Rant & Rave: Heartwarming gesture prompts another act of kindness

RAVE to the kind stranger outside the University District drugstore who left the $20 bill on my car windshield which must have unknowingly fallen out of my pocket. To continue and extend your graciousness, I’m donating twice that amount in your honor to the University District Food Bank and encourage others to do the same.  

RANT to the Christmas tree farm on the Kitsap Peninsula that doesn’t take credit cards. It’s 2022! Get with the times! At the very least, let people know on your social media pages that you are cash or check only. I realize that it’s an added expense to accept credit cards, but my family and I were looking for a Christmas tree and wreath and didn’t know how much we would end up spending. We took our business to a competitor farm that gladly accepted our credit card payment.

RAVE to the wonderful volunteers who make handmade quilts for patients in palliative care at local hospitals. We received one during our mom’s passing. The quilt looked like a beautiful garden, just like my mom’s garden, meant to carry her peacefully to her next life. We would have loved to thank this volunteer personally!

RANT to Seattle City Light for not replacing a defective overhead streetlight at Northeast 90th Street and Latona Avenue Northeast for over a year, despite numerous complaints, as its ongoing nightly strobe-like flashing interrupts the sleep of the neighbors next door and across the street. I have even emailed video to your director! Shame on you.

RAVE to the three firefighters at Woodinville Fire and Rescue Station 33. I’m a senior and my car had a flat tire near their station. My roadside assistance program’s wait time was 1-2 hours and darkness was setting in. I knocked at the station door and they kindly secured the area and changed my tire.

RANT to distracted drivers. Traveling north on 15th Avenue Northeast in Shoreline recently during rush hour, three cars in a quarter-mile span approached in the opposite lane, in the dark, with their lights off. None responded to my flashing reminder, and as each passed, I noted that the brightest source of light in all three vehicles was emanating from their cellphones, as they each sat peering into their little alternative universes. The connection between the three? Their disconnection from reality.

RAVE to the folks who hurried to my aid when I took a clumsy, embarrassing fall in Uptown. They were kind, gentle and generous, hastening to bring what I needed, then stayed by me until I felt ready to stand up, providing the necessary help to get me on my feet. One kind lady insisted on following me as I drove home, just to make sure I made it safely. I’m so grateful for each one of you.

RAVE to Taylor and Oksana at an electronics store in Bellevue! My phone was utterly destroyed when I absent-mindedly put it on top of my car and drove off. It slid off the roof, landing on the westbound Interstate 90 onramp where it was run over by a car or two and crushed. Taylor and Oksana were so very kind AND able to retrieve all the content from the mysterious “cloud.” My photos, contacts, texts and emails are all safely stowed on my brand-new phone.