Re: The kindness of strangers
 

I don't see that at all. I view devout religion as something akin to a mental disorder and would take pity on the person. Mind you, I ain't agnostic. ;)

Re: The kindness of strangers
 

A young boy from St.George, Ont. died yesterday from brain cancer. In October the people in his town fulfilled one of his final wishes and brought Christmas to him. Stores put up Christmas decorations as did people in houses. A Christmas parade was held with artificial snow falling. Many strangers gave their time and efforts to allow the little guy one final Christmas, when they could just as easily have done nothing.

Re: The kindness of strangers
 

Interesting. I've come across a few At work but never knew that they were not OHIP. I know that they get lifts in from neighbouring farmers. The women sit at the cattle market selling eggs and talking to no one, the men have fun selling animals and talking to all the other men. I'm not impressed by them.

Re: The kindness of strangers
 

Well, there's a lot to be unimpressed about but I'm not sure that gender discrimination is high on the list. They are, after all, a branch of Christianity and no Christian groups are big on audible women. I'd have said their inbreeding, their unwillingness to educate their male children, their routine cruelty to animals and their willingness to use child labour in dangerous circumstances might be more objectionable.

I find them interestingly bonkers. Nothing suggests the irrationality of religion as well as the belief that there is a God and that he's specifically concerned with tractor horse power as configured from the factory; after market turbo chargers being theologically different from factory fitted ones. That's no madder, of course, than the beliefs of more familiar religions but it's a different flavour of bonkers.

Re: The kindness of strangers
 

I think there must be different kinds of Mennonites. Fifty years ago I visited Haiti in the company of a chap I'd met on the plane whose brother was a Mennonite missionary, in the forest south of Cap Haitian. The brother allowed me to stay at the mission-house at no charge for room and board, and showed me (us) the tourist sights, and got up at five a.m. the day before my visa expired to put me on the bus down to the capital. Such generous hospitality, to a heathen. There was nothing in the least eccentric about the missionaries.

(Mind you, a medical emergency never arose while I was there, so I can't say what they did in the way of healthcare...)

Re: The kindness of strangers
 

I read the book a couple of years ago, and loved it. Excellently written, and I recommend it to anybody who's not a total cynic! I have no ambition to see the movie; it's one of those books that can't be improved on.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_It...rd_%28novel%29

Re: The kindness of strangers
 

There are different congregations of Mennonites, Old Order, Open Station, 90hp, the window kicking schism and so on. However, none of them are Mormons.

Re: The kindness of strangers
 

Ahaaaa... :) That makes much more sense.

Re: The kindness of strangers
 

On CTV Toronto, from Newmarket: Co-workers Suprise Scottish Woman With Ticket Home for Christmas.... awwwww.

Re: The kindness of strangers
 

We went to a Christmas market in Calgary a couple of weeks a go, one where you pay to get in, we went to line up, when some other more important people than us barged their way in front of us. Karma was on our side when a lady came up to us and said, here are two free entries for you! We were thankful and it was amusing to see us being glared at by the two ladies that needed to get in before us lol

Re: The kindness of strangers
 

Odd report in the paper today of a woman returning home to NS from Ontario last August. Along the way, somewhere around Moncton, she lost her bag, containing $23000, in some woods, discovering it after getting home.

An RCMP search of the area, including police dog, found nothing.

This week, she gets a phone call from police because a Moncton resident found the bag and handed it in and she's reunited with her money.

Re: The kindness of strangers
 

Quite what was she doing with this sort of amount 'in her bag'? Those of us, like Bristol and I, fully understand that around here, 100 feet/meters from your home you are probably...in some woods! But nevertheless?

Re: The kindness of strangers
 

That was the odd part.

There was no explanation for the money but she had hired someone to drive her to NS as she can't drive herself.

On the way, she had some sort of disagreement with the driver, told her to stop and she got out the car. It seems she then went into the woods and waited for the car to go. Presumably that driver had to drive on and find somewhere to go back to Ontario.

She then came back out and flagged someone down who called police.

Here's the CBC report.

It's slightly different to the newspaper report which suggested she was returning to NS as if she'd been on a trip rather than moving back to NS.

I can only guess at reasons for the cash but maybe it's just as simple as not knowing she could transfer it between banks.

Re: The kindness of strangers
 

A senior with mobility issues had been without water for a few days, unable to get a plumber to arrange a call in good time.

A neighbour who helps him out with shopping and doctor visits put something on Facebook and a guy who isn't a plumber but is obviously quite handy decides to visit, stopping along the way to get a couple of coffees for him and the feller.

He discovers the fault but a part needs fixing so he disconnects it, takes it home and does some welding to fix it and then reconnects next day, so the water supply is back but it's only a temporary fix. The senior is emotionally grateful.

Telling a friend about the Senior's predicament, the mate gifts him the part needed (about a $100 cost) and it's installed, good as new.

Lots of other stuff in the report about neighbours (but still strangers) helping people in need. :thumbup:

Re: The kindness of strangers
 

That's a lovely story. Be nice to back to a time when people helped each other without any expectations.