One (small) good deed a day 2024

[crocheted_stache]

It's a shame we can't steer some of that excess rainfall to places with droughts and wildfires when Vermont and New York have had too much.

I biked a different way than usual and found and reported a traffic signal that wasn't entirely working. No immediate hazard, fortunately.

[Dollar Slice]

It's a shame we can't steer some of that excess rainfall to places with droughts and wildfires when Vermont and New York have had too much.

We got more rain tonight, but this time I let my friend know in advance that she might need an umbrella :-)

I'm surprised I didn't hear from my parents about how much rain they got in their homemade rain gauge, but the news said we got about 2.5" in that deluge. Probably would have been 2.6" if I hadn't soaked up so much in my Hokas and specially wicking athletic socks.

[Dicey]

I've been at this for nine long days straight. I volunteer at a thrift shop. Another volunteer, "K" had a next door neighbor "F" who developed dementia. F's brother is her conservator. He has moved F into a care facility near his home um, not close to here. He was tasked with cleaning out the house and two storage units. K needed help, so she asked some of her fellow volunteers.

I ended up spearheading the effort aka "driving the bus," along with four other carefully chosen volunteers, along with Mr. Dicey. For endless hours, we doggedly cleaned out the house, separating wheat from chaff and seeking buried treasures. When we finished with the house, we had one day to clean out the massive storage unit (10' x 25"?) and consolidate what was good but we didn't have room for into F's smaller storage unit, which saves them about $750 per month.

There is so much stuff that the store is overwhelmed. Most of us have taken things to store in our garages temporarily, and our vehicles, including Mr. Dicey's truck, are all full.

We've given things to other thrift stores, an animal adoption facility (towels!), Post Office, Library and more.

Our goal was to keep as much as possible out of the landfill, and we sure as heck did. I am pooped.

[LaineyAZ]

Dicey,
That's a herculean effort, kudos to all of you.  And that definitely counts as more than a "small" good deed!

[Dollar Slice]

Good work on avoiding all that going into the trash, Dicey!

Today I was able to source a free set of Epi-pens for a friend with severe allergies who mentioned that she hadn't been carrying them because the cost is too high with her current insurance plan. :-( I was so bummed out to hear that but I'm glad I could help.

[Taran Wanderer]

My parents were executors for a family friend who passed. The friend was not a miser, and cleaning up the house was a huge effort. I can’t imagine the work you had to put in. Great job, Dicey!

[Poundwise]

Good work, Dicey! I always feel aghast at the amount that gets thrown out when people move out/are moved out. There are probably a lot of people who will be excited about their thrift store finds too.

Dollar Slice, at least you tried to keep your friend from getting wet! And providing your friend with  epipens is major.

@crocheted_stache, you may have prevented some accidents with your preventive actions!

I don't feel like I've done much for humanity lately... been focusing on family and extended family. Well, I went to a wedding and did see a cousin in person for the first time in many years.  He had a very bad home life as a kid and has been very ill, so in recent years he seemed depressed and standoffish in phone calls or texts. I kind of led the extended family to love bomb him. We went out of our way to engage him in conversation so he wasn't ever awkward and alone, take silly selfies with him, talked about old times, and so on. He's not healthy enough to dance so we hung out with him and took turns to dance. He got SO happy, and was talking excitedly about having family reunions on a regular basis. We seriously will do it and will arrange to meet in a location convenient to him.

[crocheted_stache]

Stopped on my ride home and helped another bicyclist who had a flat. She'd replaced the tube already but was struggling to get the back wheel in place so the gear cluster, derailleur, and chain all worked together.

I got her rolling again, but not by walking her through how to do it herself so she'd be independent if it happened again. She was frustrated, it was getting dark, and it seemed more important to get her bike put back together than to teach her how. I suggested a local organization that offers free classes on the subject, and I hope she'll take them up on the offer.

[LaineyAZ]

Crocheted_stache,
Thank you for your kindness in helping the bicyclist.  It reminded me of an episode years ago when our car battery died on a bright sunny morning on an urban street in rush hour.
At the time my then-husband and I carpooled to work.  We were only a few miles from his office so he called a co-worker who agreed to come pick us up. Unfortunately when she arrived she griped the whole time about how inconvenient it was for her to take a few minutes to do this. 

