I want to pass on a very nice story I found on Front Porch Forum today. A woman in our area was driving home late at night when a rear tire on her car blew. She was in an area where there was no cell service and she apparently didn't know how to change a tire herself, so she put on her blinkers and proceeded slowly towards home, ten miles away. Then a pickup truck came along and a young woman asked if she needed help, but the writer was apprehensive - it was 1 a.m and this was a stranger and there was nobody to call for help. But the young woman persisted and finally the older woman agreed and together they began fixing the tire. But then another car pulled up with more young people in it, and they all pitched in and in no time had the spare tire on. Grateful, the older woman offered to pay them, but they declined and went on their way; she was able to get home safely. So her message on FPF was this: 

Well I hope those young adults see this post and know that you saved an old woman who was experiencing a full-fledged PTSD attack! You are the kindest group of young people and I can never thank you enough! Blessings to all of you!!!! 

I hope those young people did see her post, but more than that, I am so proud that we have young people like these in our community. There are more of them than most of us know, and many more of them than there are "yahoos" who bash in mailboxes, tear up roads and damage people's property. And it's not just the younger generation. We have lived here all our lives and the kindness, helpful attitude and generosity of our neighbors, service providers and young people in our area has always impressed us and makes us very proud to be Vermonters, living in a wonderful community.

In a topsy-turvey world such as today's, it's nice to hear about acts of kindness that happen every day. We don't hear about them often because the terrible things that happen in the nation and the world are usually what gets reported in our newspapers and newscasts. But there are these kind acts happening everywhere - there are level-headed people making good decisions and leading law-abiding, worthwhile lives, and that makes me both thankful and hopeful.

An embroidered pillow I saw recently kind of says it all: "Kindness is free. Sprinkle that stuff everywhere!"