Kindness of Strangers

A few weeks ago I was browsing Reddit and came across a discussion about old Star Trek micro machine toys. I don’t really remember what the topic was about but I did make a comment about how I had bought some for my son to play with and that I wished they still made them. You can find some for reasonable prices but since everything is old stock, much of it is quite expensive for what you’re getting.

One of the other Redditors sent me a message saying he had a bunch of old ships sitting in his attic taking up space. He had thought about selling them but would much prefer to see them to go some kid who would enjoy playing with them. He offered to send them to me in exchange for the shipping cost.

I am naturally hesitant at first. Reddit is not known for being a place free of trolls. But it is a kind and fair offer (even if there is a non-zero chance I’ll receive a box of something unsavory) so I send him some Paypal monies and an address. And then a few days later, boom, a box arrives.

And it was truly amazing. I’m sure this guy could have gotten quite a lot on ebay for what he sent. Instead, he sent it for free to a child he never met. There is a lot of ugliness going on in the world right now. You look at your social media feed and it’s full of doom and gloom. Much of it warranted, some of it exaggerated. You start to wonder if humanity is just screwed. And then something happens to remind you that most humans are actually pretty good people.

So remember that. Take a moment to do something nice for a stranger and help them remember that too. Then maybe, just maybe, humanity will find a way to live together without being complete asses to each other.