My point is I think a good deed is quickly undone if resentment and complaining comes with it. 

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I was at my sister's house for a few days without her, and offered to do some decluttering, listing on FB marketplace/BN & get things listed on eBay. She was thrilled, & gave me clear parameters to work within. I made great progress & her spaces look really good. It felt nice to be able to help, as she works wayyyyy too much at the moment.

[Dollar Slice]

I ended up getting COVID the day I got the epi-pens for my friend and haven't been able to get them to her yet. Timing :-/ Hopefully I'll meet up with her soon now that I'm testing negative again.

Today I went to grab lunch after a doctor's appointment as a little treat (I was barely eating anything when I was sick) and the person next to me in line asked me a couple of odd questions like "Excuse me, is this really better than McDonald's? I only ever go to McDonald's" (heavily accented from a foreign country, acted a little weird) and then they asked if they could watch me order - eventually I ended up walking them through the ordering system step by step because they didn't know how any of it worked. We ended up having lunch together and we found quite a bit to talk about and I really got her laughing a couple of times. I hope that was all an improvement over McDonald's :-)

[crocheted_stache]

I've certainly been on both sides of giving or and receiving needed assistance for navigating an unfamiliar transit system. I don't remember being the guide in a restaurant. Mostly, I've gotten advice from the staff, and I try to be a good listener and a little extra generous with the tip when someone is especially helpful and I'm especially lost.

Glad you're feeling better again, @Dollar Slice . I hope you suffer no lingering effects!

[Dollar Slice]

I've certainly been on both sides of giving or and receiving needed assistance for navigating an unfamiliar transit system. I don't remember being the guide in a restaurant. Mostly, I've gotten advice from the staff, and I try to be a good listener and a little extra generous with the tip when someone is especially helpful and I'm especially lost.

Glad you're feeling better again, @Dollar Slice . I hope you suffer no lingering effects!

Midtown Manhattan in the lunch rush can be a little intimidating because there is always a big line of people behind you and they're all in a hurry - I have seen some pretty funny things with tourists who can't cope in surprising ways. This place had you ordering completely through a touchscreen computer with no staff nearby, probably a situation she wasn't familiar with. It isn't something I find difficult but... my dad would have been baffled, too, I'm sure.

Thanks for the well wishes.

[BECABECA]

I attended my partner’s annual physical appointment with a new GP. When the GP wasn’t going to write a referral for a colonoscopy because they weren’t 50 yrs old yet, I chimed in that the recommended starting age is now 45 (and that gets even lower not just from having a family history of colon cancer but even just family having had colon polyps snipped). A little back and forth ended in the GP pulling up Up-To-Date and learning that the standard recommended age has indeed been moved up to 45.

[Dicey]

I attended my partner’s annual physical appointment with a new GP. When the GP wasn’t going to write a referral for a colonoscopy because they weren’t 50 yrs old yet, I chimed in that the recommended starting age is now 45 (and that gets even lower not just from having a family history of colon cancer but even just family having had colon polyps snipped). A little back and forth ended in the GP pulling up Up-To-Date and learning that the standard recommended age has indeed been moved up to 45.

That is badass!

I was at my sister's house for a few days without her, and offered to do some decluttering, listing on FB marketplace/BN & get things listed on eBay. She was thrilled, & gave me clear parameters to work within. I made great progress & her spaces look really good. It felt nice to be able to help, as she works wayyyyy too much at the moment.

Any time you need another sister, I'm available.

@Dollar Slice, sorry about Covid catching you. Glad you've outrun it.

[crocheted_stache]

Another day, another bike ride, in what is for me a familiar but less frequent direction.

Removed a sharp screw from the roadway. I don't know where they all come from, but maybe I prevented it from ending up in anyone's tire.

Reported a minor maintenance issue to the city before it becomes a major maintenance issue.

[Poundwise]

Removed a sharp screw from the roadway. I don't know where they all come from, but maybe I prevented it from ending up in anyone's tire.

I was inspired by you the other day! I was walking in a condo parking lot and my friend noticed two cars with very flat tires. Later, I noticed a couple of sharp screws in that lot and I picked them up.

