One (small) good deed a day 2024

[BECABECA]

Gave a friend cash for their visa gift card debit card so they could use the money for a flight. I guess the gift card is overly restrictive on which merchants accept it. It shouldn’t be too much trouble for me to use it on gas and groceries, and even if it was, the amount to my life is negligible.

[Dollar Slice]

Was finally feeling up for going out and seeing people at an event at my friend's art gallery, and managed to do a little good deed... I ran into some mutual friends (an older married couple) that I haven't seen in ages. It turned out the wife half of the couple had been in the hospital for a while :-( and she was still feeling pretty frail. They were waiting for a ride after the event so I hung around to make sure it showed up, and it started to rain so I stood and held my umbrella for her until their ride showed up, since they didn't have one.

[crocheted_stache]

Was finally feeling up for going out and seeing people at an event at my friend's art gallery, and managed to do a little good deed... I ran into some mutual friends (an older married couple) that I haven't seen in ages. It turned out the wife half of the couple had been in the hospital for a while :-( and she was still feeling pretty frail. They were waiting for a ride after the event so I hung around to make sure it showed up, and it started to rain so I stood and held my umbrella for her until their ride showed up, since they didn't have one.

So glad you're getting a bit of a reprieve from the not-feeling well!

[Freedomin5]

On my 14-hour flight, I translated for an elderly man who didn’t speak any English. The flight attendants didn’t speak any Cantonese.

[crocheted_stache]

On my 14-hour flight, I translated for an elderly man who didn’t speak any English. The flight attendants didn’t speak any Cantonese.

This is not so small! Good for you! I've been without some common language relatively rarely, but it ranges from frustrating (did you want chicken or pasta?) to terrifying (the flight is now leaving from gate 14 instead of gate 18) not to be able to communicate.

My thing today was small. I dropped off a pocket-sized Buy Nothing item for a neighbor a few blocks over and got at least a few steps in, in the process.

I suppose yesterday's thing was a little more significant: listening while my upset friend unloaded about the latest maddening drama in her life and started to sort through what to do next about it. (Very short, simplified version: people who are supposed to be helping her with stuff like housing insecurity and disability accommodations are not believing or even listening to her, are acting unprofessionally, and are doing more harm than good.)

[crocheted_stache]

Made some suggestions about organizing and color coordinating the parade unit "my" local candidate is putting together for the 4th.

[crocheted_stache]

Reported another few maintenance issues for my city to address.

[crocheted_stache]

Appeared in the parade alongside the candidate I'm supporting, found and suggested another event for her to attend in the coming months, and collected an election sign for the yard, although it's not time to display it yet.

I also made a couple new connections today, and got to see a few folks I know.

[Dollar Slice]

A bunch of teenagers were acting like assholes (4th of July shenanigans - shooting fireworks into a crowd of people on the sidewalk at rush hour) and a bunch of people ran screaming. Someone dropped one of those little scooters in the middle of the crosswalk where it would probably get run over by a car. Not an electric one, just a little one like kids use. I picked it up and left it over on the sidewalk before it could get damaged. (No guarantees that it didn't get stolen or etc. but I did run home pretty much instantly at that point... you don't need to shoot fireworks at me more than once to get the point, thanks)

[crocheted_stache]

Packed a picnic lunch for three and went with DH to visit a friend who's in town (or at least in easy visiting distance) after this friend spent many years away. It sounded like he's been having a pretty long and lonely detour as far as life and career are concerned. We were all happy to get back together, and the friend was impressed and grateful for the home-cooked meal, even though that meal was a taco salad kit that was pretty easy to assemble and plop in a cooler.

[crocheted_stache]

A bunch of teenagers were acting like assholes (4th of July shenanigans - shooting fireworks into a crowd of people on the sidewalk at rush hour) and a bunch of people ran screaming. Someone dropped one of those little scooters in the middle of the crosswalk where it would probably get run over by a car. Not an electric one, just a little one like kids use. I picked it up and left it over on the sidewalk before it could get damaged. (No guarantees that it didn't get stolen or etc. but I did run home pretty much instantly at that point... you don't need to shoot fireworks at me more than once to get the point, thanks)

I hope the dumbass kids ran out of fireworks before anyone got hurt. We always have way too many illegal, amateur fireworks in California for how dry it is here in July. Years ago, July 4 must have been the Monday of the holiday weekend, and we ended up driving several hours home that night after visiting family and friends in a far-flung part of the state. We saw three different grass fires and a fire hydrant geyser along the way. It was long enough ago that to report one of the fires, we pulled off the freeway and used a pay phone in a restaurant. We were told ours was not the first report.

