How To Change The World In The Time It Takes To Read This.

~ the britchy one

This week has had a couple of shopping expeditions for me and some very interesting encounters with outright repulsive people and people I’ll never forget.

We’re a funny old species aren’t we?!

I took myself off to HomeGoods to get some sugar free flavoured coffee syrups. I wanted raspberry and vanilla and before you can say yuk!! – I mix two teaspoons vanilla and one raspberry with Coke Zero. It tastes just like those drumstick lollies I loved when I still lived in England so it’s a quick homesick fix!

So naturally, I was having a little wander around as you never know what treasures you’ll find there. I was meandering around by the throws when I heard an English accent! I turned around to see a woman horrified at the price of a cushion ($16.99 I looked!!)

I smiled and said “It’s nice to hear another English accent!”

And then this BITCH looked at me and said (in her nasty nasal cockney accent) “That’s as maybe but I didn’t move over here to mix with people I could have met in England”

………. Oh you all know me too well! I was NOT taking that so I said “Oh I doubt if we would have met, I was never one for Salvation Army type stores. There’s one at the top of the hill if the prices are too high for you here” I walked off not giving her a chance to reply – snooty rancid old bag!

It amused the sales assistant who she was berating over the cushion though, she told me I “totally owned” her!

Why be so miserable? I’ll be the first to tell you I don’t want to limit myself to only mix with other Brits here in the US but this insufferable old bat wasn’t making any effort to be nice to Americans either.

Then I met her polar opposite. I was back in town to see an endocrinologist so I bought a few things while I was there to save another trip. I decided I was going to walk up the hill to the Five Guys burger place and treat myself to lunch. It was a lovely day again and you know I love being out in the sun.

There was a homeless guy sat outside an empty shop. He wasn’t begging, just sat there… so on impulse I asked if he was hungry. He was stunned so I asked again if he’d like some lunch. He stammered Yes please so I gestured to Five Guys and said come on!

He said that place is expensive, you can get me McDonalds that’s okay. I’m crying again writing that. That anyone can think they’re not worth a nicer burger..

We went in and I got him a burger and fries and I had the same. I asked if he’d like a milkshake and he just beamed and said yes please! He wasn’t very old, maybe 28 or so. I could just about have been his mum.

Again he was stunned when I wanted him to sit with me to eat. This was breaking my heart in about a million pieces. We were chatting and he was a vet. He came home from a years deployment to find his wife with a new baby, obviously not his so he left and basically ran away from his life.

I told him that was what we called a Grudge Pregnancy in England. He said ‘A what???’ So I told him it was someone else had it in for you!

He burst out laughing, he really found that funny bless him. We kept talking and he mentioned his mum. I asked if he missed his family and he said yes so I handed him my phone and said “Call her”

That was the first thing I said he didn’t question! He called his mum. They were both crying. He’s from Ohio so his mum was going to drive and pick him up and take him home.

I’d gone through two packets of Kleenex by this time!

She was going to take 5-6 hours to get to him so I got him a couple of bottles of soda and some peanuts for while he was waiting. Honestly, I would have stayed but I thought he needed time to think and adjust. He has my phone number and he said he’d call when he got home. (He did)

Before I left him he asked if he could give me a hug and said ‘Thank you for treating me like a normal person’

I can’t even type that again without getting a huge lump in my throat and getting leaky. It cost me less than $20 to change someone’s life. I’m not telling this for praise because this should be normal. It shouldn’t be ‘amazing’ or a ‘wow’ story and none of you know me in real life so it stays anonymous. It’s very special to me and I don’t want to ruin it by telling my family or friends. It’s mine.

It’s not the big things in life that matter, it’s the little things. Those little things can be momentous in their own way. You won’t get rich or famous, you won’t change the world.. or will you?

Changing the world is easy – it happens one person at a time.