Today I heard about a job offer and I passed it on to the son of a friend.  He's a nice young man who has been living at home while working part time on his advanced degree at a local college. Unfortunately it seems like he's been working slower and slower, staying up late, getting demotivated and depressed...
Though this job is not permanent, it will be easy for him, will put a little money in his pocket, and will get him out of the house. It will also look good on his resume. I hope he takes it!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@Dicey , you can always be my sister! :-) All of my listings paid off, even after I was gone. It felt so good to help out my sister, who is in an insanely busy period of life.

-We bought a car for my special needs aunt. We will be getting reimbursed, but the research, test driving, and purchase process is a lot. I can't take credit, but my awesome DH also replaced the brakes for her this weekend. Now we just need to figure out how to get it to her, which will be an adventure.
-I also passed on a coworkers name for a job that I wasn't as interested in, but I know would be a great fit for him, and he's looking for something just in this space.
-Signed up to mentor another student through the college application process. I've learned so much with my two kiddos, and it feels really good to be able to help other teens who don't have any at home help.

[BECABECA]

Picked up a bunch of trash on my walk today which was pretty easy because most of it was about one block from a garbage can at the public park, so I didn’t need to carry it very long. I’ll bring a bag with me tomorrow so I’ll be more likely to pick up the less conveniently located trash.

[crocheted_stache]

I took the weekend off from doing much besides catching up on sleep and laundry, so here's one from the archive.

A coworker's key fob remote for her (older) car wasn't working when we carpooled to have lunch somewhere near the office. I asked her if she'd tried replacing the battery. She had no idea it had a battery, so I found a screwdriver and popped it open. It turned out to have an "N" size battery. One or both of us visited a battery store that was nearby, got the replacement, and swapped it in. It worked again after that.

[Dollar Slice]

After 6 days of Paxlovid rebound and nearly over my bronchitis... :-)  I'm back on the good deeds market!

A friend shared his new music album digitally on social media and didn't realize that it was linking to a broken link. After a couple of hours of basically no response to the link on his page, I saw it and messaged him to let him know the link was dead and that's why no one was responding/probably the social network was suppressing it.

Taking my mom out to see her favorite singer (again) tonight. It is thankfully close to where I live and we should have great seats so it will hopefully be an easy night. Got my cough medicine and cough drops lined up and ready to go.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Glad you are feeling better, @Dollar Slice

Provided more mentoring support to the two high school seniors I'm helping through the college selection & application process. I'm doing the same for my HS senior, and the timing is so fun. As I learn & help him, I'm able to share all of that with two people who don't have anyone in their lives who has access to that information or the time to help.

[crocheted_stache]

Removed a medium large object from a lane of traffic yesterday while out on my bike. The object itself was basically flat and not much of a hazard. I watched a couple cars run over it with no particular effect. The hazard would have been if drivers saw it and decided to swerve or otherwise panic.

[Dollar Slice]

I stopped at the pharmacy after a doctor's appointment and while I was paying for my medicine I noticed a woman's wallet had fallen out of her backpack as she walked away. I picked it up off the floor and caught up with her to give it back.

[BECABECA]

Yesterday, I kept a friend company via FaceTime during prep for their first colonoscopy. Since I had just done mine last month, I was happy to be their guide, commiserate, and be a distraction as needed.

[Dollar Slice]

Keeping a friend company during colonoscopy prep is hardcore, haha! You're a good friend!

I have three big discount coupons to use at a concert venue over the next 9 months. I was kind of hoarding them and waiting till the best of the best came along, but I decided to use one of them on a friend this week because he mentioned in passing how badly he wanted to go to a show that he found out about too late, but all the cheap seats sold out and everything left was too expensive. I checked and there were a handful of good seats left, so I nabbed him one at a steep discount and surprised him with it. He was so happy and raving about how good the show was :-)

[BECABECA]

That sounds like the perfect use of that discount coupon!

Picked up an extra poop while cleaning up after the dog I was walking yesterday. Luckily there’s not usually any extras to be found, as the local park provides bags but I guess this dog was extra stealthy and snuck it out really fast right when their owner turned their head ;)

[Dicey]

I went to the hospital's basement lab to have a quick test run. There were more people than usual for a mid-day Saturday. A small child was fussing, just out of my line of sight. The mom was trying mightily to soothe her, to no avail. I heard the mama say they'd been waiting for 30 minutes. A guy on the other side of me was making tsk-tsk noises, so I was trying to figure out how I could help.

