A Mystery and Act of Kindness

[Jack Moroney (RIP)]

Several years ago I lost a great dog, Heather, to a heart problem and complicating factors brought about as a result of the Chernobyl fallout that covered the area in which I was assigned at the time. I laid Heather to rest on my property in a secluded spot under some pines and hemlocks because she just loved to sit there and look out over the valley. I had been planting flowers there every spring but this year, because I was not physically able to do what I had done in past years, I just kept it tidy and protected from marauding critters. Today, as I walked around my wooded lot and down by her little site I saw something that brought me to a dead stop. Someone, while I was up walking in the woods, had decorated her grave site with picked flowers. You have to understand how unusual that is as I live in a pretty secluded spot and very few folks even know that she is buried there as her grave marker is low and out of sight from any normal route of ingress onto my property. This picture isn't too great-something seemed to be clouding my vision when I took it.

[CPTAUSRET]

Sweet!

[x SF med]

Humanity Lives!!! I have to take back 5% of the bad things I say about the granola crunching commies in your area Col Jack.

[vsvo]

Wow. Thanks for the story and pic, Sir.

[PSM]

Nice to hear, Colonel.

Pat

[Monsoon65]

That's sweet, Colonel. And I got misty eyed over that, too.

[Cincinnatus]

Jack,

That's great. I suspect the gesture is as much about respect toward you as affection for your dog. Someone took the admonition to "Practice Random Acts of Kindness" to heart.

Humanity Lives!!! I have to take back 5% of the bad things I say about the granola crunching commies in your area Col Jack.

FWIW, I've read that the "granola crunching commies" of Vermont have the highest number of troops deployed per capita of all the states and the highest casualty rate.

A guy that lived about halfway between Jack and I, SFC Thomas Stone, was killed in Afghanistan not long ago, he was an Army medic. He was also the sort of free spirit who had literally hiked around the world. IIRC, he wore out twenty three pair of boots doing it. Probably ate granola, too.

[jasonglh]

Hopefully good karma will follow whoever that was that left the flowers. Someone has to win that powerball tonight....might as well be someone with a good heart.

[Matta mile]

Sir, Glad that happened for you both.

[Gypsy]

How very special that someone took the time to do this for you, Sir. The gravesite looks lovingly kept...

[CoLawman]

Thanks Colonel!

[The Reaper]

Thanks for sharing that, Sir.

Glad to hear that someone else loves her.

TR

[lksteve]

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they
went." -Will Rogers

[NSDQ]

Col, thanks for sharing your story.
I suspect the gesture is as much about respect toward you as affection for your dog.
This was my 1st impression also.

NSDQ

[Goggles Pizano]

Wonderful to see Sir. Hope is not broken!

[brewmonkey]

Someone who lives by the words "Random act of kindness."

[frostfire]

Someone who lives by the words "Random act of kindness." that's so sweet of the stranger. Thank you for sharing, Sir

Having been there myself, it could be completely random: I once walked through a cemetery in Savannah where they shot the film "midnight at the garden of good and evil." I came across a tombstone with a tiny aged pendant picture of a little girl. She died in the 70's when she was only nine years old. Her sad smile moved me so much that I returned the next day with a rose and pretty much cleaned up and polished the bronze base, and straigtened up the flag. A few weeks afterwards I returned and noticed her family (or someone) had changed the decoration from 4th July to Halloween, but they put the rose in the middle of the arrangement. It's good to know she was not (never) forgotten through all the years.

[Trip_Wire (RIP)]

That's sweet, Colonel. And I got misty eyed over that, too.


Yes, I must admit that my eyes got misty too.. sort of brings back memories of all my fine departed dogs.

[x SF med]

All-
This brings to mind a saying that I try to live by anymore:
"Kindness is often mistaken for weakness by those who do not have the fortitude to return good for bad. It's much easier to walk by and not notice, or to belittle someone, than to stop and help - until you get used to stopping and helping, or doing small kindnesses for no other reason than you can." Plus it confuses the hell out of the "sheep".

COL Jack - now it's your turn to "randomly adjust the world for the better" - although, from this site, I'm pretty sure you do that anyway, quietly and with no expectation of return.

[NSDQ]

"Kindness is often mistaken for weakness by those who do not have the fortitude to return good for bad.

COL Jack - now it's your turn to "randomly adjust the world for the better" - although, from this site, I'm pretty sure you do that anyway, quietly and with no expectation of return.
I strongly agree. It seems America is greatly criticized for the forgive & forget philosophy, also for the fact that after defeating our foes we will go back & rebuild their country & turn it back over to the people. (Put in simple terms)We , I believe have always led the way with our humanitarian efforts. I do believe you "overcome evil with good".This is of course after getting its attention with the "sword of righteousness".
Thank you all for performing random acts of kindness, which is the baseline in our lives that as a whole leads us to the principals & the philosophy of winning hearts & minds, & leading the way as a nation to the rest of the world that there is a better way to live then by the dominance of fear.
Thank You QP's for living the "winning hearts & minds" philosophy.

NSDQ

[JMI]

You're dog was thinking about you!

Thanks for sharing, Col.

[bandycpa]

Wonderful story, sir. That's the kind of thing that should give us all the incentive to go do something kind for someone else.

Perhaps there's hope for us yet.