Ellen B. Alden

Author of Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke

A random act of kindness that backfired. A holiday blog

by 37 Comments

**Re-post of my December 2015 blog.  Everyone can use some laughter in mid-December!  Take 5 minutes to read about the hilarious experience.  Enjoy!!**

The holiday season can bring out the best and worst in people. All December long we hear stories of disgruntled shoppers, rude clerks, crooked charities, unlawful companies and ruthless criminals. These people have no holiday spirit and they are certainly not spreading merriment and cheer. They are in the Scrooge camp.

Luckily there is another camp and this one is much more jovial; these are the holiday lovers. They embrace the season of giving and enjoy their family traditions and religious celebrations. I have a friend named Addie and she would make a great leader in this camp. She loves every aspect of the holidays. Every year she brings the magic to life with perfect gifts, festive parties, beautiful lights and decorations, and a generous charity drive. Her holiday cards are mailed on November 29th, her lights up on December first, and she has booked tickets to the Nutcracker nine months in advance. She’s baked and shopped and wrapped and donated. My friend Addie is pretty much prepared for anything that the holiday season will throw at her. Well, except this year. She may have finally reached her “magical” holiday limit.

 

Addie called me last night in tears. She had tried carrying out a random act of kindness and it went terribly wrong. I tried not to laugh because I didn’t know anyone could fail at being kind, but after hearing her story I do agree that although her intentions were good, her execution needed tweaking.

 

You see Addie has wanted to perform a random act of kindness since last holiday season. She read about people giving away gift certificates to strangers, owners paying their tenant’s rent for a month, customers paying for shopper’s grocery bills and bosses surprising their employees with hams and champagne. She wanted to be part of this charitable endeavor. She’s like that. Anyway, Addie finally decided that yesterday was the day it was going to happen and she obtained a crisp 100 dollar bill to “pay it forward” to the first person who did something nice for her.

 

Well, as you might have guessed this is not how it played out for Addie. She went to the bank and withdrew the money and placed it in an envelope that said, “Happy holidays, you deserve something extra special.” She jumped in her car and headed out to run errands and hopefully find her perfect random act “victim.” However, she said people were in a hurry or seemed agitated and impatient. She did not want to stop someone only to be screamed at or possible struck. Other folks were walking in groups and she only had one envelope of cash. After completing her errands and grabbing a skinny, soy latte, Addie still had not completed her mission.

 

She went on with her day, buying flowers, humming carols, and stopping to light a candle at her church. She was in full holiday spirit. Addie picked up her daughter at school (and of course presented the crossing guard a plate of gingerbread cookies) and drove toward the YMCA where her little one takes swim lessons. It was on her entrance to the Y that Addie was struck by inspiration. She noticed that a teenage basketball player was holding the door for a mother and her three small children. When she approached the door he held it open even further and his face glowed with a cheery expression. This was her man; he was worthy of the random act of kindness!

 

Well, Addie says the next events happened so fast she is still not sure exactly what went wrong, but she waited until her daughter had turned the corner to the pool before breaking into a jog to catch up with the door holder. He was headed for the gym and she wanted to catch him before he entered because she could see it was crowded and she could hear the echoes of the dribbling balls and squeaking sneakers. Addie sped up and hollered, “excuse me, excuse me, man.” She said she was trying to sound cool. But he didn’t turn around. Addie knew she couldn’t give up now-she’d never done anything spontaneous like this before and she wasn’t going to quit until she completed her quest. She tossed her pocketbook over her shoulder and sprinted as fast as she could down the YMCA hall toward the basketball court. By the time she caught up with him he was nearly at the door so she had to lunge her arm out and grab the back of his tank top. Otherwise she would have missed him; she swears it was absolutely necessary. She hadn’t meant to frighten him but when he turned toward her she could see that his eyes were wide and he was clutching his shirt, trying to free it from her grasp.

 

Things only went down hill from there. Addie says she could barely speak because she was out of breath from the sprint. She released the boy’s shirt and fumbled through her pocketbook for the envelope. When she looked up the boy was slowly backing away and Addie panicked and dove at him again pleading, “Stop, I have something for you.” As polite as the young basketball player was, she assumed his patience had run out as he heard the whistle blow to begin his game. He shook his head and pointed to his friends on the court. Addie reacted as quickly as a cat and shoved the envelope over his shoulder. He automatically turned his head and grasped the envelope—then ran into the safety of the gym.

 

Addie was exhausted from the ordeal but felt a sense of relief that she had accomplished her random act of kindness. However, nothing prepared Addie for what would happen next. As she turned back toward the long hallway she took one last look into the gym and saw the “door holder” showing his friends the envelope, hollering something that sounded like “crazy,” and tossing his curly black man-bun to the ceiling in laughter. Then he ripped the envelope in two pieces, then four, then 16 pieces and casually tossed them in the trashcan!

 

Well, Addie finally admitted, “I may have gone about this deed a bit too aggressively.” She felt terrible in her failure. She did however learn a few things about random gift giving; first, gift cards are much more recognizable and sturdy (they can’t be torn up like cash) second, it’s never a good idea to frighten the person you are trying to treat, third, don’t go after young basketball players who are fast and see you as old and creepy, and last, NEVER try to perform an anonymous act of kindness in a place that you frequent three times a week!! Addie wondered if perhaps her daughter could take up tennis or if not, if it might be a good idea to change her hair color and make up. She says she will look into car-pooling for the rest of the swimming season and she is quite certain she is finished with random acts of kindness.

