I want to switch it up a bit. Normally we hear from the recipients of good deeds. I'd like to give my perspective from the other side.

It started out while standing in line at Tim Horton's in Tecumseh Mall, last Monday, behind two separate elderly people. The one ahead of the other was searching his pockets for change and told the lady behind him to go ahead of him. She politely refused and said she was in no rush. He demanded a few more times until I just said we must all be the only ones who aren't in a rush to go anywhere. It was in that moment I decided it was time to give back.

When I got up to the counter to place my order, instead of purchasing the coffee I was going to get, I purchased 5 gift cards (each with $5 on it). The first I dropped on the counter and said goes to the next in line; I never saw who that was as I just turned and walked away. I then left the mall and went over to Devonshire Mall. I felt like there was more traffic and a higher level of stress. What I thought would take maybe an hour ended up taking 4. I walked around and gave a gift card to anyone who looked me in the eyes and smiled. I quickly learned that smiles don't come easily. It was very disappointing at this time of year to see so many straight, angry, determined, even sometimes disgusted faces. It's safe to say it wiped the remainder of whatever Christmas spirit I had left in me. I went back to Tecumseh Mall where I had two people smile right away. So I go pick up more gift cards only to not get another smile that night.

It's not over yet though.
Everyday this last week I've been walking the malls giving $5 cash to anyone who smiles at me. I focused most of my time at Tecumseh Mall as that's where I was having the most success; it felt great. I stopped focusing on the amount of people that walked by and focused on the ones who actually smiled. That's why I'm here writing.

This experience has been far more rewarding for me than it could ever have had on those who smiled. My Christmas spirit is at an all-time high also. I want to thank everyone reading this just for being yourselves; and to those at the malls who have made it such a wonderful experience. There's one person in particular that has been amazing, I won't name her though; she'll know who she is if she reads this.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone and remember that it pays to smile. I'm still here at the mall hoping to see a few more smiles before Santa arrives on Thursday; he's actually really cool. I've seen him and talked to him a few times. You should come take a picture with him too. You never know, some random person may pay for them again ;-)

My friend and I stopped in at Walmart so she could pick up a Christmas gift for her parents. It was a semi-large and heavy piece of furniture that I thought may or may not fit in my car. We rolled it out into the parking lot (it was cold and around 9:30pm) and tried lifting it into my trunk. of course it didn't fit. We struggled on what to do, and tried lifting it again to try a different angle even though we knew It wouldn't fit. I want to say thank you to the two amazing people who pulled up and offered to put it in their van and drive it all the way back to my friend's house. You two are amazing people, and it really was a selfless thing to do! Merry Christmas !!

I've been considering writing this letter for years, so please read til the end. My personal gift was much more extensive, but the methods are basically the same.

Years ago I found a way to end my depression caused after years of being permanently disabled in an accident. I "Gifted" a Kidney to a stranger for my own selfish reasons. In this letter, I am advocating the donation of a small part of a Liver. My situation worked well, and I actually saved a man's life. You can save someone's life, at no cost to you, and the reason is your own. Most "Living Donations" come from a person close to the recipient, but they are pleased to have any source.

If you donate a part of your Liver, it will be fully re-grown to it's original size within 3 months. All reasonable expenses will be reimbursed, and you will have a complete testing regimen that will find any problem you didn't know you had, or hopefully prove you don't have. All lost pay is returned to you, and your employer will have no choice but allow you the time off work for the testing and recovery.

After my operation, I had a completely different feeling about myself, which was my selfish goal in the beginning. The fact of knowing I saved a person's life has removed the "dome of gloom" I was living under, which others cannot see. When people ask me how I'm doing these days, now I can tell the truth, as opposed to my usual "Getting by" answer. Did I mention the wonderful feeling of knowing you saved someone's life? I repeat this as it is very strong and comforting. I'm a contributing member of Society again.

I understand that this is a very serious subject, but remember Kaidyn Blair, whose life was saved by a Liver donor before he was a year old, and is now a happy, active little man.

If this interests you, please contact The Trillium Foundation and tell them Greg T. sent you. Merry Christmas to all.

To the lady that paid for my families order at Tim Hortons at 5:55am on How/ Tec.
You have been spotted!!!!
Your kind gesture was paid forward, as we did it for the car behind us!!!
Hopefully it carried on all day!!!
Merry Xmas!

My daughter and I went to dinner (friday dec.19) at the Lone Star Texas Grill on Walker road, after we we seated and placed our order an employee came to our table and asked us if it would be possible for us to move to another table because a person in a wheel chair was waiting for a table and ours was one of the tables that can accommadate a wheel chair. we gladly changed seats with no complaints. But is was the staff that went above and beyond to make sure that everyone had a place to sit, with no waiting, we gladly gave up our seats for another, and did not want anything in exchange, but dessert was on the house!!!! Congradulations to the Staff snd Management!!! you deserve it.