Just them, the mama stood up with the baby and walked into the vestibule. I followed, and told her if she wanted to take the baby out where she could run in the hallway, I'd listen for her number and let her know when it was called. I said I appreciated how hard she was trying and that she was a good mama. She looked visibly relieved, thanked me, gave me her number, and took her squirmy toddler down the hall.

A few minutes later, I went out into the hallway, where the adorable little girl was happily running up and down a long, empty corridor. I knew my number was going to be called first (they have 2 different numbering systems), so I let her know that DH would be listening, in case I was called before her. I repeated that she was a good mama. She told me the child had boundless energy. She thanked me again and offered that her own mother said neither she or her brother were like that. I told her about our wild child granddaughter and suggested the key was to wear them out with activity. Her demeanor totally brightened as we talked, which made me feel great that I had decided to try and do something.

[crocheted_stache]

Several years ago, when a loved one was in and out of the hospital, I noticed a kid being restless in one of the waiting rooms. I may have tried to help entertain him at the time. I also noticed that, other than the pediatric waiting rooms, the waiting rooms had exactly nothing in them for children to do. I mentioned this to the person in charge of our Friends of the Library at the time, and she connected that hospital to loads of children's books to distribute to waiting rooms. I think she even got a rubber stamp to let people know they were for the hospital, from the library. I think the books eventually numbered in the thousands. I wonder if they're still doing that. Hmm.

I was thinking I don't have much for this thread this week, because I've been so busy, but I've been busy giving volunteer evaluations and suggestions for a range of public projects.

I heard from one of DH's co-workers at the place that's shutting down at the end of the year. I made sure her resume got into the hands of the right people inside my company, and got to the front of the line, at least for being seen.

I also picked up a few bits of litter and reported some potholes. This week's pothole reports went both to the crew in charge of filling holes in our streets (which they did on Friday after my Thursday reports!) and to a city engineer who has a part in deciding which streets get repaved in a given year. The engineer seemed suitably alarmed upon seeing photos of the damage spreading, so I'm hopeful that that street will get higher priority or at least a closer look in the coming years.

[Dicey]

Several years ago, when a loved one was in and out of the hospital, I noticed a kid being restless in one of the waiting rooms. I may have tried to help entertain him at the time. I also noticed that, other than the pediatric waiting rooms, the waiting rooms had exactly nothing in them for children to do. I mentioned this to the person in charge of our Friends of the Library at the time, and she connected that hospital to loads of children's books to distribute to waiting rooms. I think she even got a rubber stamp to let people know they were for the hospital, from the library. I think the books eventually numbered in the thousands. I wonder if they're still doing that. Hmm.

I was thinking I don't have much for this thread this week, because I've been so busy, but I've been busy giving volunteer evaluations and suggestions for a range of public projects.

I heard from one of DH's co-workers at the place that's shutting down at the end of the year. I made sure her resume got into the hands of the right people inside my company, and got to the front of the line, at least for being seen.

I also picked up a few bits of litter and reported some potholes. This week's pothole reports went both to the crew in charge of filling holes in our streets (which they did on Friday after my Thursday reports!) and to a city engineer who has a part in deciding which streets get repaved in a given year. The engineer seemed suitably alarmed upon seeing photos of the damage spreading, so I'm hopeful that that street will get higher priority or at least a closer look in the coming years.

That would be right up my alley, as I'm president of our library Friends group. However, post-Covid, Kaiser has removed everything from their waiting areas. No magazines and no toys of any kind. It surely would have helped in this situation. Which reminds me, after our booksales, I cherry pick the remainders and pass them off to the thrift shop. Not exactly a good deed, but it does keep them viable longer than if we sent them to the recycler.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Love reading all of these!

We're taking DS18 to college on Tuesday, coming from out of state. I posted on the parents group to see if anyone had anything they would like to send in our car, as we had some extra space. I'm overwhelmed with people who would like help! Ironically, the first two people to reply have sons with the same name as DS18. It's not a super common name (although, not completely unusual), so I was so surprised.

