Day 310: North by Northwest

An amazing thing happened to me today. Someone asked me for directions (no, that’s not the amazing part).
And I was able to show them the way (that’s the amazing part).
You see, I suffer from Directional Dyslexia. Now this disorder may not be recognized by the Canadian Medical Association (or anyone else, for that matter), but [...]

Day 309: FoodShare rocks

I have a confession to make. I’ve never purchased or sold anything on eBay. In fact, I’ve never participated in an online auction … until today.

And I wasn’t even shopping online, it was in support of a very good cause … No, really.
The cause is a non-profit community organization called FoodShare, whose motto is “good [...]

Day 308: Good deedin’ in the rain

April showers is right. This morning, the heavens opened and buckets of rain water bombed us all — teaching me that when it comes to water fights, Mother Nature always wins.
This weather makes it tough to be a considerate commuter, but I tried my best today.
Ducking into the bus shelter or onto the bus, you [...]

Day 307: Tale of two cities

As many of you may know, Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital is centrally located in the downtown core.
The hospital is a fine one, the surrounding neighbourhood, however, not so fine.
In fact, the park next door is a haven for street people and many forlorn souls who live by their wits or the kindness of strangers.
Leaving the [...]

Day 306: Toque talk

My little friend with the red toque was back at the bus stop today. I haven’t seen him since the winter.
As you may recall, even on warmish days, he’d arrive at the stop bundled up like the Michelin Man.
Even though it was rainy and about 9 C this morning, he was as well insulated as [...]

Day 305: Toronto the good … deeds

On the way to visit my father-in-law in hospital today, I saw someone up ahead of me in the hallway drop something.
I rushed over and picked it up. It was just a pen but I called out to them and managed to return it.
That is small potatoes compared to the efforts of those in the [...]

Day 304: Invisible Children

There’s an event going on in downtown Toronto today called The Rescue, in support of the charity Invisible Children.
More than 1,000 people are expected to assemble in Toronto — just a fraction of the thousands who will gather in 100 cities around the world to “abduct” themselves and await “release” from local politicians and government [...]

Day 303: Compliments, compliments

I visited my father-in-law in the hospital today and spotted a really cool bulletin board in the hallway.
The staff had set up a Compliment Board and tacked up in the middle was an envelope that was supposed to be filled with star-shaped pieces of paper for leaving messages.
The sign on the envelope read:
Compliment Board
Receiving a [...]

Day 302: Planet Good Deed

Happy Earth Day. Hey, rhymes with birthday! Do we get cake? A round one, maybe?
My most environmentally friendly good deeds to date have been collecting litter (which I find I’m doing more often now – a particularly nasty, but ultimately worthwhile, habit I can’t seem to shake) and caring for a small cedar tree that, [...]

Day 301: Getting better all the time

Wow, broke the 300 mark! Cool.
I got a message recently from Wendy at Spread Change (a blog about budget philanthropy — thrifty good deeds, if you will).
She had read my post about sending a letter to a friend I’d lost touch with and asked if I could send a letter to Charlotte (a friend of [...]