Random Acts of Kindness Performed Anonymously

I visited Oracle Open World 2011 today. Instead of writing about the cool technology I saw I am going to talk about something that should hopefully be more inspiring than Exadata boxes and Enterprise Management Consoles.

The rain was quite heavy this evening when I left Moscone. As I walked outside the safety of the tent pitched on Howard I opened my flimsy umbrella to shield me from the steady rain and wind. After the umbrella collapsed a couple of times and I was able to get it to stay open I noticed an elderly African American woman attempting to hail a cab on the Moscone side of 3rd street across Folsom. As I walked her way I saw at least two cabs pass her by; and yes, I do understand that it is impossible to get a cab in the rain in San Francisco.  By the time I walked from the tent to the corner she decided to move to the other side of the street. As the light turned green she struggled across the street, using her cane for support. This woman was obviously in a great deal of pain and was getting drenched because she had no umbrella. To make matters worse, she worriedly shot glances at the signal countdown timer, obviously concerned that she wasn’t going to make it across the street in time.

As I briskly walked her way wondering whether or not she would make it in time I witnessed an OOW 2011 show attendee (I could tell by his badge blowing in the wind) change direction, run across the street, and gently take hold of her elbow and motion to the cars to not even think about moving until she safely crossed the street.

But the story gets better. When they finally reached the opposite side of the street he sheltered her body from the rain with his umbrella and stood on the corner attempting to hail every cab that drove by. About 5 minutes later a cab finally stopped and I stood and watched as he practically lifted her into the back seat of the cab. He waved goodbye and I watched him cross the street and head back in the direction he was going when he stopped to help this woman.

Where you the person who helped this poor woman across the street in San Francisco tonight? Perhaps it was one of the people I took pictures of in the Salesforce booth today building blankets for the homeless children? Or maybe it was someone who walked by the booth and was touched by their generosity and thought that they could do something to make a difference in a different way? It doesn’t matter who it was, it matters that we are all capable of being this person.

Did you see someone do something nice for someone else today? Or, do you want to post something you did for someone else and didn’t expect anything in return? Post it here, or start your own blog.