Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 6, 1994 TAG: 9403030089
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By Kathy Wilson staff writer
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But most were total strangers whom you'd never had a chance to thank.
We hope they'll recognize themselves here. Perhaps you'll recognize yourself.
Don't stop looking for those random acts of kindness. Thanks to your enthusiastic response, our Kindness Revolution will be remounted sometime in the future.
"This bud's for you"
Marcia Donat of Roanoke was in the checkout line at Wal-Mart when she met the lady with the plants.
She was ahead of Donat, buying two orange blossoms potted in tiny orange jack-o'-lanterns.
"I commented to her that I thought they were unusually attractive. She smiled and said, `Yes, aren't they?' "
When she paid for her things, she turned and placed one of the plants in Donat's hands.
"I was so surprised I could hardly say thank you," wrote Donat.
"She made my day."
Pizza guy delivers a slice of humanity
Around 10 p.m. on Feb. 9 - in the midst of the month's major ice storm - Ann Johnson lost control of her car on Electric Road and landed smack in the middle of the median strip.
"Cars passed and passed me," she said. She was nervous and frightened.
Until rescue came in the form of Mark Sable, a white knight who was delivering Domino's Pizza.
He pushed her back onto the street and cleared her windshield wipers so they were working again.
She thinks he's one of the "nicest fellas" she's ever met.
While Johnson was thinking kindness, she asked we put in a good word for her postman David Cundiff.
"He's just terrific."
Buddy, can you spare a key?
Jennifer Wimmer, 15, of Floyd was in Roanoke shopping at Sam's with her mother when they accidentally locked the keys in the car.
They tried to call for help, but her father wasn't home and no one in the area had spare keys.
For almost four hours the two struggled in the cold, to no avail.
As it began to get dark, the two gave up and started to head inside.
"Just as we were giving up, a man came up and asked if we were having trouble," wrote Jennifer.
He had a tool that unlocked the door, and within two minutes they were in the car.
When they turned to thank him, he was gone.
"We still have no idea who he was. But thank you. And God bless you."
Neighbors provide intensive care
Catherine Chesnutt was only wearing her housecoat and slippers when she went out to the mailbox in late December to pick up the morning paper.
It was cold and slippery and when she fell, she fell hard.
"My neighbor's little girl came running to help, and I asked her to get someone to call 911," she wrote.
Chesnutt had badly broken her leg.
She returned with her mother, who covered her with a blanket. And it was only after she was on the stretcher in the ambulance that the two agreed to leave her side.
"I don't know what would have happened if it weren't for those two kind souls.
"Angels? To me that's what Elizabeth and Denise Evans will be for the rest of my life."
Woman robbed at supermarket gets her food thanks to man's generosity
Lenore Michaelson of Salem only had her head in the freezer at Harris Teeter for a few seconds.
But it was long enough for someone to steal her purse right out of the cart.
An 80-year-old woman living on a very small pension, she lost more than $50 that day. "The loss of even that sum was quite painful throughout the remainder of the month."
Though distraught at being robbed and unable to pay for her groceries, things began to look up when she reached the front of the store.
A man standing in line offered to pay for her groceries and was adamant about not wanting to be paid back.
Covington woman receives auto repair from Grand Piano
Jean Bennington of Covington was on the way home from taking a 75-year-old cancer patient and his 72-year-old wife to Roanoke for their doctor appointments.
They were on Virginia 220 near Gala when her tire blew out.
Despite the fact that her husband manages Covington Tire Co., she had never changed a tire herself.
"I was so unnerved by all of this and yet thankful my passengers were safe."
Rescue came in the form of a Grand Piano truck.
Ricky LaPradd and David Fairfax were headed in the opposite direction when they passed the car.
They turned around, changed her tire and advised her to drive very slowly.
It was only after following her to Covington to make sure she made it home safely that the two headed off to make their furniture delivery.
Five-and-dime customer with a million-dollar heart
It was pouring rain, and the car was parked two blocks away when two elderly sisters finished their shopping at Woolworth's on Campbell Avenue.
