proving the world has hope for a bright future.
Anything helps, opening a door for someone, or even just a smile.

Exactly right Fred  my man!
There is really too much going on in the world these days and it is time for those who are awake even if just slightly awake to give and not ask for payment.

I know I was born to be a giver, in any way possible, either through actual giving  of goods or giving of my time.
I enjoy it, get back double what I give.
My lot in life... Hate to see people in misery or pain, hurts me more then I care to say.
Giving and helping does not take away from anyone it actually adds to ones life.
I am not religious but I do believe in giving if one can of ones time energy or gifts.
Karma baby...

I guess this is Pay It Forward in action Hungary style.

I've done my very small bit albeit not too often but sometimes, as opportunity arises and of course as the mood takes me.  One I did and the other I saw interestingly on the Cogwheel Railway.

1) I was out with Mrs Fluffy and the kids whilst in my gas guzzling 4WD just messing about in the snow/mud off-roading and in the middle of a rather quiet forested area we saw some people stuck in the snow with their car.  It was something like a VW Polo - i.e. lightweight.  So by some luck I happened to have a large heavy rope in the back.  I pulled them out.  Talk about (their) luck I should happen by and be up for it. 

2)  I was on the Cogwheel railway and some kids about 15 years old got on with their bikes (I was with my bike) and the ticket inspectors were suddenly there after we set off from Janos Korhaz.  From what I could observe (not speaking the language) one of them didn't have the right tickets or didn't have  one for his bike.  There was a bit of a discussion and the ticket inspector was going to take down his details for the fine.  Suddenly one of the other passengers, just gave him a ticket.   Problem solved. No hope of repayment of course and none asked.  I told Mrs Fluffy about this and she said it was actually quite common to give people tickets who are caught out like that. Something worth remembering.

Unlikely to be a random act of kindness. Those include no monetary exchange.

This is rather more likely an example of how some homeless earn enough to buy their daily bread. That is, the person helping you was hoping for a fiscal renumeration (i.e. a tip) for their help. Nothing wrong with it all. But is was, basically and at it core, really a completely normal sales pitch and business transaction: they did some work, you paid them for it. And kudos to them, as that is better than simply asking for a handout. You simply bought the service they were selling.

I get where you are coming from but my homeless guy never asked for money . I was the one that decided to give him a tip. It was a really long way involving the metro and the airport bus.
A tip or not I knew he genuinely wanted to help me even though I was a bit wobbly about it when he first picked up my heavy bag and carried it down the metro steps. It is so sad that such a nice kind person has nothing.

anns wrote:

I get where you are coming from but my homeless guy never asked for money . I was the one that decided to give him a tip.

He did not need to ask. He was counting on human nature. 

And do not forget that a great salesman will walk away with your money in his pocket, after selling you something you did not need, and leave you thinking it was your idea to buy it. That is why they are great at salesmanship.

FWIIW, I alway tip those that help me in such circumstances. But I also understand the game we are playing at that time.

Sort of reminds me of the time we were in Belize.
Stayed in the city for four days.
Every morning a local man would attach himself to us.
Tourists with a couple of bucks on them.
He appointed himself as our tour guide, couldn't brush him off until my husband gave him enough money for his services for him to go into the local bar.
Every morning when we left our hotel this local man was waiting for us, the last day my husband just gave him money without  letting  him  give us the grand tour of the city .
paid him basically just to go away.

We were completely out of our comfort zone there and last thing we wanted was a local guy starting some sort of trouble with us, much easier to get rid of him for a few bucks.
We were so out of our element we didn't know exactly what to expect from this hanger on.
Should of listened to the tourist agent that told us to avoid the city at all costs. Husband wanted to see the "real deal" we saw it, not overly impressed.
Have to know your surrounding when going on adventures, when in doubt just pay for peace.
I have been the recipient of good deeds and also been the one to do good deeds.
The human experience, have to treat each other kindly or all hope is lost.