There's enough metal in a basic kick scooter to do some damage to a car if it bends or bounces the wrong way, and of course the scooter is destroyed regardless. Besides, anything in a car lane could prompt drivers to swerve suddenly and hit someone or something.

[Taran Wanderer]

Saw a cell phone in the middle of the road. Didn’t run over it. Stopped and picked it up and turned it in at a local public non-profit who put it in their lost and found, or at least their “lost and we’ll wait to see who calls it”.

[LaineyAZ]

"Saw a cell phone in the middle of the road. Didn’t run over it. Stopped and picked it up and turned it in ..."

Not directly related, but I happened to watch a true crime show this week where someone saw a handgun in the road, stopped to retrieve it and turn it into the police.  It had been run over and some pieces were missing but the barrel and serial numbers were intact. 
And yes, it turned out to be the crucial evidence in a murder investigation and the gun owner/murderer was convicted.

So, even a small good deed can become a life-changing one!

[Poundwise]

Picking up stuff from the middle of the road before it gets smashed/damages a car/causes an accident is important! 

In general, it's good to save things and get them into the hands of those who need them.  In a cross-genre victory, I decluttered my son's old bicycle (a nice one that could be ridden by a short adult) and donated it to a local charity that fixes up bikes for donation. I also signed up to help fix broken items at a "repair café"... have been doing this for a few years now.

[crocheted_stache]

Several years ago, I found a pretty nice diamond engagement ring in the road. It had been run over, but I collected the pieces. I turned them in to the police station. Then I sent email to someone I knew in the neighborhood association where I found it, describing the location and the ring, minus identifying features. I'd almost forgotten about it months later when somebody replied to the email to let me know they recovered it. I'm sure a jeweler restored the band and reset the stone.

Being a mustachian helped in at least two ways. I wouldn't have seen it if I'd driven that day instead of bicycling. And I didn't and still don't have any particular interest in a diamond ring or the money I might have gotten selling it.

[Dollar Slice]

Agreed to go to a medical appointment with my mom. It's one of those light-anesthesia ones that you need someone to sign you out afterwards. The hospital is out in the suburbs but right next to a train station, conveniently, since I don't have a car.

Helped a not-very-tech-savvy friend troubleshoot some e-mail stuff on his phone.

Chatted with a neighbor for 20 minutes about some medical issues they've been having that sounds exactly like a thing I've had (same diagnosis and exact same extremely specific not-in-the-medical-textbook symptoms); I mentioned something my doctor gave me which helped a ton.

[crocheted_stache]

Sometimes, just being there is the most important thing.

DH and I stayed home to recharge today. He didn't sleep well last night, so I came up with our two real meals and did most of the preparation and cleanup, along with some maintenance housekeeping.

I also promoted "my" local candidate online a little.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I'm still doing my volunteer work with the college counseling, which has ended up being quite fun. One of my students is interested in pre-med, and wanted to know more about a few colleges, one of which is OSU (DS18 is attending in the fall). I happened to be cleaning out all of our OSU info after our call, and found a bunch of info on pre-med pathways.) I took a picture & sent it to volunteer student & she was thrilled to have a leg up on her research. It was perfect timing.

I've also been spending a lot of time with DS18's GF. Their parents are.... really something. I try to make our house an inviting place, free of judgement, supportive, allowing them to talk about concerns, open questions, and despite my MANY feelings on it, I don't weigh in on the parents "requirements" of needing them to go to church every Sunday in college (supervised by their grandfather, who is a pastor, which is why they are requiring GF to attend a specific school). GF has gotten much more open & friendly, & I hope feels like our house is a place they can be themselves, when they can't do the same at their own house.

[crocheted_stache]

Put in the next handful of reports to the city for maintenance. This time, I found a traffic light that's not lighting, some illegal dumping, and an overgrown sidewalk.

I won't be surprised to see the traffic light fixed by the end of the day. It's one green light out among two or three signals facing that way, so it's unlikely to be a hazard. Still, any traffic signal that's not 100% working tends to start pretty high on the list.