Published by the britchy one

A PROUD American Citizen who was born and bred in England and now resides in the US. I’m married to an American who really didn’t have a clue what he was letting himself in for - poor sod! I’m a cranky bitch who loves cats and books and hates chocolate, politics and Dave’s. Oh and mosquitos. I hate those blood sucking parasites but since I’ve already mentioned politics I’m repeating myself! I’m a short, skinny redhead, 3 kids, 2 dogs, not enough cats and a mouth with a death wish. Blood group - certifiable.

97 thoughts on “How To Change The World In The Time It Takes To Read This.”

  1. Oh my goodness!!! That is so supa dupa lovely…
    The second half I mean!
    The first lady…well…I don’t know why she is getting her knickers in a twist like that…
    But back tot he young man – what a wonderful thing you did there. Goodness I hope things work out for him and he has lots of joy ahead.
    You did a very wonderful thing!

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    1. I hope he stays in touch once in a while but I also hope he doesn’t – I’m nosey so there’s that but in a lot of ways, I hope he can just move on and get back to his life. He said thanks, all I did really was buy him lunch and give him a push to do something he really wanted to do but needed that push to get on with.

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      1. I am sure you know very well that sometimes all you need is the smallest act of kindness to help you get back on your bike and keep going.
        A great example to all to be friendly and kind each day…you might get a horrid response…or you might help someone change their life for the better.
        Either way it is more than worth the effort of being kind.

        Liked by 5 people

  2. Glad you got a genuine case in your second story. We’ve got “professional” pan handlers around our area. Old clothes, little american flag, cardboard signs saying things like “homeless vet”, “out of work, X children”. So I took a week to watch 2 specific guys. They got picked up by a guy in a lexus after their “shift”. It made me completely cynical.

    And that’s a problem because there are genuine cases like what you ran into. But the guys I saw ruin it for the genuine cases. Ughhh.

    Good post though 😀

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    1. That’s horrible. I’ve seen tv programmes about people in NYC doing that but most of the people I’ve ever met are genuinely out of options. The idea of being homeless just really upsets me. Hearing people’s stories, it can happen to anyone. If people are exploiting anyone’s generosity to homeless people like that by feigning hard luck they should be very careful. Karma loves to twist her payback!

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  3. First let me give you a big hug 🙇🙇🙇🙇🙇🙇🙇🙇🙇
    Second: what a rude person that Brit was! She deserved what you said.
    Third: I’m so happy you did that f9r the homeless. That was very thoughtful and kind of you. 💖💚💛💙

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  5. You were at the right place at the right time. That’s for sure.
    That’s amazing.

    I always found it weird that foreigners tend to band together. For example, when I go on vacation, when stranger A hears stranger B speak their language, they rush over and start chatting. I never understood that. But maybe it’s because I can be antisocial in my ways.

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    1. Agreed! I rarely hear another Brit voice here and I was just being nice. I know other expats online who are totally cliquey with their own nationality and I’ve never understood why you move half way around the world only to limit yourself like that. I’m a weirdo though and I’ll talk with anyone!

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  7. Oh wow! I love this post so much! You’ve just reminded me of the beauty of humanity, and the lost art of basic human kindness. Thank you. I hope that man finds his way with support from his family.

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  8. i know you don’t do these things for praise Britchy, but it’s a lovely post. The second half more but the first half is needed for the balance – yes of course it should be normal behaviour but all of us here commenting and yourself sadly know it’s not so. it’s what l love about you, your honesty, your willingness to help people who you don’t know, it is what makes you human – keep being you.

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      1. Oh most assuredly l was only referring to those not the l am a loving person bit who cares about the souls of others 🙂

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    1. I can’t see any like, share, reblog or follow buttons and i can’t comment without leaving an email which is a shame because I won’t do that. I never leave a comment if I have to register my email because I get too much spam that way. You might want to make those settings more accessible as also allow pingbacks etc if someone wants to tag or reblog you 😊

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  10. “snooty rancid old bag” That made me laugh.
    When I was feeling miserable living abroad and met some Dutchies, I was immediately relieved. But I guess she has something against her own culture.

