random acts of kindness

[pakidaho]

Teri and I have been here summarizing our rides during this season. Just returned from south Utah where we had the fortune of visiting our folks (her in-laws). We went down through Evanston Wyoming found some very scenic highways to travel.. Utah state highway 150 was delightful, technical and worthy of another ride. Highway 72 was also very nice...great ride. Riding through Salt Lake City on the other hand is not fun not scenic and makes my knuckles white.

 

Pretty much every place we camped this season BC to south Utah we met folks either giving us firewood, Salmon cooked on Ceder boards, fresh fantastic stew, shared their fires with us, great conversation...friendly sharing what they have with out any asking. People just seem to go out of their way to be generous and kind.

We both agree we are seeing a change..or maybe we are both finally open to it and we realize how profound the effects this sort of kindness has on us. We have always enjoyed sharing what we have with folks yet have been reluctant to be open to accepting what others would share with us. We realize we have more often than not avoided that opportunity for others to share with us.

 

We have found that Venture Riders exemplify a giving sharing attitude and through our travels we have been very proud to be Venture Riders and demonstrate the core philosophy that we believe Venture Riders values. Our experience has made us both more determined than ever to go out of our way to perform random acts of kindness, as well as accept them.

 

Would be nice to hear of some of those sharing stories others here have experienced.

 

Teri n Erv

[painterman67]

Ive just recently been able to help out a couple, On our way home from mantenence day the wife ( shadow queen) and I were traveleing the blue ridge parkway a bit. We came along a couple of hikers . They were setting there tired,head hanging. After a qjuick conversation I ended up taking the young lady over to our trailer,opening the cooler and telling them to help them selves. They ate several ham sanwiches and took quite a few drinks with them. In the short conversation we found out that they hadnt eaten all day and were out of food. They were also at least a 40 mile hike from the nearest town. There was also another venturerider and his wife( sorry I cant remember there names) that we had seen at the M&E in ohio that also opened there trailer for food too. Wasnt much but man did it make me feel good.

 

 

Oh yeah we ended up going to the next town and buyibg a small bag of dogfood too. their dog was hiking with them and although they didnt ask Im an animal person so he had to eat too.

 

 

 

 

David

[skydoc_17]

Last year, about this time, the weather had started to get bad here in Pennsylvania, but I wasn't quite ready to call it quits for the season. I posted on this site that if anyone would feed me and allow me to camp for the night, I would come to their location, and if they would buy the repair parts, I would furnish the labor and repair their bikes as best as I could. I left on October 12, 2009 with my tools and a sleeping bag and tent. After repairing 20 or so bikes and approx. 2600 miles later I came home. I never did have to camp, I was able to put faces to the many names I see on the site, and SteveD and I worked on a early 70's BMW that had not run in many years. Much to our surprise, the bike ran well and to see the look of delight on the face of the young military man that owned that piece of history made the trip worthwhile. On my way home, I ran into some very foul weather and even though that didn't need any work done on their motorcycles, JRichards and his delightful girlfriend put me up for the night out of the rain and sleet. The last leg home was thru some of the worst weather I had ridden in since I was a young man. I would ride from gas station to gas station stopping not for fuel but for a cup of HOT coffee and a place to get in out of the rain, sleet and snow. More than once, complete strangers, not even on motorcycles, (I was the only bike I saw that long, cold day) bought me coffee, allowed me to sit in their vehicle to warm up, and one family offered to put my bike on their trailer and tow me close to where I lived! Towards the end of the ride, as I became overcome with the weather, and the kindness, the rain was the only thing that hid my tears from the folks that shared their time, their food and drink, their family members and their stories about their travels across this great country and the kind people that they had met.

It has been, and will continue to be an HONOR to be of service to the members of this site! I truly feel that by showing kindness to our fellow man, (and woman) we as VentureRiders can turn this country around, and teach other people that it is OK to be kind to each other, as it was in an earlier time in my life. I try NEVER to pass up an opportunity to bestow an "act of random kindness" to people that pass my way. Take a moment, and ask yourself, WHAT HAVE I DONE LATELY, :confused24:If you don't have an answer, it's NEVER to late to bestow an "act of random kindness" on someone you don't know.

Earl and Jean