Stories Matching 'Travel/Vacation' Tag (76)Environment Research New Ideas Public Transportation Children Inspiration Teachers Seniors OnThe Road Grocery Store Money Workplace Animals At Home Anonymous Friendship Kindness Kindness of Strangers Courage Small Acts of Kindness Health and Wellness Generosity Sharing Family Respect Neighbors Reconciliation Smile Cards Advice Good Samaritan Giving Money Giving Ability School Church Youth Collective Arts Creative Kindness Random Act of Kindness Homeless Travel/Vacation College/University Holidays Internet Birthday Sharing Food Emergency/Disaster Community Relationships Paying-It-Forward Coffee Shop/Restaurants $100 Kindness Idea Smile Decks Thank You Serendipity A Tattoo Named Lost--posted by singlestep, on Apr 17, 2008
comments (56) | email this | print | permalink Warm Story From Ethiopia--posted by Brendan Moran, on Apr 11, 2006
comments (7) | email this | print | permalink A Simple Prayer--posted by Shelley, on Apr 16, 2006
As a single mom, it is often hard for me to provide those little "extras" my children seem to want. comments (13) | email this | print | permalink A Stolen Bike and Help from Strangers--posted by Jessica Laplante, on Jun 2, 2007 It was a typical winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005: While most people were warming up their cars, my husband got up early to ride his bike the four kilometres to his job at Mr. Lube. When my husband arrived at work, he parked his bike outside the back doors as he usually does. After putting in 10 solid hours of labour, he returned to find his bike was gone–stolen. The bike, a purple kona 18 speed, was our only source of transportation. Trevor used that bike to get to both his jobs, putting in ... comments (4) | email this | print | permalink For whom the bell tolls--posted by vinay, on Jun 3, 2006
One of my favorite tags has been to pay for the person behined me on a bridge toll, and to ask the toll booth operator to give them a smile card. add comment | email this | print | permalink Tagging the Whole Entire Plane!--posted by Anon, on Jun 16, 2006
comments (11) | email this | print | permalink Spreading Smiles in Calcutta--posted by Pavi, on Jun 15, 2006
I was catching a flight from Calcutta to Madras and had arrived at the airport rather early. Have always thought of airports as rather happy places- everyone at the beginning or the end of a journey- or both- such a sense of adventure in the air- and warmth- because people travel to see people and you know as you look around that that's someone's daughtersonhusbandwifefriendgrandmotheruncle comments (3) | email this | print | permalink Act of Kindness in Zimbabwe--posted by Rita, on Jul 17, 2006
I was in the bus in heavy traffic going to an orphanage to visit some children. What I saw brought tears to my eyes. comments (2) | email this | print | permalink My Grandma's Breakfast at IHOP--posted by Kat Callaway, on Jul 26, 2006
I have been using the smile cards for quite a while, and I try to get my family members to do it with me. It is a lot of fun. comments (1) | email this | print | permalink Father and Son Getting Home--posted by Wes Bennett, on Nov 6, 2007
A few months ago, while driving home from work, I was thinking about my long tiring day at work and worrying about my other half, and would he be OK when I got home. My partner of 6 years, was lying in bed at home, sick and facing a long illness and possibly death. comments (66) | email this | print | permalink Encouraging a Pirate--posted by Roger, on Sep 3, 2006
My wife and I were at Disneyland taking the shuttle back to the hotel, when this boy -- I guess he must've been 4 or 5 years old -- gets on the shuttle bus with his pirate sword and eye patch. comments (12) | email this | print | permalink Lessons From My Daddy--posted by millie, on Oct 3, 2006 well, im millie, im 15 years old, and im going to tell you about my daddy =) i dont see him much anymore, but i learnt so much when i was with him. i remember one time, dad, my little brother and i were on our way back to sydney on a plane...we were stuck inside the plane for an hour and a half after we landed because some trailer wouldnt work. anyway, a little girl and her brother were sitting in frount of us, they were about 4 or 5, and they were afraid of being stuck in the plane...the little girl was crying. So my dad started to do "magic" tricks, he had a yo yo and was making it "dissapear" and making funny faces, in no time at all, my dad, me, and my little brother had a small audience, the people next to us and the people behind and in frount. the parents of the kids thanked us, and we havnt seen them since, but i learnt from my dad that day...Laughter is the best medicine. comments (6) | email this | print | permalink The Japanese Man, Frank, and Michael--posted by keymaker, on Oct 6, 2006
comments (16) | email this | print | permalink Serendipity With a Camera Woman--posted by karmaklimber, on Oct 25, 2006
Recently my wife and I were in Maui, and we went to enjoy one of its gorgeous sunsets by the beach. While sitting there a nice lady saw us and asked, "Do you have a camera?". I replied, "Yeah", and then she offered to take a picture of us. So we stood up, got into our 'standard' arm around each other pose. Then she asked us to lie down on the ground to make the shot more interesting, and asked how to set the manual flash on my camera. My wife asked her if she was a photographer, and she replied, "Yes, but I don't have any jobs tonight." comments (4) | email this | print | permalink Midnight roses--posted by Satya, on Nov 19, 2006