To make things even better, other folks said they were inspired by my post, and now there are people helping each other out from several other states!

[crocheted_stache]

@MaybeBabyMustache , congrats on DS leaving the nest! Keep track of which local classmates are also headed to that school, and they can become carpools when it's time to come home for Thanksgiving.

[crocheted_stache]

Bought a rather overpriced jar of unpopped popcorn from a neighbor's kid who's selling it as a scout fundraiser. It seemed like the better deal and less packaging and artificial junk than the smallish bags of pre-popped, flavored stuff I hope most of the money actually goes to the troop and the local organization, as they claim.

Kid was also the first girl Cub Scout I have met.

[BECABECA]

These were all small good deeds that have snowballed into a very large good deed:

By being very open about my colonoscopy process, showed a friend that it wasn’t something to be feared, helped him find a good local gastroenterologist and empowered him with the information so that his insurance would cover it even though he’s only 41, and kept him company during the prep process (I already claimed credit for this one upthread). Well, they ended up finding and snipping 3 large polyps and now we got the pathology results back that one was cancerous. He has to have another colonoscopy in a couple months to confirm they got it all, but at this stage it’s looking like these little good deeds just saved him from colon cancer.

[Dicey]

These were all small good deeds that have snowballed into a very large good deed:

By being very open about my colonoscopy process, showed a friend that it wasn’t something to be feared, helped him find a good local gastroenterologist and empowered him with the information so that his insurance would cover it even though he’s only 41, and kept him company during the prep process (I already claimed credit for this one upthread). Well, they ended up finding and snipping 3 large polyps and now we got the pathology results back that one was cancerous. He has to have another colonoscopy in a couple months to confirm they got it all, but at this stage it’s looking like these little good deeds just saved him from colon cancer.

Yay for your encouragement, boo for the results, yay because they caught it early??

If anyone is planning a colonoscopy, a friend and I have compiled a list that gives you many helpful hints your practioner should, but typically doesn't. Send me a PM if you're interested.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Wow, @BECABECA  - that turned into quite a big good deed. So glad they caught it early!

[jeninco]

@Dicey, it's hard to overstate how big a good deed you did for that mom with the high-energy kid. I've been in that position, and at least once the person telling me I was doing a good job actually made me cry. I work hard to help out parents in similar situations now!

Which kinda leads to my small good deed: DH and I are going on a 2-day longish hike this coming weekend, so we've been doing training hikes the last few weeks. This past weekend the weather was changing, so we went for a local hike, aiming for 15 miles and a whole bunch of elevation gain (and loss), and wound up walking through a very, very popular local mountain park at a very, very popular time (oops!). We mostly sped up and kept walking, but as we were climbing a family of 4 came down, with kids that were perhaps 3 and 5 (or 4 and 6?) who looked like they were getting tired and whiney. I asked the parents for permission, then passed out some of the treats I was carrying (chocolate-chocolate chip cookies with as many hazelnuts as I could cram in, if you're wondering).  Good treats are like a magic trick for hiking with small (and medium-sized, and large) kids, and I'm happy to be the trail-treat godmother on this occasion!

[BECABECA]

Wow, @BECABECA  - that turned into quite a big good deed. So glad they caught it early!

I know, we’re all very happy about that! And we got to learn that apparently there’s such thing as Stage 0 cancer.

[crocheted_stache]

Wow, @BECABECA  - that turned into quite a big good deed. So glad they caught it early!

I know, we’re all very happy about that! And we got to learn that apparently there’s such thing as Stage 0 cancer.

This is wonderful.

If any of my good deeds ever saved a life, it might have been in the form of getting some piece of junk out of the roadway before it took down a bicyclist or launched through someone's windshield, or reporting a missing utility box cover before some unsuspecting soul discovered the resulting hole the wrong way in the dark.

Today's good deeds, if I can call them that:

• Urged the architects of a large project planned nearby to design their proposed glass roof so as to avoid turning the space underneath into an oven.
• Attempted to drum up community support for my city's next bike lane.

.

[jeninco]

Love reading all of these!