[LaineyAZ]

Put in the next handful of reports to the city for maintenance. This time, I found a traffic light that's not lighting, some illegal dumping, and an overgrown sidewalk.

I won't be surprised to see the traffic light fixed by the end of the day. It's one green light out among two or three signals facing that way, so it's unlikely to be a hazard. Still, any traffic signal that's not 100% working tends to start pretty high on the list.

That report about the traffic light is definitely a good deed, but I'm a little surprised that there's no automatic signal sent to a computer somewhere in the area's traffic control room that says it's broken; otherwise, all malfunctions are called in by whoever happens to be there in person to notice it?

[crocheted_stache]

Put in the next handful of reports to the city for maintenance. This time, I found a traffic light that's not lighting, some illegal dumping, and an overgrown sidewalk.

I won't be surprised to see the traffic light fixed by the end of the day. It's one green light out among two or three signals facing that way, so it's unlikely to be a hazard. Still, any traffic signal that's not 100% working tends to start pretty high on the list.

That report about the traffic light is definitely a good deed, but I'm a little surprised that there's no automatic signal sent to a computer somewhere in the area's traffic control room that says it's broken; otherwise, all malfunctions are called in by whoever happens to be there in person to notice it?

Perhaps there is now technology to monitor such stuff, but if it can be automated, they haven't rolled it out everywhere yet. I've found a decent number of them over the years, and it's certainly an option in the categories for the reporting tool.

Today I removed a couple more sharp, metal objects from the bike lane and roadway.

[crocheted_stache]

Collected an autograph of someone local and noteworthy enough to have a Wikipedia article, for a (not at all local) friend who's an admirer.

[Dicey]

Didn't think of this as a good deed, because I do it all the time: I picked up a bolt and washer from the road on my morning walk. The washer was holding the bolt up in the perfect position to puncture a tire.

[crocheted_stache]

Contributed a few hours to a community bicycle repair effort, which should help save some parts from the bin and get more secondhand bikes back into circulation, with less cost.

I took the opportunity while there to promote "my" local candidate to another attendee. This candidate is really easy to support, but it's a down-ballot race of the kind not well covered or publicized, so just getting the name out there is important.

@Dicey , having dealt with a wood screw in one of my car tires earlier this year and the usual assortment of punctures on my bikes over many years of riding, I absolutely think removing sharp objects from the roadway "counts."

[Dollar Slice]

A friend who is intensely interested in the local live music scene couldn't make it to a concert with our friend group at a new club, so I sent her a thorough review of the space for her future reference with all the relevant details, so she can make an informed decision before coming to another show next month. (Relevant details: this nightclub is literally metal chairs inside a parking garage and they've booked a world renowned classical string quartet next month)

[BECABECA]

Last week I joined my local BuyNothing group (which nowadays has a snazzy app, fun!) and today I gifted an old but still in great working condition iPhone to someone who can put it to good use.

[Taran Wanderer]

Stopped in the middle of the (rural) highway to remove some boards that had spilled from an earlier vehicle.

[crocheted_stache]

Last week I joined my local BuyNothing group (which nowadays has a snazzy app, fun!) and today I gifted an old but still in great working condition iPhone to someone who can put it to good use.

I'm a little jealous. My local BN group is still operating on Facebook, which isn't ideal for the purpose and isn't where I most like to spend my time. I wonder if they'd consider migrating.

Edit to add: my BN group showed no interest in my retired Android phones, but other similar groups have a wider reach, and I found people who can use them.

[Poundwise]

Edit to add: my BN group showed no interest in my retired Android phones, but other similar groups have a wider reach, and I found people who can use them.

Yes, my BN can be quite picky but people who cruise the Craigslist free section will pick up *anything* and definitely represent a much poorer demographic than our BN. For that reason, I often give away nice (sellable) stuff on Craigslist. Recently, I made two young women very happy... one took our posh mattress as she was sleeping on the floor, and the other took our posh four poster queen bed so that she could put curtains on to make her studio apartment more private.

[BECABECA]

Good suggestion… I’ve got some nice used shoes on BN that nobody has shown any interest in. I’ll try cross posting to Craigslist free section.

@crocheted_stache For all I know, my local BN group could mostly be on Facebook too, but there’s still a decent number of people active on the app in my local area (maybe all of them are like me and have no idea if there’s a Facebook group since we aren’t on there). Have you tried posting anything on the app to see if there are some local people on there already?