They don't know who the young woman was who, after seeing them standing in the doorway, insisted they take her umbrella. She explained that it was just a short walk to the Shenandoah Building where she worked.
Stranger gives woman stranded at garage 45-minute ride home
The service station was unable to finish Mildred Amos' car before closing time because it needed a part. She was stuck.
She and the service station manager were talking about where she could rent a car when a woman standing nearby offered to take her home.
Amos lives 45 minutes away.
"I can't remember her name, but I will always remember her kindness."
Salem Avenue motorists filled with holiday spirit
Regular motorists on Salem Avenue usually wave and smile at Narcissus Bishop, a school crossing guard for Hurt Park Elementary School.
"But this past Christmas, two strangers gave me gifts just because of the smile and waves I returned to them. Thank you, Salem Avenue motorists!"
Blacksburg neighbors just like family
One day Allen Linkous just turned up on John Olinger's doorstep in Blacksburg prepared to install a ceiling fan.
Richard and Sarah Thomas took Olinger and his wife over to the Bedford Elks Home to see the Christmas lights, then took them out to dinner.
Stewart Quesenberry just shows up and clears the driveway when it snows.
"None of them, not one, would let us pay them a cent," marveled Olinger. "Contrary to what people think, there are lots of good people in the world."
Woman gets $12 welcome to Roanoke
The day Susie Fetter moved to Roanoke, she headed to the supermarket hot, exhausted and thoroughly disheveled. She hadn't yet opened a bank account and was prepared to pay cash cartful of things things she needed to stock her kitchen.
She came up $12 short.
Without hesitation, the woman behind her in line handed her $12 and refused to give her name so that Fetter could reimburse her.
"What a welcome to this city!"
Orange juice and the long-distance cyclist
Patrick Beale of Roanoke was on a solo bicycle tour of the East Coast when he stopped at a rural post office in Maryland and decided to write some postcards.
"I was BEAT!"
At one point, a car he'd noticed leave the post office some 15 minutes earlier returned. Beale figured she'd forgotten to mail something.
"The next thing I know, this woman hands me a cold quart of orange juice and said, `Here, I think you could use this,' then she just drove away."
Beale thinks he remembered to thank her, but he's really not certain.
"I was just so surprised."
He says this act of kindness gave him the impetus to try and conduct his life with "malice toward none and charity for all."
Injured woman finds angel of mercy outside Woolworth's
On Dec. 28, Velma Brookman and her husband were leaving Woolworth's in downtown Roanoke when she tripped on a storm drain and badly broke her arm and wrist.
As her husband sprinted off to bring the car, a man scooped her up in his arms and carried her inside a clothing store nearby to make her as comfortable as possible while she waited.
"I don't remember anything about him. Or the store. I was in dreadful pain," she said.
Her arm is still in terrible condition; she's been through several operations.
She'd like to thank the gentleman and those who worked in the store for their kindness.
Bag boy opens heart and wallet at Harris-Teeter
J.E. Trail came up $2 short in the checkout line at the Harris Teeter on West Main Street in Salem.
"The bag boy handed me two dollars," he said. "The bag boy!"
Trail has since repaid the debt, and does not know his name.
"But I sure hope he reads this. I am still so surprised someone would do that!"
Guardian angels at Tanglewood help woman find her car
Mrs. Carson was Christmas shopping in Brendle's at Tanglewood Mall when time got away from her.
"It got really dark, very quickly. And I couldn't find my car."
Two women approached her in the parking lot and asked if she needed help. She told them, no, she was sure it was there somewhere.
The women seemed concerned about her being out by herself in the dark, so they stayed with her until she located her car.
"It was so nice to have complete strangers be so concerned."
What goes around, comes around
A family headed home to Newport News was stranded on Interstate 64. John Miller of Buena Vista watched several cars pass and not offer help, so he pulled over.
He let the man use his jack, and when they found the spare tire was flat, Miller gave them a can of Fix a Flat he kept for such emergencies.
Then Miller followed the family into Lexington to make sure they made it there to buy a tire.
"He wanted to pay me, but I wouldn't accept any money," recalled Miller.