We're taking DS18 to college on Tuesday, coming from out of state. I posted on the parents group to see if anyone had anything they would like to send in our car, as we had some extra space. I'm overwhelmed with people who would like help! Ironically, the first two people to reply have sons with the same name as DS18. It's not a super common name (although, not completely unusual), so I was so surprised.

To make things even better, other folks said they were inspired by my post, and now there are people helping each other out from several other states!

This is so cool -- what a thoughtful idea!

[Taran Wanderer]

These were all small good deeds that have snowballed into a very large good deed:

By being very open about my colonoscopy process, showed a friend that it wasn’t something to be feared, helped him find a good local gastroenterologist and empowered him with the information so that his insurance would cover it even though he’s only 41, and kept him company during the prep process (I already claimed credit for this one upthread). Well, they ended up finding and snipping 3 large polyps and now we got the pathology results back that one was cancerous. He has to have another colonoscopy in a couple months to confirm they got it all, but at this stage it’s looking like these little good deeds just saved him from colon cancer.

Fantastic!  I had my first colonoscopy earlier this year.  After putting it off since before Covid, I found it to be pretty anticlimactic.  If any of you out there are procrastinating, you really don’t need to.  The prep isn’t a picnic, but it’s better than the results of eating too many barbecued oysters.  The procedure itself happens while you’re asleep.  And I was able to go back to normal eating (and normal everything else) immediately after.  Something I’ll definitely repeat next time is the two cans of chicken broth on prep day — helps keep the blood sugar levels more even than clear sugary drinks!  And with that tip, there’s my good deed for the day…

[Dollar Slice]

Yeah, the prep is definitely the hard part. The procedure is easy, the drugs are good and you shouldn't remember any of it. I second the recommendation for chicken broth - I got a rotisserie chicken a few days before and tossed the carcass in the Instant Pot to have a batch of homemade chicken stock for my prep. So good and so satisfying to drink hot flavorful homemade broth when you can't have real food all day and everything they recommend is sugary (Jello, juice, Sprite, etc.). I had a ton of it. Just make sure you really filter out all the little bits if you do it homemade.

Tried to help a couple of friends who are having major anxiety issues with some of their life admin stuff. Both are planning trips and one is looking for a therapist

Nine months later, my friend who was looking for a therapist has finally got an appointment with... not a therapist. But a nurse in the mental health department at the hospital. Who will refer her to a therapist. And get her a prescription for anti-anxiety meds. She has had such a hard year and I'm so proud of her! Me and another friend have been doing gentle hand-holding and encouragement along the way. She has panic attacks and severe anxiety. I hope they can help her.

[BECABECA]

Nine months later, my friend who was looking for a therapist has finally got an appointment with... not a therapist. But a nurse in the mental health department at the hospital. Who will refer her to a therapist. And get her a prescription for anti-anxiety meds. She has had such a hard year and I'm so proud of her! Me and another friend have been doing gentle hand-holding and encouragement along the way. She has panic attacks and severe anxiety. I hope they can help her.

Woo! Congrats on the seed you planted 9 months ago finally growing into getting her into the door! In my experience that’s the biggest hurdle, after that then progress starts to snowball fast. Hope it unfolds like that!

[crocheted_stache]

Today's good deeds, if I can call them that:

• Urged the architects of a large project planned nearby to design their proposed glass roof so as to avoid turning the space underneath into an oven.
• Attempted to drum up community support for my city's next bike lane.

.

Bike lane approved! A few other bicyclists even endured the meeting to speak in favor at nearly 11pm. This one didn't meet with a lot of opposition, but I have the feeling the next one will be.

Yesterday, I removed a glass bottle from an existing bike lane while it was still in one piece, and I even got it all the way to a recycling bin.

[Dollar Slice]

Bike lane approved!

Woohoo! Good job, advocates!

When I was on the way to the doctor I heard a clattering noise on the subway platform - a fruit vendor's phone had slid off where it was sitting on her purse and landed on the pavement in front of her table. I walked over and picked it up for her since it had landed on the opposite side of the table where she couldn't really see it.