[crocheted_stache]

@BECABECA I haven't tried. I should probably ask what anyone knows about that in the group.

Yesterday's thing: removed yet another sharp object from the bike lane.

[crocheted_stache]

Re-lent the $100 that has recently been repaid from previous loans in my Kiva account. A couple of the loans I chose this time were in Ecuador, in honor of a friend's recent trip there. It's as good a reason as any for what's basically an arbitrary choice.

[BECABECA]

Helped a friend in her 70s get set up on Credit Karma (she had set up an account years ago but had typo’d her email address for the username), reviewed all her open accounts, identified what changes to make to boost her credit score, and helped her close a bunch of accounts that were unnecessarily complicating her life.

Picked up trash and sharp metal objects from the walkway (including a razor blade!). I don’t know where this stuff keeps coming from, I picked up everything I saw on the same route yesterday and the day before, etc. I imagine it’s someone on a walk after me who posts on a forum to a “One (small) bad deed a day”thread ;)

[Dollar Slice]

I imagine it’s someone on a walk after me who posts on a forum to a “One (small) bad deed a day”thread ;)

Haha.

I really wonder what happened to the anti-littering campaigns of my youth. There's a terrible littering problem where I live and there are no signs or PSAs or anything that looks like an effort to address it. I see people ALL THE TIME throw trash on the ground here where there is LITERALLY a garbage can at every corner. And you'll never hear anyone say anything, like a group of people will be walking together and one will throw trash on the ground and the others just ignore it. I would be appalled if one of my friends did that, but apparently it's socially acceptable for a lot of people? It's so bizarre to me.

[Poundwise]

I imagine it’s someone on a walk after me who posts on a forum to a “One (small) bad deed a day”thread ;)

Haha.

I really wonder what happened to the anti-littering campaigns of my youth. There's a terrible littering problem where I live and there are no signs or PSAs or anything that looks like an effort to address it. I see people ALL THE TIME throw trash on the ground here where there is LITERALLY a garbage can at every corner. And you'll never hear anyone say anything, like a group of people will be walking together and one will throw trash on the ground and the others just ignore it. I would be appalled if one of my friends did that, but apparently it's socially acceptable for a lot of people? It's so bizarre to me.

Yes, I think we are assuming that schools and parents are still teaching their kids this stuff but it's not happening.  I feel this is where just a few elementary school parents who are big in the PTA could make a difference in their town or even in their state.

[Dollar Slice]

Yes, I think we are assuming that schools and parents are still teaching their kids this stuff but it's not happening.  I feel this is where just a few elementary school parents who are big in the PTA could make a difference in their town or even in their state.

Yeah - I don't have kids so I don't know what goes on in schools, but I certainly see no signs of it anywhere else.

The last time (years ago) I picked up a piece of trash someone had dropped they called me a nasty slur, so... I just... don't do that any more. I don't know why people would be so hostile about that, but I don't need that kind of aggression from strange men on the street.

[Dicey]

On my urban walk yesterday, someone had smashed a bottle of Absolute Vodka on the sidewalk. I used the side of my shoe to move it off the sidewalk, over to the edge of the building. Best I could do under the circumstances.

[Serendip]

Some young hooligans are renting the townhouse next door...they woke us up at 3am last night and I had to go ask them to turn the music off. Today, I saw more friends arriving and they didn't know where they could park their car (it's very restricted around here). I offered them our second parking spot so hopefully they won't wake us up again tonight or I'll have to go tell them that I'm towing them  :)

[crocheted_stache]

Another day, another bike ride, another sharp object removed from the bike lane and roadway. Today's was a good-sized nail. The one Thursday was one of those storage hooks with a rubber-coated hook and a pointy thread on the end that screws into the wall. I'd love to run out of this stuff to find.

I also got a photo of a train station building for someone I know who likes that sort of thing.

[Poundwise]

Yes, I think we are assuming that schools and parents are still teaching their kids this stuff but it's not happening.  I feel this is where just a few elementary school parents who are big in the PTA could make a difference in their town or even in their state.

Yeah - I don't have kids so I don't know what goes on in schools, but I certainly see no signs of it anywhere else.

