I'm ordinarily a bit grumpy
I say a bit. I'm actually like a fucking grizzly bear with a sore head. My social skills have degraded to the point where I don't bother going out socially any more. However three things that I've done stick out in my mind from when I was younger and fresher.

Me at 18/19 years old, doing temp work for Widdowsons, loading lorries for the Christmas rush in a busy depot. Lorries from all over were coming in to be filled with goods. It's organized chaos and boxes are being passed around like a human conveyor belt. (Looking back, I've never been so at peace with myself in my entire life.)
I'm crossing the depot heading for the loo when I see this bloke wandering around with this bunch of papers, looking confused and very out of place. As we passed each other I caught his eye and offered, "Alright mate?"

He winced, looked around in sheer desperation and said, "Espanol?" fluttering the papers a little for emphasis.

The poor bastard was Spanish, obviously looking for someone to sign for his lorryload of stuff. I smiled and motioned for him to follow, and he eagerly did, all the way to the supervisors office, who promptly told me to get back to work. I explained again a little more forcefully that this bloke was waiting for his stuff to be signed and was told furthermore to 'sod the foreign twat, go and move more boxes."

I left the office, taking the bloke with me, who had no idea what was just said, and told him in broken Spanish that I didn't speak his language, and did he know any French?

He replied haltingly in French that he knew a little, and I agreed that I was the same. I asked him clumsily for his green paper and he gave it to me with a flourish, I then signed the fucker myself, and apologised on behalf of Britain as best I could, calling the manager a 'merde a la tete.'

The bloke burst out laughing. He then led me to his cab outside the main shutter doors and asked me, 'fumar?' He gave me the biggest fucking cigar I've ever seen, and I thanked him very much, and we shook hands. All of this in a language neither of us knew really at all - a real Frenchman probably would've been in stitches. But it was enough.

I smoked it on New Years Eve a month later, and smiled as I remembered the bloke.

-----------------------------------------------

The other thing that happened was when I worked in a cold storage warehouse. We supplied chicken and sauce and cheese for KFC. We all wore heavy cold weather gear, and again, I actually enjoyed the simpleness of it all, and the other temps were great. No backstabbing, no politics.

I was going about my business there one day, minus 8 degrees, when I saw this older black fella crying softly as he clumsily moved boxes about. He was in his late fifties, with wiry grey working it's way into his hair and beard. I was really shocked when he told me that he couldn't feel his hands, he was "so cold...so cold..."

I asked him for fucks sake, why havent you said anything?, to which he replied he was afraid to, since he needed the job to feed his family, and if he complained, he'd be sacked.

I marched him straight to the supervisors office and played hell up. I quoted Health and Safety and all fucking sorts, and the supervisors went pale when they realized the was way over 35 and shouldn't even been working in cold storage.

The black guy thanked me so sincerely, holding both my hands, still crying, that I had to go off on my own for a bit. A bit moving. At least he got moved to a warm section of the warehouse.

---------------------------------------------------

Oh and I went to Borders at Christmas a few years back and was aghast to find a Christmas tree with labels all over it. "Five year old loves Tigger." "10 year old loves books about dinosaurs" etc. They were the Christmas wishes of dying kids in a local hospital.

No-one had bought hardly any labels from the tree. As I read more and more ("2 year old loves cats") I started crying. I still have no idea what happened to me but I had never, ever been so profoundly moved in my entire life. I stormed around the tree, taking the labels off, and then went around the shop for the next few hours, filling basket after basket with stuff that matched the labels. I bought the fucking lot and had no money left and I didn't fucking care. It was just so fucking wrong for that tree to be there full of labels like that on Dec 23rd. I was assured the kids would get the stuff on time but still.

I was given a 2p reject stuffed toy skunk from Bambi by the tillgirl for my 'generosity'. He sits in my car door pocket.