[Loretta]

I opted to walk to my local shopping center for some early dinner last night and saw a man slumped over on his side on the grass by the curb.  He was big, early 50s, wearing a polo and windbreaker and murmuring to himself.  We made eye contact and I hollered out in a strong confident tone, “Are you all right?”  He sat up immediately and said very politely”Yes man I’m fine how are you?”  I smiled and gave a thumbs up and continued on my way.  So many people out here in need! 

[Dollar Slice]

I thought I was doing a small good deed... a homeless person called out as I was walking past and asked me to call them an ambulance, so I stopped to talk to them, call an ambulance, ask what was wrong, stood with them while we waited for the ambulance to come.

It unfortunately turned into a large good deed :-( Four young teens walked by and through some tl;dr craziness (mentally ill homeless person yelling stupid stuff vs. toxic masculinity teens yelling mean things) they were inches from beating him up and the homeless guy (~70 y.o. with a broken wrist) was 100% sure he would win the fight, so he was eager to get into it. I had to intervene in a pretty major way to prevent that from happening - they didn't go away for almost fifteen minutes until the ambulance showed up. I stayed the whole time getting in the way and just being a witness and pulling out my phone and telling them I would get it on film and show it to the police, telling them there were security cameras (true), finally bumping one of them in the shoulder and telling them he was an idiot for trying to beat up a half-naked homeless man and I would punch him in the face myself if he didn't leave (but with some f-bombs). (Context: I am an overweight disabled 47 y.o. woman.) It was horrible and scary but somehow it worked and they never touched him.

They ran away when the ambulance showed up. The cops showed up about two minutes later (not sure who called them - maybe my building super, he walked out when they showed up - if it was him I'm pretty pissed if he saw this happening and didn't come outside).

What a night.

[crocheted_stache]

I removed a bigger hazard than usual from the roadway tonight. A shopping cart had escaped the store parking lot and was on its side alongside and almost in 40mph (~60km/h) car traffic. It had definitely been hit. I got it out of the roadway and alerted a store employee, who did the next step, even though I think the cart didn't belong to that store. It can hang out in the far corner of a parking lot to wait for whatever is its ultimate fate.

Littler thing: used my time in line at Costco to arrange the groceries in the cart in a single layer, barcode up. It saves time and effort for the person scanning, and it always seems to come as a pleasant surprise that they get to take a little break from handling all the products.

[Poundwise]

What a night.

Wow.  @Dollar Slice , I tip my hat to you! You may have saved that homeless man's life. You were also very brave.

I've been helping my friend, who is being evicted for the second time in three years.  I don't know if it's the whole story, but she says that this time it's because she was complaining too much about noise (she rents a room in a house, and she and her 14 year old son share mattresses on the floor)... but then her son was taking too long in the bathroom, so for months she's been banging on the door to get him out. Landlady got sick of it and told them to leave. 

I'm trying to help them find more stable housing (it's very hard, they live on $650/month that the boy's father gives them. The father tries hard, but is an undocumented manual laborer) but in the meantime I bought a folding screen so the poor boy has a little privacy from his mother. I also bought them earplugs and a reading light for the person who will be separated from the window by the screen.

[jeninco]

Helped with a bigger thing: a friend had water damage from the HOA pipes that broke and leaked into her condo. The insurance company was supposed to "deal with it", but we went over to bring her dinner (she's also broken her hip lately) and the place wouldn't pass inspection, especially due to the incomplete electrical work. And the fact that they put regular drywall up in the shower stall and therefore didn't tile over it. And ...

Anyhow, we gently tried to push her to start a claim with her insurance company (who apparently hired these jokers and then ... approved the work? OR something?) Another mutual friend (the one who put us onto this) is also nudging. We'll see?

Smaller things:
Went to a PhD trombone performance last night (our kid was playing in the back-up group for one piece). It was fun to get to hear, and our presence increased the audience size measurably, so we were glad we went.

Today as I was riding home on the bike path I came across a woman walking and looking at her phone. When I stopped to ask if she needed help she told me she was looking for an auto body place. We established that she was going in the wrong direction, and she mentioned she's not great with directions, so I hopped off and walked her over (about 3/4 mile). Somehow the idea of saying "take that underpass on the mixed-use path, then go left, around and left again, and then cross the canal on the bridge that's actually sort of a head gate" didn't seem like it'd go very well!