 

Charitable acts of kindness are the hallmark of any religious holiday and my friend Addie will forever be an example of the “good ” in human kind. For me too, she will also be the woman who stalked and frightened a teenage boy just to try and make his day. There has to be a special place in heaven for these types of people.

 

Happy Holidays!

 

 

Comments

  1. Ellen Alden must be a very special angel……a great writer with a huge heart and imagination. I look forward to reading her book.

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  2. Ellen, that is too funny! Being a high school teacher, I could hear the boys laughing and not looking in the envelope! I hope Addie can find another random act to carry out to change her luck!

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    • Thanks for reading my blog, Sarah. Yes, Addie needs a quick change in fortune. She told me she is writing a check to Doctors without Borders to be sure her money stays in tact!

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  4. I too love your writing style! It’s like talking to an old friend! This is brilliant- so perfectly captures the madness of the holidays and frankly, everyday life! Sometimes, you can’t win for trying.
    Keep em coming- you are great!

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  6. Addie sounds hilarious and like such a good person! I loved how you captured the story so clearly. It’s almost like you were there! Merry Christmas to you and Addie and I can’t wait to read your book in 2016!!

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  7. Love this blog! As a retail cashier, I experience every kind of person during the holiday season – from Scrooges to people like Addie. I hope this doesn’t discourage your friend, she is the kind of person I look forward to ringing up every day!

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  8. Your stories are hilarious. I think this idea of random acts of kindness would be the perfect premise for a holiday TV show. Have a camera follow someone like Addie on one of her missions – it would likely highlight how hard it can be sometimes to find a friendly face during the joyous holiday season!

    Keep the stories coming and let me know when I can get copies of your book for my ancestry-obsessed Irish family.

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  10. Love, love, love the blog! While I was reading the story I could envision Addie as an energetic red head…hmm. The holidays are such a crazy time and it is so easy to visit the “Scrooge Camp”. Addie is a great example of what the holidays and all of our days should be about – paying it forward. I love the build up within the story and found the humor real. Addie, hold your head up high when you return to the YMCA. Your intentions were genuine and who cares about perception!

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  11. Oh my goodness…..I really needed a good laugh! As I was reading this all I could think of, “this is so something that would happen to Ellen”…….are you sure the names have not been changed to protect the innocent? Love, love, love!!!!! You have a special gift Ellen, can’t wait to read your book!!!

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    • Thanks Michelle! I’m fortunate to have friends who offer blogging material!I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog and leave a comment.

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  12. And so it goes no good deed goes unpunished. Hopefully Addie sees the unexpected response as only as an opportunity to continue to do the right thing during this season of giving. What an ending to this story.! Thank You for sharing this. Looking forward to your next blog.

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  13. Great job, Ellen! You’ve really captured the essence of the holiday season and all it’s craziness – and then just killed it with this hilarious and ironic re-telling of Addie’s unrewarded attempt at unsolicited generosity.
    I love your fun writing style! Thanks for keeping the spirit of the holidays alive!

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    • Quite a departure from my historical novel, huh? I love writing diversity! I am now working on a new Young Adult book that is sure to tickle your funny bone. Thanks for the comments and Happy Holidays Kristin!

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  14. Thanks for sharing that timely story. It was awesome. I love the way you write and vividly describe the characters and events. Poor Addie!

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  15. Wow Ellen, it was amazing reading all of your pieces of writing. I can’t wait until your book comes out. Do you have a title yet?

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    • Hi Elaine! Nice to hear from my old college friend. Thank you for reading my blog; the title of my book is Yours, Faithfully, Florence Burke. It’s historical fiction and based off letters I found in my attic (Civil War letters of my Irish great, great grandfather writing to his wife and children). I am trying to get it published now. Wish me luck!

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      • I can’t wait. Sounds fascinating. Historical fiction and memoir are two of my favorite genres to read and to have my old roommate a published author is great. Good luck and keep me posted!! Happy holidays!

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  16. What a cute and comical story. This crazy world needs more good deed doers, like Addie. Absolutely love your writing style. Can’t wait to read your book in the new year. All the best to you and yours.

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  17. This may just become one of my new favorite Christmas stories. Love the character of Addie, she reminds me of a dear friend of mine. Ellen, you have a gift for storytelling. I am so looking forward to your book.

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    • Oh thank you Ann!I am fortunate to be surrounded by hilarious friends like you who inspire me! I appreciate you reading my blog and leaving a comment.

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  18. Wow Ellen great blog and I can’t wait to read your book. I am a teacher’s and we only touch on aspects of the Civil War but I often find appropriate children’s books to read to my students. My 4th graders love it! Can’t wait to read the entire manuscript.

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  19. Wow great blog, your book sounds great! Oh yes, silly old Addie. We have been friends for years. She is always trying to be above and beyond with holiday spirit! Especially in the Christmas season. When I was reading this blog I laughed so hard thinking of my friend.:)

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  20. It’s all in Addie’s heart — she seems like an amazing, loving person who will never stop to seize the moment and laugh, give and love. Look forward to the new book – hurry please!!!

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