    As for the homeless guy, that was a very noble thing to do!
    I personally am a little hesitant for homeless people because of hygiene.
    But in the end, everyone has a story and anyone could use some wonderful company like you did for him.
    Even getting a coffee for a colleague who looks like they’re having a bad day, can mean a lot to them 🙂

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  11. Love this story! I used to run into a lovely homeless man at one of my past jobs. I started bringing us lunch so we could eat together once a week. I would bring him clothes, blankets and pillows. I’d always leave them where he could ‘find’ them. I didn’t want to embarrass him by handing them to him directly. He was a lovely man amd we had some great conversations. One Wednesday he wasn’t there and I never saw him again. I hope something good happened to him. 💖

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  12. Best story I read this morning! You are right it shouldn’t really be a ‘wow’ story for people to show kindness. What you did was amazing though, the fact that he was fed, treated like a normal person and his mom was going to pick him up. He won’t be homeless anymore. Kindness wins!

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  13. Ouch. I remember people like this when I lived in other countries (thankfully a small minority of people), including one or two who refused to speak in English in the same company at other English speakers. By all means integrate, if you learn the language (if relevant), then good for you, but why the rudeness and attitude?

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      1. I loved this because it shows how we can all do the same. I was touched by this story of you showing kindness to this vet so I did share it. It was amazing how much he got out of so little, and you got something too. God bless you! Hope you are having a great weekend!

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  17. I LOVE how you owned that bitchy lady in the first half of this post! I am only able to think of good comebacks like that about 2 hours after an incident, so I am rooting for you!! 😀

    Then, the second half of this story just blew me away. You really did help that bloke. You are such a sweetie. I need to share this with another blogging friend as I’m pretty sure it’ll make her day too.

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    1. Yeah, I shouldn’t be as proud of it as I am but – I can out snark anyone 😂
      I was just in the right place at the right time. It was meant to be and it doesn’t just change the life of whomever you help – it changes you too.

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  19. This is probably the best DIY post I have ever read. I can’t help but wonder how many of us would have let the woman’s rude comment ruin our day. It’s amazing how quickly one negative comment can go viral. You, however, proved the opposite is true. The kindness that you showed this man can have far reaching effects. Probably more than you will ever realize.
    I hope everyone reading takes a lesson from this. Thanks for sharing.

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  33. You are a beautiful soul. This is the most kind act I have heard in a long time. Thank you. It breaks my heart that so many people are on the streets because of one circumstance that has a snowball effect. Much love and hugs to you💗

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  35. So. I’m late here but I just wanted you to know how after this post, I officially love you. If all humans were even a quarter of what you are, myself included, the world would be well… another one. I have so much respect for you and I hope to be able to help someone like this in my lifetime.

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  36. You made me leak Britchy 😠, I’ve now been on both sides of this and have a profound understanding of kindness. This may make you leak again, most people look down on the homeless because of the stereotyping that we’re all drunk’s or drug actics so to have some treat us like a normal person/friend and or feels so nice, I hope this gives you a little bit better understanding of things.
    Pay it forward is a great consept that I have instilled in my life for a long time, I remember when it first came out it was a big hit but died out pretty kwik if it had stuck the world would be a better place.
    I can tell you for sure that young man will remember you and one day that anomaly may get brocken. 🌹 😇 😘

    ❤️✌️
    BY FOR NOW

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  39. Wow!!! Such a beautiful story. I will be thinking about it all day. I have been feeling hopeless for the last few days. So much going on (which is not important), but this gave me back the hope I haven’t been able to find lately. Thank you!

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    1. I’m so glad, thank you for telling me because that’s made my day! It’s so easy to change someone else’s day – a smile, a kind word.. honestly if we all just tried one nice thing a day we truly could change the world. I have hope 😊

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