I was recently at a conference in Barcelona, Spain (home of Gaudi) when I thought, wouldn't it be great to do a little act of kindness in a far away city? I went through the lively La Rambla street - enjoying the scene and (in the back of my mind) looking for an opportunity of kindness. But I couldn't find anything right away. It was mostly tourists and street vendors. comments (10) | email this | print | permalink Kindness for a Cancer Patient--posted by allexie, on Nov 25, 2006 I'm having chemo at the moment and got on the bus feeling rather weak and sick. A little old lady got up to let me sit down saying "I know what it's like." She was glancing at my headscarf which covers my baldy head. Full marks to her for consideration and KINDNESS XXX comments (7) | email this | print | permalink A Gift of Cloth--posted by anon, on Dec 29, 2006 Although I walk through the world with a folio of smile cards in my wallet, and try to be ever-vigilant for opportunities to use them, it always seems that I am the recipient of anonymous kindness much more often than the benefactor. Here's a story about one such incident which happened just yesterday: We arrived at Chennai Central early; our train did not depart for another 45 minutes. I took the opportunity to find a tailor to perform a simple repair for me. Across the lane from the side of the station stood a building typical of those found in India cities, ... comments (19) | email this | print | permalink Be kind - nothing in the world will harm you!--posted by Ari1969, on Jan 3, 2007 My niece was away from home for a student camp, which was part of preparation for our country's Republic Day celebration. The camp was conducted at a local school and children were put together to stay in groups of 10 in each room for their stay until the completion of the camp. It was the rainy season, which brought a lot of infections and health ailments. Some children suffered from fever due to the chillness, some got throat infections and just one had the most odd infection - an eye infection. While fever, cough and cold were not too contagious, the eye infection was. ... comments (7) | email this | print | permalink Giving someone a chance to recharge--posted by KingHartuc, on Jan 20, 2007 Good day, I was recently traveling and bad weather had surrounded the airport, causing many flights to get canceled or delayed. I was sitting by the gate, having changed my flight to another one already and was watching the unfortunate airline rep at the gate counter. She was being bombarded by a number of people who seemed to assume that the poor weather, flight cancellations and everything else causing them grief was her fault and each one in turn laid all of their grief on her and I could see she was being pushed to the brink. A little ah-ha light bulb ... comments (20) | email this | print | permalink Secret Santa of Kansas City--posted by Nanci Hellmich, on Dec 25, 2008
comments (18) | email this | print | permalink The Wondorous Oragami Man--posted by sam7757, on Mar 3, 2007
comments (55) | email this | print | permalink A Trail of Shells--posted by papaya, on Apr 20, 2007 I live in Florida in an area that is famous for its shells. Many tourists wake up at 5:00 in the morning to find the best shells. Living here, we have learned where to find the best shells and how to look for them. A lot of tourists spend time walking up and down the shore on the same beach and they don't tend to find very interesting stuff. And I figure, since I live here, there's no real point in looking for shells for myself since I already have a big collection. So, whenever I find really nice shells (and sand dollars- those are not easy to find but are in high demand), I go out at night and scatter them along the beach for some lucky tourist to find. Once I saw a family find a really pretty sand dollar I had left and they were so excited! It made their vacation. Plus, they were from Europe and they had traveled a long way for their vacation. I was so glad that someone deserving got my little gift! I'll continue to leave more shells along the beach whenever I can! comments (24) | email this | print | permalink Wandering Around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal--posted by Naomi Shihab Nye, on Apr 26, 2007
comments (56) | email this | print | permalink I Wish You Enough--posted by brighteyes, on May 10, 2007
comments (125) | email this | print | permalink Helping A Stranger Get Home--posted by ssn585, on Jun 3, 2007 A few years ago, I was attending a friend's graduation at the University of Oaklahoma. While she was giving me a tour of the campus, she stopped by the student travel office to pick up her tickets. While we were waiting, I listened in on a student from Australia trying to fix a problem with her itinerary. The agent told her that it would cost an additional $300 over what she had already paid to get an itinerary that did not include a ten hour overnight layover in LA. She didn't have the money and I heard her say she ... comments (15) | email this | print | permalink 5 Love Notes To My Grand-mother--posted by tesa, on Jun 19, 2007 I was just in France to visit my grand-mother who is very dear to me. I don’t get to cross the Atlantic very often, and she’s now 96 year old, so