You Just Never Know!

[SawyerTed]

Emily and I dropped off some used clothing and other items at the Outreach Ministry in our community. 

There was a truck parked near the door apparently the driver was purchasing some used furniture for a needy family. 

Since I was standing there. I loaded the furniture for the gentleman who was much older than me (I'm 61).  I did it because it just seemed the right thing to do.   

The man handed my wife something that I figured was a tip.  He said he had found a little something and thought she should have it.  I was already in the car and had already refused his token of appreciation.

What he handed her was an 1879 Morgan Silver Dollar! 

[JJ]

a quick search 1879 Morgan Silver Dollar are selling for $19.99 each..
:P
Your good karma.

[SawyerTed]

I'm not a coin collector with any expertise.  From what I can tell it has a mint mark of O meaning it was minted in New Orleans.  It's not rare by any means.

The best guess I can give is it's in circulated "good" condition.  Prices range from the "metal content" value of $18 ish to around $45.   

Emily is putting it in an envelope with a note describing the event.  It will go in the gun safe with her other "stuff".

[Southside]

Was he old enough that he picked that up from the mint new?  :D

[thecfarm]

Now you will always remember his Thank You.

[NE Woodburner]

SawyerTed, your story reminds me of a similar experience I had years ago. I was at the gas station filling some cans and noticed an older lady fumbling with the gas pump for quite a while. I asked if she needed help and she said yes, please. So I filled her car for her and she thanked me and tried to put something in my hand as I started to walk away. I looked down and it was a quarter (not old or rare, just a regular quarter). My instinct was to say no thankyou and that I was happy to help. Then I quickly thought, it's only a quarter and she will probably feel better giving it to me than if I refused, so I thanked her and left her with a big smile.

On the other end of the spectrum, I once stopped on my way home from work to help a person who was obviously stuck in the wet snow and mud at the edge of the road where they had pulled over. I asked if they needed help and they responded yes, I could use a push. So I pushed the back of their car and after rocking back and forth a bit the car was free. They slammed down the gas and sprayed me with mud and snow and drove away leaving me standing there a mess.

[Magicman]

If/when someone attempts to tip you....take it.  Do not deny them the joy of giving. 

[SawyerTed]

A joyous servant's heart tends to be surprised by a tip.  Particularly when volunteering to lend a hand.  I loaded the furniture simply as an act of kindness.

On the other hand, a tip for a compensated service done well is always appreciated. 

It's my nature to help out.  Two motorcycles stopped in from of my house a couple of years ago.  Turned out one had run out of gas. 

I had a fresh jug and gave them more than enough to get to the nearest station.  They were a husband and wife, the wife's mc was the one out of gas.  The man offered me a $100 bill.  He said it would cost him more than that to call for help.

I turned down and asked, "Do you ride in any benefit rides?"   He said they did.  I told him to put that $100 in the donation box and remember that guy that gave them $10 in gas.

So that joy of giving and acts of kindness go both ways.

[Magicman]

Yes, Thank You Ted for clarifying what I said. 

There is a difference between Compensated service and Goodwill service.  I will accept a tip for the former but not the latter.   

[JD Guy]

I'm with the rest of you on helping those in distress or need. Have changed lots of tires for people..even had one that had no spare so drove to get the flat repaired and installed it. I've always politely refused the offer of money instead asking them to pay it forward and help someone else out when they see an opportunity. Can't be enough good in our world, especially now

[barbender]

 I always tell people to just pass it on when I give them a hand. I've been on the receiving end of several tow ropes and such and didn't have any money to give anyone for helping me, so I'm always happy to give people a helping hand.

9 times out of 10 I have people that are grateful for the help, and that is certainly enough. And then there is that one out of 10...

Once I was coming out of a small town that is on a lake. The highway is going up a hill, and  around a corner. And here is a car on the shoulder, with a flat tire. I pulled over to help it, was a couple of gals with no means to change a tire, but they did have a spare.

Well, this was a bad spot so I was trying to hurry. Being I was in my woods truck, I had all of the tools to make quick work of it, including a cordless impact. I got done, and the driver was upset when she saw that I didn't switch her hubcap onto the spare. I was about to let her have it when her sister intervened, thanked me profusely and they were on their way. That left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth😑

[NE Woodburner]

If/when someone attempts to tip you....take it.  Do not deny them the joy of giving.

Point taken, but this was a simple act of kindness which I was not expecting payment for, so I felt odd taking it. If it were more money she was offering I would have thanked her and refused payment. With the amount being so small I had the feeling that I would be offending her more by refusing than by graciously accepting.

That left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth😑

In my second example, the thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was the mud and snow!

Fortunately the second example is the exception, not the rule. Like others, I try to help those that appear to need it at the time with the hope that they will pay forward if and when they are able.

[SawyerTed]

As I'm getting a bit older, I'm learning to graciously accept help when I really need it. 

It's hard for many of us here who tend toward being self reliant and the type to get things done. 

I had a flat on a boat trailer while on a trip to the coast.  When I tried to get the lug nuts off, the whole stud turned on a couple of them.  I didn't have a spare hub (I carry one now).  So I resorted to using a hammer and chisel to break the studs and bought replacement studs and nuts at the auto parts store. 

A fellow stopped to see what I was doing.  He said I have a machine shop just around the corner, I can fix that for you in 10 minutes. 

I hemmed and hawed around saying I could fix it, did want to bother him etc.

My lovely wife having a good sense of the trouble we were in accepted his help.  Sure enough he had the thing fixed and we were on the road in 30 minutes. 