The last time (years ago) I picked up a piece of trash someone had dropped they called me a nasty slur, so... I just... don't do that any more. I don't know why people would be so hostile about that, but I don't need that kind of aggression from strange men on the street.

Oh, that's terrible!!

When I'm not so busy, I'll try to reach out to the environmental committee of my kids' school and ask if they know what the deal is on teaching no littering. Our town has a couple of community cleanups every year, and when I went last year, we managed to embarrass a few of the guys who drink in a local park to clean up after themselves. I'm not sure if they continued to clean up afterward but at least one of them began to scold his buddies and pick up a few bottles, when he saw us walking around with our trash bags.

I don't usually like to be a showoff, but I do feel that small acts of virtue like picking up litter benefit by being seen, because they spread.

[crocheted_stache]

I imagine it’s someone on a walk after me who posts on a forum to a “One (small) bad deed a day”thread ;)

Haha.

I really wonder what happened to the anti-littering campaigns of my youth. There's a terrible littering problem where I live and there are no signs or PSAs or anything that looks like an effort to address it. I see people ALL THE TIME throw trash on the ground here where there is LITERALLY a garbage can at every corner. And you'll never hear anyone say anything, like a group of people will be walking together and one will throw trash on the ground and the others just ignore it. I would be appalled if one of my friends did that, but apparently it's socially acceptable for a lot of people? It's so bizarre to me.

The people who read "do not litter" signs are not the same people those signs most need to reach.

Someone who's more forward than me once saw someone drop a piece of trash on the trail in a nature area. He picked it up, caught up with the offender, and gave it back, cheerfully advising, "you dropped something back there," exactly as though the "something" were a glove or lens cap that fell out of their pocket by mistake. It was brilliant, and I don't think I have the demeanor or charisma it would take to carry it off like that.

[Poundwise]

The people who read "do not litter" signs are not the same people those signs most need to reach.

Yes, that's why it's probably better to teach kids to not litter and to pick up litter that they see... it's too late for most adults. What frustrates me are the people with immaculate cars who drop trash out of their windows!

On my one (small) bad deed a day 2024 roster, I had to change a meeting time this week. I hate doing that, because I feel that there are negative ripple effects when you force people to shuffle their schedules around. Cancelling unnecessary meetings, however, I would consider a good deed!

As for good deeds, I collected art supplies for my friend's club for the mentally ill, sewing supplies for a senior craft circle, and also gave a ride to a distant grocery store to her and her friend with schizophrenia. They were so tremendously grateful that I felt a little guilty.

@Serendip, I hope your kindness was met with reciprocation! @Dollar Slice, I'm sorry some random evildoer took objection to you picking up their litter!  Sheesh.   

[Taran Wanderer]

it's too late for most adults. What frustrates me are the people with immaculate cars who drop trash out of their windows!

Don’t worry, those people likely make up for it by complaining about how society is going downhill!

[crocheted_stache]

It's occurred to me to make or get a shirt or safety vest that says VOLUNTEER, so nobody thinks I'm being paid to pick up their trash, or worse yet, sentenced to community service. To judge by the number of "I don't work here" stories circulating in which people look nothing like employees, it probably wouldn't register for some people, anyway.

Today's good deed: plugged "my" candidate to at least one more area voter. Hopefully a lot more people also see the signs I display.

[Dicey]

It's occurred to me to make or get a shirt or safety vest that says VOLUNTEER, so nobody thinks I'm being paid to pick up their trash, or worse yet, sentenced to community service. To judge by the number of "I don't work here" stories circulating in which people look nothing like employees, it probably wouldn't register for some people, anyway.

Today's good deed: plugged "my" candidate to at least one more area voter. Hopefully a lot more people also see the signs I display.

I co-chair an event centered around "Community Service." Pre-pandemic, we provided t-shirts. We always chose one of our three logo colors for the T-shirts. Yeah, we only did orange shirts once. The next time it was orange's turn, we went with a tie-dyed golden orange instead. Now we don't do t-shirts, but encourage participants to wear shirts from years past. It's fun to see a rainbow of colors.

Ha! I turned a friend from an awful candidate to a well-qualified one. We're also in charge of large campaign signs for several candidates, which is like real-life Monopoly. Our high-visibility front yard will be sprouting small signs for all three candidates and we'll be door-knocking for all three. We also publicly endorsed all three, so it's on their websites and in their literature. Funny, I just think of all that as things we do, not good deeds.