"I just told him that if he'd stop some time to help the next person who needs help, that'd be enough thanks for me."
Last year Miller was on a trip through North Carolina when, on taking a shortcut through a field, his car sank in mud up to the hubcaps.
Just minutes later, a man in a pickup truck showed up and pulled Miller back on the road.
He refused to take any money.
"I asked my wife, `Where did he come from?' There were no people. No cars. Then all of a sudden, a man with a pickup and a tow rope.
"It was like the good Lord was repaying me for the good deed I'd done the previous year."
Man out of gas finds woman full of benevolence
When Robert Hartsock of Dublin ran out of gas after midnight last summer, the employee inside the convenience store near where this happened refused to turn on the pumps.
"The door was locked, and I yelled through the window and explained I was out of gas."
The employee still refused to turn on the pumps.
A young woman talking on a nearby pay phone overheard his dilemma and offered him the gas she had inside her gallon gas can in the trunk.
"She just gave me the gas and refused to take any money for it. Then she put her car lights on so I could see to put it in my car and waited to make sure my car would start before she pulled away.
"To this day, I have no idea who she was, but it was refreshing to know she cared enough to help."
Floyd student defines "kind": Grandmother
"My grandmother always wakes up early in the morning," wrote Chrissy Reed, 10, of Floyd Elementary School of her grandmother Lucille Reed. "Why? Because she always makes breakfast for me, my brother and sister and keeps us after school. If that's not kind, I don't know what you call it."
Men pitch in during ice storm to get neighbor to the hospital
When Mrs. Cleo Faires' husband became ill during the ice storm and had to be taken to the hospital, a host of angels of mercy swooped in to help them out.
Clarence Shepherd drove them to the hospital, even though he had some problems trying to get them there.
The ice on the Faires driveway was so bad that John Graybill and his son, J.R., had to come and chip it away. This despite the fact that John himself had a miserable cold. Had the ice not been removed, Faires says it would have been several days before she could have gotten her car out.
As they were finally leaving the house to take her husband to the hospital, Faires fell on the ice and lost her glasses.
"They had frozen immediately to the ice and Clarence had to go inside and pour hot water over them to get them free of the ice."
One Angel thanks another: `my sister'
"When some people locked me in my playhouse my sister, Alena Spangler, let me out," wrote Angel Spangler, 10, of Floyd Elementary. "I hugged her a lot. I thanked my sister for being there."
Woman receives more than welcome from neighbor on moving day
When time came for Annette Anderson to move into the Victorian home she and her husband bought in Wytheville, they didn't count on his having to be out of town on moving day.
"Like an angel from heaven, Mrs. Elsie Josephine Ferguson showed up at the door with soft drinks and ice. And when the moving truck arrived with 13,000 pounds of our belongings, she rolled up her sleeves and announced, `I'm here to work.'
"I have bad degenerative arthritis, and for five days she worked with me," Anderson said. "I didn't know her at all. Now I feel so lucky to have her for a neighbor."
Woman thanks stranger for saving her sister and niece
On a morning back in late January, Donna Wright's sister, Cindy Fain, and her niece, Brandi Mills, were in an automobile accident near Spencer.
"Had the good Lord not been looking over them, they very well might have drowned."
A man driving a van arrived and offered blankets and reassurance.
Those who love Cindy and Brandi would like to thank Dana Hensley.
"You were our angel that day."
Mother thanks driver for giving son ride on rainy day
"My son walks to work. One morning in January, between 5 and 5:30 a.m., he was walking along Wiley Drive in the pouring rain when a lady that worked at the hospital stopped and gave him a ride right to the door of his employment. She was truly an angel of mercy and I just wanted to say thank you to her and God bless."
This postman always rings nice
When Valerie Struchtemeyer and her family moved to Roanoke from Kansas City, Mo., in July, she met her mailman at the box to introduce herself.
"This wonderful man gave me his home phone number and said if there was anything he or his wife could help us with to just call."
They receive large packages from Missouri several times a month, which he delivers right to the front door. And while he is there he always asks about the family.