I offered him money and he refused.  But what I did was brought several pounds of fresh fish to him on my return trip.  He accepted that! :D

[barbender]

 NE, your mud and snow in the mouth experience reminded me of a story- once, when we were a much younger family🙂 we went over to a birthday party for our friends' daughter. As I was pulling up in the very muddy springtime driveway one of the kids gasped so I slowed down. Well all they were gasping at was their friend waving at them from the living room window, but my letting off the throttle caused the family minivan to sink in the front end.

Dang it! Well, I tried to not get mad at the kids, it was just one of those things🤷 So, I told my beautiful wife she would have to get in the driver's seat so I could push from the front. So that's what we did. I explained to her once she got moving she couldn't let off until she was well clear of the mud, and with that I gave as much of a push to the front of the van as I could.

Finally, the van started to move, and as I continued to push I realized my error in positioning myself to the one side, as the spinning tire was starting to leave a nice stripe of mud on my leg. I kept pushing, and as I mentioned before my wife is beautiful. Especially when she laughs really hard. One of my greatest joys in life is to get her laughing hard enough to where her eyes almost close. Well I achieved that in this case, because as she continued to back away with the tire spinning and leaving a stripe of mud and grass up my legs and then my torso and chest, and even my face- she had that cute squinty smile as she drove away. She was doing what I told her and she couldn't stop, I could see the mix of emotion on her face of feeling horrible (I was even dressed nice) and being incredibly amused😂😂

[Ron Wenrich]

I've done a lot of work for free over the years.  Giving my opinion on woodlot evaluation and some sawmill work come to mind.  I looked at it more as a job prospect than anything else.  I was a Tree Farm inspector for a time, and that was gratis work.  For me, it is often hard to accept an act of gratitude.  I often found that those with the least funds were more apt to offer me something than those that were well off. 

I once went to check out a stand of timber on a Saturday morning.  It was a bit away, but I went.  After I tromped through the woods with a landowner, he told me that Granny had fixed us lunch.  I turned it down, but he eventually talked me into it.  We wouldn't want to disappoint Granny.

We went to the farmhouse, and there was Granny cooking pork chops on a wood cook stove.  They were the best pork chops I ever had.  I asked her what her secret was.  She cooked them in lard. 

Not all forms of appreciation comes in the form of money. 

[bluthum]

When I was a kid Pa had an auto repair shop. We were driving the hour's ride home in uncle Clyde's 50 odd black Chevy sedan for a later tune up. About 1/2 hour in the trip the Chevy conked out beside the dark highway. He raised the hood and a fellow pulls up and asks if he can help, says he's a mechanic. Pa says "Sure." In minutes we were back on the road. I asked him why he didn't tell the Samaritan he was also a mechanic. He says "Sometimes the best way to get people to like you is to let them help you."

[Cedarman]

When entering or leaving a restaurant you can get a good feel for peoples attitude toward life.
Men will almost always say "thank you" or "thank you kind  sir", some women will say the same, some will ignore you and a few will say " I don't need men to hold a door open for me".

[SawyerTed]

Or you get a comment like, "My what a good looking door stop" like I did when a young man holding a door for some white haired ladies!

I considered myself a bit more than a door stop even back then!   :D

[Magicman]

I am a white haired, legally bald, old man and I will hold the door open for anyone behind me, regardless of sex, race, or age.  It is often then transferred to the incoming traffic and we always have kind words with other.  Thankfully what I mostly see is still common courtesy.   

[WV Sawmiller]

When entering or leaving a restaurant you can get a good feel for peoples attitude toward life.
Men will almost always say "thank you" or "thank you kind  sir", some women will say the same, some will ignore you and a few will say " I don't need men to hold a door open for me".

Cedar,

   I'd have replied "I always try to hold the door for a pretty lady. I am sorry for my mistake in thinking that you are either one."

   You never know what kind of problems or issues a person is struggling with or how important a kind word or act may be to that person at that particular moment and likewise what kind of action/reaction and unkind word or act may set off.

[beenthere]

some women will say the same, some will ignore you and a few will say " I don't need men to hold a door open for me".

I'd always hold the work-place elevator door open for women, except for getting a similar snippy comment from a feminist that I worked with. The next time the elevator stopped on our floor, I exited quickly and let the elevator door nearly take her out. Caught her completely off guard. 
Not a nice thing to do, but I felt better for it.  ;) ;)

[JD Guy]

I am a white haired, legally bald, old man and I will hold the door open for anyone behind me, regardless of sex, race, or age.  It is often then transferred to the incoming traffic and we always have kind words with other.  Thankfully what I mostly see is still common courtesy.

It's been the same here for the 40 plus years we've lived in upstate SC. Unfortunately with a large increase in "transplants" from other areas not so much anymore. We've also noticed a lack of courtesy with other drivers as well, honking at you if you don't floor the gas immediately when the light turns green and tailgating. Guess it all has to do with how they were raised!
We still do hold doors and such regardless of sex,age,race, etc. and always will. Common courtesy's will slowly die away if we don't continue the practice 

[doc henderson]

if a man is holding the door for my family, I reach out to indicate I will take it and hold it for the next family.  I guess most around here appreciate it.  If not, I guess I could suggest they go back out and they can then hold it for themselves.  it is not an implication that the person is not able.  It is part of the old fashion tradition of men providing for and protecting their family. 

[SawyerTed]

Another way to look at it is...We are on this planet together, because we are together we all know it's a hard place at times.   Holding the door, opening doors, holding an umbrella for someone or whatever simple kindness just makes the world a little easier.  We could all stand a bit of that! 

I've said more than once, "Im sure you don't, but allow me to be kind" to a woman who said they didn't need a man to hold the door for them. 

[Magicman]

I hope that I never get in the condition that I can't hold the door open for someone, but if I do, I hope that someone will hold it open for me.

I did today and it was most appreciated.