My kid has special needs as they say, and getting his hair cut is very stressful for him. So the woman who cuts my hair will come to our house and cut Jack's hair, quickly and beautifully. It still isn't easy for him, or something that he enjoys, but it is a thousand times better than the alternative.

She acts like it's no big deal at all but it is huge to us.

hmm. hmmm. hmmmm. i got nothin.
nothing to complain about either, just, you know, nothing in particular either way.

As I've mentioned before, my mom has ALS. She has lost the ability to speak and eat and her mobility is very limited. She is in a women's study group, which traditionally meets once or twice a month at a different member's home every time. She can't make it to most people's houses anymore, so the group got together and decided that they will now meet at my parents' house every time, and whoever would have hosted will bring the refreshments.

She and my dad used to take a French class, but she stopped going because she couldn't participate anymore and because she was afraid to use her walker to get across the busy street she would need to cross to get to class. Their classmates told my dad how much they missed her and wanted her to return, even if she couldn't participate. This was the impetus for my parents to get my mom a wheelchair so he could push her across the busy street. It means a lot to me how much my parents friends are expressing that they care and keeping my mom involved in life.

Nope, people still suck in my view (well, except you).

I really wish that we had more positive threads like this. Well, positive except for those who can't find anything positive to say, which is a shame.

In NYC, it's just been the usual; random strangers jamming with buskers and street musicians.

Right before Christmas, I was driving around getting ingredients for my big Friendsmas dinner. I pulled in to a public parking lot, which is metered with these paybox thingys. You have to go to a paybox and get a sticker and then go back to your car and put the sticker on the dashboard. It sucks because you never get that situation where you pull up to a meter and there's still time on it. Anyway, as I exited my car and walked to the paybox, a man who was leaving called out to me and gave me his sticker, which still had plenty of time on it. It was a Christmas miracle. (Ok not really, but it made me feel happy.)

Though I'm sure I've encountered more recent examples, MetaChat always strikes me as is a pretty good example of how people can be good. Every day here, I see someone ask for sympathy or celebration or support or just a place to let off some steam, and every day other people, most of whom have never even seen each others' faces or heard each others' actual names, come together to provide that. It's pretty amazing, really.

People are offering/giving us all sorts of hand-me-down baby stuff, which I really appreciate.

I think people are great. They hold the elevator, offer to help with doors when others are carrying heavy bags, keep an eye on their neighbor's property, give up their seats to people on the bus who need one . . . I mean yes, there are jerks, but I think I see examples of kindness, generosity and thoughtfulness on a pretty much daily basis. And people really get astonishingly wonderful when others are in trouble.

It is too bad icky people tend to be more memorable than the regular run of great folks.

I probably mentioned this before, but last week, I took my car in to JiffyLube for an oil change. Another customer there gave me a plastic key fob card, good for $7 off oil changes for life there. He said he got it through his job, and had been carrying it for a year, looking for someone to give it to.

Also, while shopping after work in my store, I saw a boy pushing a shopping cart knock over a display of boxed potato chips. He was probably about 12. He stopped and started restacking them; his mom came to help, and so did I. I thanked them repeatedly, because most people just take off! :^)

I wish people were nicer on a regular basis, so that random acts of kindness were so common that they are hard to remember., If that makes sense.

I finally accepted the need to buy curtains for my house and set aside some hard-earned bread to buy about $75 worth of curtains a couple weeks ago. While in the store vaguely pushing around my cart full of curtains, a woman came up to me and offered me her $10 off online coupon to that store. She said she didn't find anything to use it for and when that happens, she just looks around the store for "someone who is buying a LOT or someone with kids" and gives it to them. Right on lady, and thank you.