Tonight while at at local coffee shop a lady pulled up in a black cavalier with a sunroof...I believe it was a four door. She has short blonde hair, and square glasses, in mid to late 40s. She honestly looked like she was going to cry. She said she was trying to get home from the hospital as her mom was rushed in and she had a stroke and because she was in a hurry she left her wallet at home with her bank card in it and that she lives in Essex. She said she only had a few bucks on her and said she was about to run out of gas and asked if I had a few bucks I could spare. She showed me her gas tank guage and it was pretty much empty. So I had $5 in change andgave it to her. She thanks me and she leaves and I go in to get my order...as im driving home I notice a car sitting on the side of the road and she has other cars stopped. Then i got suspicious as i know that was her. I turn the corner on my street and she gets back into her car and starts to drive and turns the same corner and then parks. So as I'm driving down I decide to turn around and go talk to her. As I pull up to her car she rolls the window down but only half way and I asked her if she was OK and she said yes and that he was trying to get ahold of her sister as she was a few dollars short. I told her that I trusted her and believed in her. Well shes scamming because the street I confronted her on is farther then highway 3 from where I fist talked to her. So don't give this woman cash. Be cautious and I'm thankful I only gave her $5 and not more (although I literally had no more). And to the lady who is doing this, if your reading this...shame on you for doing this. People try to help each other out and try to see the good in others but you make it hard for people to believe those who truly are almost stranded.

To the lady in the red Chrylser mini van license plate A**z **5 I just watched to rear end that red intrepid and cause lots of damage to the back of it and drive off. I was in the back of my car feeding my newborn so you didn't see me, you waited until the lady in the Edge that saw you too left and then you took off without leaving your information or trying to wait for the owner to come out. What you don't know is that both of us took pictures of your license plate and waited for the owner of the damaged car to come out. What a rotten thing to do at Christmas and what a rotten person you are. I hope karma comes back to haunt you.

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To the misinformed man at the Zehrs on Malden Road in LaSalle the morning of Sunday, December 21,

You watched my 48-year old mother park her car in an accessible parking spot in front of the store and proceeded to follow her in to the produce section and verbally harass her in front of countless shoppers. Throwing around accusations you presumably made simply by judging her appearance (as I highly doubt you had with you a copy of her very extensive medical history), you berated her by snarking, You don't look handicapped! four separate times. Had you taken a second to inspect the front of her vehicle in the parking lot when you began this witch hunt, you would have seen a valid accessible parking permit displayed in her windshield. Perhaps you did see her permit and were still shocked to discover that she looked like a fairly typical middle-aged woman. You're right she DOESN'T look handicapped.

Perhaps you are unaware that accessible parking permits are not limited to elderly persons or persons with disabilities who use assistive devices like wheelchairs or canes. In fact, any one of any age can apply for an accessible parking permit. In order to receive a permit, one's healthcare practitioner must approve that he or she is eligible. As I doubt you were privy to the discussion my mother had with her family doctor nearly a decade ago about her medical conditions and this application process, it is highly inappropriate for you to comment on her use of accessible parking spaces.

Did you know my mother has experienced a series of serious back injuries for which she has had corrective surgeries? The answer to that is NO, you did not, and you certainly did not ascertain that information from looking at her. Did you know that the success of those corrective surgeries has been very limited, making it difficult for her to walk far distances and stand for any longer than necessary? Again, NO you did not.

As I know nothing about you, I won't sit here and pretend to understand your motives and reasonings like you pretended to understand my mother's health. Perhaps you have a family member with a severe physical disability and you have had to battle for accessible parking spaces your whole life. Perhaps, like members of our family, you have grown sick of people abusing the accessible spaces by parking there without permit and leaving those truly in need of their utility out of luck. If this is the case, I completely understand where you are coming from. As a family, we too have seen these abuses and personally, I have been tempted to get vocal about them in the past. However, what I have never done and what you so wrongly did this morning is verbally harass someone in a very public space over something you know absolutely nothing about.

Judging a person's eligibility to park in accessible spaces by their age, shape, size, gait, clothing, or speech is discriminatory and ignorant. Lambasting them to the point of tears in front of complete strangers is abusive. For whatever reason, you decided to become the champion of accessible parking today and thought publicly shaming my mother was but one small step in your all-important fight. If, like our family, you continue to be upset by the misuse of accessible parking spaces, I suggest you try to address the problem at a different level. Personally attacking each individual you see won't get you very far in fixing this problem.

If you are still confused by accessible spaces, I suggest you visit the Service Ontario website https:/ / www.ontario.ca/ Accessible parking permit.

Sincerely,
A concerned (and fed up) daughter