Not sure if this insane, funny tale about one of our odd experiences in Erd Hungary is a random act of kindness or just being a good neighbor and then some.
We lived in my MIL 2 lot size home after she passed away.
Were staying there until it was sold no matter what or how long it took.
Took 18 months time.
Got to know many neighbors while living there.
One family that lived in the house next door had been my MIL neighobr for over 30 years.
A friendly but so strange family.
They were hard core country people, moving to Erd was like moving to the big city for them.
Have many stories about the drunk man of the house but this one is funny, I think.
He was alone drunk out of his mind and decided to wash the kitchen floor.
He slipped and dislocated his shoulder.
He walked over to our place to ask for help.
My husband called up his wife who was at work.
She refused to be seen in public with him when he was drunk.
We piled him into our car and took him to the local clinic in Erd to get his arm set.
What a trip that was, he was so drunk he didn't even feel an oz. of pain, it hurt just to look at him, his arm was hanging down to his knees, total dislocation.
Took him home after they replaced his shoulder in the joint.
He barely even remembered us taking him the next day when we asked how he was doing.
He was soon off riding his bike to the local pub, his arm in a sling.
I doubt most people would take him into the clinic personally, most would just call for an ambulance.
This same neighbor saw us leaving for the lake one morning.
He invited himself along for the day.
I was not thrilled but being a good neighbor thought it wouldn't hurt to have him tag along.
He was drunk as usual, husband didn't mind he didn't know how drunk he really was.
Got to the lake and we had to babysit him all day long.
He was falling over and everyone was looking our way.
Husband had to go into the water with the man to make sure he didn't drown.
From the shoreline I noticed my husband diving going under water, up and diving again, looked insane, couldn't figure out why he was looking so silly.
When they returned to our spot he told me he had been diving to find the neighbors teeth!!
What?
The idiot had dropped his dentures in the lake and my husband found them for him.
In the confusion that came with the drunk neighbor's company, my husband had forgotten to shut of the car's headlights.
The car would not start in the late afternoon.
Had no cell phone then so husband decided to walk to the nearest phone, rather a long walk away.
I had to sit in the car for nearly 2 hours in the heat babysitting this man since he was in no shape to be left alone in our car.
He was obnoxious, trying to kiss my hand and saying his one word he knew in English, "Lady". I was so freaked out I took my beach chair and sat in the road away from this nut case.
After that "fun" day with our man next door, we had to leave for the lake early before he woke up so he wouldn't attach himself to us again.
Being kind is one thing being a babysitter for another person is another thing.
We learned our lesson about being a bit too kind , some people sadly do not know when they have crossed the line He was the neighbor from hell.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

paid him basically just to go away.

I use to spend a lot of time for business In many such countries. I long ago learned to get someone as "my guy" on my payroll the first day I arrive. They will chase away others like this. And I can count on them to organize my daily needs, such as daily transportation, without issue.

Yes, it all sounds terribly elitist. And it a way, it was. But I was there to work, not to deal with local cons.

The trick, which is not so easy, is knowing who to hire for such a job. Lots of cons out there.

My husband is also a "man of the world" traveled allot as a tourist and adventure seeker and as a one time refugee from HU.
He is usually good at "reading" people.
He also agreed that this was "our man" let him show us around for 30 min. each morning, gave him his pay and we were good to go.
Lucky he was the only tagger on er that we attracted.
It does seem elitist but when in Rome...
I am not that adventurous on my own, that's for sure.
Found another couple of "helpers" when we arrived at our next stop in Belize, in the rain forest area.
2 local guys, all was good when my husband sprang to buy them beer, he bought it before getting the squeeze, turns out they were nice guys arranged a boat rental for us.
One of the guys told us straight out that he was actually in jail, they let out minor offenders during daylight hours so they can do their family stuff, smoke their stuff as long as they returned at night they were free to roam around, a bit scray!