Kind or Crazy?

What would you think if a large, scary man, began to chase your car and yell at the top of his lungs? KEEP DRIVING? Cause that was my thought. 

Driving home from a long day at my internship in West Hollywood, where it’s not too rare to run into some odd situations, a rather ragged looking man on the side walk began flailing his arms, yelling, and chasing my car. I tried to ignore him and attempt to move through the next few green lights. L.A. traffic prevented this. Out of breath the man came up to my passenger window. I struggled to role my window up. But, before I could grab a hold of the controls he got to the window and put his hand on the door. I’m frozen, petrified. 

He quickly ameliorates my feeling of terror and replaces it with relief and gratitude. 

“your jacket is on the roof of your car.”  He said. 

And with that he turned and continued on his way. 

I put my car in park and quickly grabbed my jacket before the light turned green. 

I yelled after him “Thank you!” He turned and smiled then was quickly engulfed by the sea of pedestrians. 

What a wonderful person. He went out of his way for a complete stranger. It also happened to be my favorite jacket. Thank you, where ever you are. 

The Kind Comedian Returns: Eric Vega & Dolphins

You love dolphins. 

Of course you do, everyone does. How could you not? They’re adorable, friendly, and can do backflips. Triple threat. They are creatures who capture our imagination, and for good reason. They are considered to be amongst the most intelligent species on the planet. Maybe this is why we can empathize with them so much, because they are so like us. And like us, they are capable of caring for one another.

I was recently linked to a scientific video that was as inspiring as it was heartbreaking. For the first time ever, a pod of dolphins was witnessed trying to rescue an injured friend. The injured dolphin seemed paralyzed and unable to swim on its own. The pod took turns swimming under their (for lack of a better word) friend to keep it’s head above water. Researchers believe that they were trying to keep him from drowning.

After several minutes, something even more remarkable occurred. The dolphins began to form a sort of raft under the injured dolphin to support it. They all came together and swam in formation to prop up their friend. When I first saw the video (linked below) I was absolutely touched. I’m no scientist, but it really does seem like evidence of compassion and even a sort of love that these animals seem to have for one another. Unfortunately, they were unable to save the dying dolphin. After it had stopped breathing, the several members of the group remained with the body until it sank.

And since that was the saddest thing ever, I’ll leave you with a video of a dolphin asking a diver to remove a hook from his fin. Something about this example of interspecies communication and cooperation is just inspiring to me.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d8e_1359227532

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/injured-dolphin-swims-to-divers-for-help-kona-hawaii-141036720.html#6K58Xl6

Thank you Eric! :) 

Another Kind Cabby

Ecstatic to return to L.A. I decided to see a movie on my first night back. I wasn't able to rent a car till the next day so I took a cab. I informed the driver that he was going to be my last taxi ride.  He turned around and said "Oh man! I'm honored!" He was so wonderfully genuine. The ride was only 7 minutes long but somehow our small-talk about where we were from turned into a boisterous discussion about how important it is to listen to yourself and recognize when a change in your life is needed. When we pulled up to the theater he turned the meter off and said "I hope you have a fantastic night and life, I am so glad I was your last cab ride!" I tried to insist that I pay him but he just shook his hand, smiled, and opened the automatic door. Before I left, I snapped this picture of him.

Thank you to this cab driver where ever you are in the world.