[crocheted_stache]

@Dicey, yeah, a lot of the things I do to save money and to reduce my environmental impact are also just things that I do. I mention them in threads like this partly in hopes of inspiring others to try them if they don't already. Supporting a candidate is mostly a new thing for me, though. I've displayed the occasional lawn sign and sent the occasional smallish check.

"My" candidate is pretty well qualified, although she's definitely learning as she goes and will no doubt continue to do so as she (hopefully) takes office in the coming year. Getting the word out is the challenge. She's new on the candidate roster for any office, and it's a down-ballot race for a position that's not super familiar to most people.

Today's thing: went through and recommended grants from my DAF to handful of the organizations I routinely support. Before the December rush this time!

I don't know if Fidelity Charitable is reading the survey comments or doing anything about them, but I left one. Last year, I gave to XYZ org, and got back a letter thanking me for my donation and asking that any future donations be sent to their So-and-so Street address. I can't tell if I sent it there last year and that part is just the form letter, or what. This year, I looked in my DAF list, and searching for XYZ org yields three entries with two addresses pointed at the same tax ID number. (It's a unique name and doesn't have a bunch of branches or chapters afaik.) I'd really like to have a way to flag entries for cleanup that are likely duplicates or that otherwise appear to need attention. It's potentially a huge task, but at least the users with an interest in a given organization could ask that that organization's entry in the directory be reviewed, and the result would help other future donors.

I figure, if I ask, possibly nothing will happen, but if I don't ask, definitely nothing will happen.

[theninthwall]

I actually enjoy litter clean up. I find it quite meditative. I filled maybe a half dozen trash bags last winter. I owed something to the universe over the weekend so I decided to do a clean up around the lake near our house but it wasn’t five minutes before I saw a pygmy rattlesnake and was reminded of why I don’t clean up litter so much in summer.

[Dollar Slice]

My parents had driven up to visit some friends in the Berkshires this weekend and were driving home today, so yesterday evening I texted my mom to make sure they were aware of the weather forecast (very heavy storms/flooding from tropical storm remnants) to make sure they planned to get home before the bad weather got here.

Today I saw two large freshly smashed LCD screens in my local subway platform, with glass all over the floor, so I reported it to the MTA and had a response within ten minutes that they had forwarded it to the relevant team. (Really a bummer since those must cost a lot of taxpayer dollars to replace, and the glass was a hazard... why are there so many destructive jerks in the world? I guess that was another post for the "one bad deed a day" thread on that other forum we haven't found.)

[crocheted_stache]

Today I stopped and offered the use of my bike tools to someone who was walking his bike with a flat tire. He assured me he didn't have that much further to walk and declined, but I did offer.

I removed a possibly hazardous object from the roadway.

And I reported to Caltrans about the condition of one of their bridges that I went over while biking the other day. I saw missing concrete, exposed rebar, and sidewalks crunched up and sagging where the soil has eroded or collapsed out from underneath. They have someone skilled at assessing such things. I don't know how serious this deterioration is, but I'm sure it shouldn't look like that. I hope they didn't hear it from me first. Their characteristically terse reply at least tells me a human saw my report. ("Situation Acknowledged. Will be addressed." They also say they're sending the request to maintenance.)

[Dollar Slice]

We had torrential rain tonight (localized flooding and etc.) and my 80 y.o. friend who is 110lb and has a bad hip had made the decision earlier that she would bring her heavy book to read on the train and leave her umbrella at home because she can't carry too much weight with her... sigh. I tried to give her my umbrella and just get wet myself: nope. I walked with her and tried to cover her with my umbrella, but she's tiny and I had my smallest umbrella and the imbalance in height wasn't working great for either of us. She ducked under an awning and suggested we wait it out. OK. Our other friends abandoned us. We ended up spending a good fifteen minutes out there getting lashed with rain with just my little umbrella and some leaky awnings :-( I tried to make her take my umbrella home with her but she wouldn't do that, either. I did carry some of her things buried down in my bag, since it has a cover with a buckle so her medicine wouldn't get wet. And I guess she got a little less wet under my umbrella. But we both got pretty soaked.

I also asked around my friend group for something a friend was looking for and a friend of a friend had one they weren't using, so he got hooked up within 24 hours.