I wasn't going to post at all. I think bragging about nice things I've done is wrong, and it invalidates the acts themselves, cheapens them to nothing, but they way I've been feeling lately I needed someone to know I can do nice things sometimes. I'm a grumpy, antisocial bastard but I had to let someone know that I've tried to be better. That's all.
(oneltrchardonnay, Sun 5 Oct 2008, 10:59, 11 replies)

Good Deeds
Makes me feel better about the world as I am a bit of a grumpy bastard too. Thanks for sharing that mate. Didn't cheapen the original deeds at all.
(dewie, Sun 5 Oct 2008, 11:21, closed)

^^ This
You've done another good deed by warming some heart cockles here.
( warmfuzzies Isn't here, Sun 5 Oct 2008, 11:52, closed)

Good thing!
I think it's a good thing you wrote this, it can inspire the rest of us lazy wretches to go out there and do something that will change the life of a little kid, how sweet!!!
(Shlingtastic, Sun 5 Oct 2008, 11:55, closed)

We do the giving tree thing at work
and it's got so popular that if you're not fast enough, you don't get a label at all.

Ours is for Women's Aid, and the kids are all living in shelters, hiding from bad men (sorry guys, I know you're not all like that). It's such a small thing for us to do, but it means so much to them.

*click*
(TheWeeWitch hasn't been here much recently .., Sun 5 Oct 2008, 12:07, closed)

Good job! :-) Generosity needs more publicity! (and less celebrities)
Best answer I've read so far and not cheapened at all! I wonder how many more people would be kind and inspired to give a few quid to charity if we actually talked about it rather than treating it as some kind of dirty secret.

I bought a few goats for some poor bods in Guatemala last Christmas through Action Aid. I don't say it to brag - It just makes me feel happier about life knowing some little family has got a slightly better lot in a very tough world. - People may whine on about the credit crunch and the price of fuel but we really don't know how good we've got it!
(OrangeMochaFrappuccino last watched Dexter on, Sun 5 Oct 2008, 13:53, closed)

Hey
No. 1 was fantastic, but I LOVE you for Nos. 2 and 3.
I've been working when they handed out those presents from Borders and the kids are thrilled off their tits! To know what it's like, just imagine the scene in your mind and I'll tell ya it's 100% better in real life.

Bless you.
(TDub Nunc id vides, nunc ne vides on, Sun 5 Oct 2008, 21:39, closed)

.
As others have said,you've done a good deed by sharing this with us.

Lets hope this experience encourages you to make an effort to break out of your grumpy and antisocial mindset. The world needs more people who do things like what you did.
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Sun 5 Oct 2008, 23:36, closed)

Don't label yourself...
I can't really say that I completely understand your exact situation, but I can say that I understand the sentiments. I can tell you that the more you do, the better you feel. And that is what is important to me. All the bad and horrible things that go on and that we witness cause us to judge all people poorly. And it is my experience that this is true; the majority of people I have encountered in various situations are self-absorbed vicious feral subhumans. However, I have learned that the above fact is entirely irrelevant to my own mental health. I don't expect thanks or rewards or kudos for what I do. I don't let people wear me down with their own mental problems and social disorders; I do good things because it makes me feel better, and there's not a damned thing wrong with that. There's a lot more I can say about it, but for now, keep your head up and keep moving forward. Don't let the barstuds grind you down.
(aeon chicken Like the Millenium Falcon, only slower and noisier, Mon 6 Oct 2008, 9:42, closed)

You maybe a grumpy bastard but....
...your heart is in the right place!
(Woofie, Mon 6 Oct 2008, 18:29, closed)

fantastic
you've made more difference than anyone could hope for - especially the Christmas gift one.

You maybe grumpy but you're still getting a *click* ;o)
( h3donist tryin' to play me out as if my name is Sega.., Tue 7 Oct 2008, 16:05, closed)

I'm a
bit of a misanthrope as well, but this has cheered me up in a big way.

*Salutes*

Ya did good...
(uk_viper stopped lurking on, Wed 8 Oct 2008, 0:19, closed)