every time I go visit, the two of us are very aware that it might be the last time we see each other. Last time I visited her in December of 2004, I did a series of short video interviews about her life. I asked her what it was like to grow up with her father in the 1910s (her mother died during labor), to ... comments (73) | email this | print | permalink Two Dollars That Changed My Life--posted by Daphne, on Jul 15, 2007 Everyday I walk down the mall to get a cup of cappuccino, and every day I get hit up for spare change. Every day. The panhandlers all have these wonderful stories but you never know what to believe. After a while it gets to be an irritation, and then I find myself getting upset that I'm so irritated over what is really just spare change. One day this person came up to me and said, "I just ran out of gas. My car is about six blocks away from here, I have two kids in the car and I'm just trying ... comments (19) | email this | print | permalink A Simple Card For a Beautician--posted by kylierose16, on Aug 18, 2007 This week I felt I wanted to treat myself to some ‘beautician treatment’. I am house bound, so knew that I’d have to pay for the beautician to travel to our place, but that was okay by me, after all this was a treat. That day I had an appointment made, and was expecting at least a 2 week wait, but to my surprise, was told she’d be here at 3:30 that same day. She came by, and spent an hour with me, when she was finished, I handed her $50; $30 for treatment, $20 for petrol and traveling time. She turned to ... comments (27) | email this | print | permalink Unspoken Contract With A Rickshaw Driver--posted by keymaker, on Aug 29, 2007 "Where to?" the rickshaw driver asks me with his mouth full of tobacco. "Vijay Char Rasta," I say. I'm headed to meet a few friends to talk about the purpose of life and things like that. :) After some light conversation, the rickshaw driver and I quickly become friends. "Are you from Ahmedabad?" he asks me. "No, I'm just visiting a friend." "Just a visit?" "Yeah, he's opening a restaurant and he wanted my parents to inaugurate it. I'm helping him launch the café." "Café? You mean, it's like a Barista?" he asks showing his knowledge about the ... comments (36) | email this | print | permalink Pen Pals At The Airport--posted by RipplesGuy, on Sep 22, 2007
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Got on the plane in Minneapolis for the two hour and nine minute flight to NY. Spent the first nine minutes of it talking to the young curly-brown-haired passenger with long sideburns. In the first three minutes of talking to him I noticed on the back of his hand a ball-point-pen tattoo. One word.
"Lost".
And for some reason that touched me. In the same inexplicable way that "Help Wanted" signs in store windows do sometimes. That people would be so honest, so open about their vulnerability.
I wonder what he is going through.
This fellow passenger with his friendly manner who freelances ... 
I traveled to Ethiopia last year with my business partner and president of OLA's Exotic Coffee & Tea. We are a coffee company that imports coffee from Africa and traveled to Ethiopia to visit the coffee plantations and speak with the government about investing.
The Japanese man points to my airplane seat, right as I head to the bathroom. He didn't speak much English, so I just signal that I'll be back in couple minutes. When I return, we play charades to see if he wants to swap his aisle seat with my window seat. "Yes, yes," he says with a child-like glee.
I am more than happy to oblige. My window shutter has been down for couple hours of the flight already and I am hardly planning on making any further use of it.
Right before he changes seats, he folds his hands and bows ... 
My friend, Gayla and I were traveling to Phoenix from Chicago. I misread the ticket, and we missed our flight. I was busy being upset about my failed plans when Gayla suggested we just fly wherever we want instead, since we had the time.
I think about missing my flight to Phoenix and going to San Francisco instead. It taught me a lot about being open to what is, not attached to what I want, and how things unexpected can happen. Long story but while Gayla and I were in San Fran, this strange thing happened. It made me think ... 
After learning my flight was detained 4 hours, I heard the announcement: "If anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic, please come to the gate immediately."
Well -- one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there.
An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress,
just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly. "Help," said the flight service person. "Talk to her. What is her problem? we told her the flight was going to be four hours late and she did this."
I put my arm around her and spoke to her haltingly. ... 
I travel a fair amount for work, and almost every hotel room I stay in has at least one pen. If I pick it up even once to jot down a voice mail message or to scribble down a random idea that pops into my head, the pen usually ends up in my backpack and no matter how many times I have scolded myself to "LEAVE THE PENS" they somehow sneak home with me.
A few years ago on a trip home I was waiting in line at the airport gate counter and the agent was frustrated because a customer had ... | Home | About Us | Our Friends | Get Involved | Contact us |  |  |  |