"He reminds me of a mailman that I had as a child. He took a minute to say `hi' to the kids. We all got our mail on time, but also had a friend."
Struchtemeyer found out last month that the post office is changing his route.
"I will truly miss looking out and seeing his friendly, reliable face everyday.
"To me, this is human kindness. His name is Bill Booth."
He's Lafayette's favorite neighbor, by George!
George J. Craighead of Lafayette is reported to be the "kindest man in the whole world."
Not just for the one or two kind things he's done lately, says Pat Myers, but for the thousands of kind things he's done over the years.
He is general repairman and handyman for all his friends and neighbors.
He's always the first to dig deep in his pockets when someone is facing a financial crisis, or needs food or some type of assistance.
"He has a heart of gold and we love him and I would like to see him recognized in the paper as I am sure all of his friends and neighbors would," wrote Myers on behalf of her whole community.
He does his all - and spryly, too!
"My neighbor Loyd Drawbond is kindness personified," wrote Marian Miller.
He brings her trash can in from the curb every week. Does the same for three or four others, too.
"He's pretty handy with a snow shovel and an ice scraper, too. And if I need transportation to or from the airport or a garage, Loyd is available.
"He's no spring chicken, but he's sure spry as one!"
Man returns flying wallet
When Kathy Hatcher got home from a shopping trip to Lowes on Apperson Drive, she discovered her wallet was missing.
She went back and searched and searched, but to no avail.
The next day she received a call from a man who works at General Electric in Salem. He'd been sitting in Lil Richards when he saw her wallet fly off the roof of the car.
"I was very lucky that there are still some honest people in this world. Thanks again!"
Hardy woman lauded for placing others before self
When Deborah looked out her front door to the park across the street on a chilly day last fall, she saw an elderly man lying on the ground under a tree.
Deborah asked her husband to check on the man, but her husband told her the man was probably only drunk and had passed out.
So Deborah slowly walked to the park to where the man was lying. Half-frightened, she stooped down to make sure he was breathing.
She asked him if he needed help. He asked Deborah to please call the police, that he was "just an old man."
"Deborah is the best friend I have ever had," wrote Sherry Williford of Hardy. "She cares about people no matter who or what they are like. Even if they are `just an old man.' "
Act of trust makes antique bracelet priceless
When Elizabeth Korngay was at an antiques show in North Carolina, she fell in love with an antique bracelet. During the show, her husband sneaked back to buy it for her as a gift, but he didn't have any checks with him and the dealer couldn't accept a credit card.
The dealer - a total stranger - told her husband to take the bracelet and mail him a check later.
"This act of trust makes me feel so good whenever I wear the bracelet," she said.
He had it fixed in no time flat
As Judy Slusher and her mother were headed from home in Christiansburg to Pulaski on Interstate 81, they had a flat tire.
"It was so cold and windy, you could hardly stand outdoors."
But that wasn't the worst problem. Slusher had no idea how to change a tire.
"I stood outside, hoping someone would feel sorry for us, but people just kept looking and driving by."
Finally, a nice young man stopped. He'd just gotten off his night job at a service station in Radford and was on his way home to Wytheville.
"He was so kind and considerate. He didn't think about being tired or bitter cold. Only about being able to help someone else.
"His name was Kevin Ashlin."
Roanoke County police do more than protect and serve
Marjorie E. Bonney wants to thank Chief John Cease and the entire Roanoke County Police Department, where she is a part-time employee.
When her husband was hospitalized for a month recently, Cease told her that the department would become her family, since she had no family nearby, and that she would not be alone during a time when she was making some very big decisions about treatment and care.
"Without their generous assistance through this period, it would have been necessary for one of my daughters in Indiana to disrupt her life and come to give mom moral support."
She was there until more help came
"My husband was shopping at the Troutville Winn-Dixie when he saw Claudine Jacques, an employee of the Bank of Fincastle, bring in an elderly, cold, disoriented lady she'd found wandering around in the parking lot into the store's management.
"This compassionate lady was staying with the distraught person until her family could be with her," wrote Dreama Waid-Johnson.
"Mrs. Claudine Jacques is typical of an angel who would go out of her way to show compassion for another."
