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eric vance walton
September 2009 
The Kindness of Strangers
Posted on Jun 16th, 2009
by 
Eric
Eric
My friend and I go on one trip a year to blow off steam and decompress from the last 365 days. This year, in Chicago, we were astounded by how big the portion sizes were in the restaurants and how much food people wasted! Most people were leaving at least half of the food that was ordered on the table to be thrown away.
First we discussed how the restaurants should give you the option of choosing to receive half of the standard portion if they would donate the equivilant of the other half to a food shelf for the less fortunate.
The idea blossomed and morphed from there. We decided to, "cut out the middle man" and incorporate a new ritual on our annual trips. We started having our server box up whatever of our meals we thought we couldn't finish and we gave them directly to homeless people on the street. This little idea ended up being the most rewarding part of our journey this year.
One small act can lessen the worries of someone who might not know where there next meal is coming from. To see the look of such gratitude in the eyes of someone who doesn't have access to life's basic nessesities was more than enough thanks.
I urge you all to try this on your next vacation. You'll be surprised at how good it makes you feel. Afterall, as the recent economic downturn has made glaringly apparent, with but one simple slip any one of us could be praying for the kindness of strangers.
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