Optimism

Bitch Ph.D. has a tale of random kindness at a K-Mart snack bar that restores our faith in humanity -- that is, unless K-Mart fires the anonymous benefactor (in which case it's a draw):

Thank you so much for your kindness. I was having a shitty day. First I had to pour my entire change jar into the CoinStar so I would have enough money to buy gas to get home. Then I was feeling incredibly stressed and anxious, no good reason, just the depression coming on again after a couple of days of exerting myself to be social and good company. So the fact that I was having to do an eight hour drive with a little kid and no money was feeling really scary to me, and when Pseudonymous Kid fell asleep I spent two hours sobbing while I drove. Then he woke up and I stopped, and then the car overheated, which is why I pulled off the road and ended up at your K-Mart.

And I thought the Exiles were the only folks in higher education that considered the Coinstar machine a member of the family...