The kindness of strangers

Has the kindness of a stranger ever taken you by complete surprise? Whether it's someone holding a door open for you, handing you a dollar when you came up short for a cup of coffee -- anything.

My life was touched like that today. A good friend, whom I'd be lost without, helped me put this blog together on a whim. I'm not the most technically savvy cookie in the box, and have a hard time juggling things I "want" to do with things I actually "have time" to do. I was really touched by her willingness to help, but not surprised, because that's the kind of person she is. And when she asked a friend of hers to help with some of the design and her friend agreed -- well, that was the kindness that took me by surprise and left me blinking back tears. Her friend doesn't know me from a hill of beans. Yet because she's a friend of my friend, she was happy to share her expertise and help me out. Wow. What a great feeling.

That's exactly the kind of thing I've noticed in the writing community -- pretty much from day one, and I've been a member of RWA since the late 80s (Yes, I'm an old dinosaur -- and proud of it!). I don't' know what it is about writers, but we're always happy to help out a sister writer. Or as RWA used to say it, we actively train the competition. And we do!

Anyway, I decided that would be the topic for my first blog. Kindness.

Thanks, Darah. Thanks Lora. I'm forever in your debt. And I'll be sure to repay your kindnesses to a fellow writer as soon as fate presents the opportunity.