When car breaks down, thrift shop manager offers haven and a ride
A woman wrote to sing the praises of Donna Carter, the manager of the Flowers Thrift Store on Melrose Avenue.
The woman's car would not start, and "Donna was very helpful in offering her phone and eventually a ride home rather than have me walk. She is such a nice person for showing such kindness to a total stranger."
Sixth-grader thanks stranger who returned treasured watch
"One time I lost my watch at school," wrote Amanda Lester, who's in the sixth grade at Andrew Lewis Middle School in Salem. "I was very unhappy. My watch was very special to me because it was from my grandmother. The next day, when I went to school, someone had found it and they gave it back to me.
"I was so thankful. I never thought I would ever see that watch again."
Lexington 12-year-old lends hand and heart at Wal-Mart
Jennifer Clements was browsing at CDs in the electronics section of the Wal-Mart in Lexington, when she noticed a handicapped man in a wheelchair trying to make a large electronics purchase.
After he paid, he tried to hold the purchase on his lap and roll the wheelchair out of the department, but he was having a very difficult time.
Jennifer offered to take him to his vehicle. It was pouring rain. Once she placed his large package in his vehicle, she offered to help him, too. He assured her he could manage and offered his thanks.
Jennifer is only 12 years old, wrote her aunt, Joyce S. Broughman.
"Thanks, Alfred!"
Alta Burgess of Blacksburg wants to thank her mailman, Alfred.
"He brings the mail to my door when the weather is bad, instead of just leaving it in the box on the street."
Grateful neighbor crowns "King of Kindness"
Jimmy Jones of Roanoke brings Virginia Lucas her newspapers and mail to her door when the weather is bad and also takes her trash can to the curb and back.
"I nominate him for the King of Kindness!"
While zoo worker cares for animals, Ellis cares for zoo workers
During the ice storms, Laurie Spangler worked at Mill Mountain Zoo, and getting around was difficult. They weren't able to park in the usual employee area due to the ice, so they parked in the public lot and walked.
Later when the city plowed the lot, the frozen snow made it difficult for the employees to get their cars out.
So Ellis, the Mill Mountain Park caretaker, shoveled behind each employee's vehicle so at the end of a long cold day working outside, they could just hop in their cars and go home.
"Thanks, Ellis!"
Good Samaritans from Christiansburg
Carmella Stevenson celebrated Christmas Day last year with the help of three Christiansburg Good Samaritans.
One their way to visit relatives in Southwest Virginia, Carmella and her husband stopped at the Crown Station on Roanoke Street for a coffee break.
And locked their keys in the car.
"The first Good Samaritan was the lone employee at the Crown store who called the police and invited us to wait inside the warm store. Sensing we were upset, he told me stories about how many people lock their keys inside their car."
Good Samaritan No. 2 was the policewoman who responded to the call. She tried to get the family back inside the car, but couldn't. But she waited with the Stevensons until someone arrived who could.
"While we were waiting, even a man with a young child stopped and tried to help," wrote Carmella.
Help finally arrived when Robert of Robert's Towing left his warm house on Christmas morning to work his magic on the car.
"Our Christmas was saved! Many thanks to these wonderful people."
Subscribers deliver thanks to paper carriers
The ice storm inspired four senior citizens to write with thanks to their Roanoke Times & World-News carriers for bothering to get the paper all the way to the front door, rather than in the box often located a steep and precarious walk to the bottom of a driveway.
Doris Jones thanks Carolyn Knowles and her son. Jean Taylor calls Gary Stoots her "kindness angel." And Mrs. Douglas Staton of Buena Vista thanks Robert Wisemen for reaching her on days that even the postman didn't.
Juanita "Bonnie" Walters of Dublin started peeking out her window to find the orange bag containing the newspaper when the weather got bad. When she didn't find it, she assumed there was no paper because it was just too cold to deliver.
Later she discovered her newspaper carrier had taken the time to place it on her front porch, "where it has been each day of this very cold weather."
Walters thanks Erik Reid. "His kindness is much appreciated."
by CNB