Real Life Heroes, No Costumes Necessary

Make a Difference- Pay it ForwardCall it what you like. Random Acts of Kindness. Pay it Forward. Do Unto Others as you Would Have Done Unto You.

Here's a list that I've started of actual NICE things to report about.....if you're looking for something nasty that people have done, check out here, if you're looking for something that paints humanity in a negative light, check it out here, but this is all NICE.

Recently from Great Britain: You always hear the stories of how Lotto winners usually waste all their money on the decadent life after a few years. I think if Karma has anything to do with it, single-mother Jane Surtees will have a good chance of actually making it work with her winnings. When she won the lottery in  December of 2008, one of her first acts was to plan a trip to Ethiopia to donate some of her winnings and time to orphans there. For the whole heart-warming story, read here.

From Illinois at a Starbucks Drive Through Window: One car paid for the coffee of the car behind his, and this started a chain-reaction (think Dominoes here) of no less than 160 cars paying for the cars (and presumably SUVs and trucks) behind them.

Free Hugs: Started in Sydney (who knew Australians were that friendly? Must be the koala bear influence), the Free Hugs campaign has spurred a world-wide Free Hugs Movement with Youtube videos from around the world, including countries like South Korea and France, who are not exactly known for their hugging. No word yet on whether a Free Kisses or Free Bows campaign is on the way. I am a softie and the many free hugs videos I saw made me tear up a little.

The Grocery Store....This is a touching personal account of a woman who lost her job and had little money for the groceries she needed to buy. She went back to the aisles to return $30 of groceries and in the meantime, an eldery woman had paid for her groceries.

And, in a final act of pay it forward via the always fabulous Huffington Post, a hairdresser received a $50,000 tip from a client. The client, who wishes to remain anonymous, was a breast cancer survivor and a regular client of Bobby Johnson. The woman says she chose Johnson for her not so random act of kindness because of the love and support that Johnson showed during the woman's struggle with cancer. Bobby is intending to "Pay it Forward" herself and is looking for ways that she, too, can continue to make a difference.