Day 134: Boo!

What a beautiful day for trick-or-treaters in Toronto. I remember as a kid heading out on many blustery October 31sts, my costume hidden by my parka.
And since it was such a beautiful day, I decided to stroll through the neighbourhood with my own bag. Not for candy, though, for trash.
Much to my surprise, the lawns [...]

Day 133: Line dancing

My theme seems to be bus travel these days. It is a great way to see many deeds — the good, the bad and the grungy.
And rush hour can really bring out the last two. Everyone’s impatient to get home, tired after a long day and not thrilled at the prospect of getting up close [...]

Day 132: It’s raining men

Waiting for the bus tends to be a solitary activity, for me, anyway. It’s a great time to plan your grocery list, listen to music or read.
I was doing the latter this morning when I heard “Hello!” behind me. I almost dropped my newspaper. I had been standing alone in the bus shelter, taking refuge [...]

Day 131: Cough it up

I had to think long and hard about whether or not to follow through with my good deed today.
Have you ever had one of those body-wracking coughs that make your eyes water and your ribs hurt? That’s been me the last few days.
I actually started to feel somewhat human today so I went into work.
But [...]

Day 130: Chocolat chaud to go

In my good-deed travels, I’ve heard of many acts of kindness taking place at Tim Hortons, of all places.
I’m not sure if these coffee/donut shops are well known in the U.S., but in Canada, visiting Tim Hortons has become somewhat of a national pastime. No, forget the somewhat, it is a national pastime.
I’m not sure [...]

Day 129: Board member

One of my jobs as a freelancer is proofreading. Most of the time, the documents, articles and other materials are very factual so it’s easy to dot the i’s and cross the t’s without getting emotionally involved in each story.
Today, however, was different. I proofread a magazine that included an “In Memoriam” page. One of [...]

Day 128: Sight unseen

“Love your neighbour as yourself” was the message in church today. And not just in the sermon.
I took my mom to her local parish for the first time in a long time. She was in a car accident earlier in the year and some of the parishioners hadn’t seen her since she was released from [...]

Day 127: Good deeds come in small packages

Sometimes strangers come to your assistance when you least expect it. Today, my husband was at the checkout at the local pharmacy and his tab came to $18.01. He gave the cashier a $20 bill and she asked him if he had a penny to round off the amount.
When he said he did not, an [...]

Day 126: Canadian, eh?

I took my good-deeding to the next level today. Got out of my comfort zone, stretched my bandwidth, thought outside the box. No, actually, I thought “inside” the box. The charity box at my local Canadian Tire store, that is.
Yes, that’s right, dear friends. Instead of keeping the beloved Canadian Tire funds that are handed [...]

Day 125: Peace of my heart

In the lead up to Remembrance Day (November 11), the Globe & Mail newspaper has been running a series of letters that were originally written during the Second World War. A Canadian soldier named David K. Hazzard originally wrote the letters to his wife, Audrey.
These letters are by turns sad, funny, revealing and, ultimately, very [...]