Leon writes about giving a stranger $1 to help him get a train ticket.
Recently I saw something similar, a lady was giving balloons to children in the Bourke St Mall in Melbourne just after 9PM. I asked her about this (I couldn’t see a logo on the balloons and wondered how she was making money). It turned out that unlike almost everyone else who gives out balloons in shopping areas she wasn’t trying to advertise a product to parents, but her hobby was to give out balloons to children.
I regret not asking her more questions, I wonder why she was doing this after 9PM (there aren’t many children out then), whether she always hangs out at Bourke St, and what gave her the idea to start doing this.
Have to confess that the $1 was well-spent even for my own entertainment, making the actual charity sort-of a bonus. It did feel very satisfying to so simply, painlessly meet the needs of a total stranger.
Leon: A bag of balloons costs $2 and can be easily inflated… ;)
When I visited Ireland, I didn’t have exact change for the ticket and was a bit short. The bus driver just waived it and let me on. I thought it was very nice of him.