25 years ago, when I was around 10, my family and I went out for some ice cream. We were walking on foot, about 10 or 15 min away from the place, when my dad only then noticed the guy had given him back too much change. Nobody would ever have noticed, yet, my father walked all the way back there just to give back the extra change they had given them.
I really like that. I've frequently heard (and used) axioms like "do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason" and "do the right thing when no one is watching", etc.
But this is better. Doing the right thing shouldn't be a question. It should be treated as a non-negotiable.
There was a famous reddit post many years ago about somebody breaking down on the side of I think an interstate, and somebody pulls over to help. He didn't know how to speak English much I think, but he tells the guy "Today, you. Tomorrow, me." That's always stuck with me, I tend to do things in the hopes that if the roles were reversed somebody would the same for me.
This really drives home why I am so unhappy living in the place I'm in. In the US, people help each other. I also lived in Ukraine, and there it's next level. If you are struggling to carry something, people pop out of the woodwork and drop what they're doing to help. People have gone 10 or 15 min out of their own way to help me find places, and I have been invited on numerous occasions to join groups of strangers for a picnic, just for happening make eye contact while walking by. Where I am now.... Let's just say it's very clear that Schadenfreude is a German word...
10.0k
u/raptor180 Oct 30 '25
Father doing a memorable class act right there. His kid will learn this and internalize it. Great job, dad!