“I called her and I said, ‘Hey, this is Jimmy Doohan. Scotty of Star Trek. I’m doing a convention in Indianapolis, and I want to see you there.'” he explained. “I saw her. Boy, I’m telling you — I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was definitely suicide. Somebody had to help her, somehow. And, obviously, she wasn’t going to the right people.”
Doohan told the woman about each surrounding area convention (and some in nearby states) that he would be at and said he wanted to see her at each.
“That went on for two or three years, maybe 18 times,” he said. “And all I did was talk positive things to her. And then all of a sudden — nothing. I didn’t hear anything, and I had no idea what was really happening to her because I never really saved her address. Eight years later, I get a letter saying, ‘I do want to thank you so much for what you did for me, I just got my master’s degree in electronic engineering.'”
Watch James recount it here [2:02] | Article Source here
Check in on the people you love. You never know what someone is going through and just being there can help way more than you might know. Trust me as someone who doesn’t have anyone there.
Live long and prosper, friends 🖖
Also be nice to strangers, you never know what they’re going through!
I can’t imagine pushing someone over the edge just because I was short on patience one day. The thought really bothers me as I’m not a patient person.
I’m sure you haven’t.
I spent the first half of my 20s homeless. There’s that saying about how if you want to see what a person is really like then see how they treat the people under them? It’s true and a lot of people are way too comfortable with being bad people. I’m not talking about people who nervously avoid homeless folks or are afraid of making eye contact. That’s a whole other discussion. A sad one as well, but not what I’m talking about. I mean people who are just actively nasty. Kicking us or throwing stuff at us or calling the police saying we had a gun so we get the shit beat out of us in the middle of the night. One dude offered me a sandwich when he saw me dumpster diving. He said to stay in the area and I was desperate. I hadn’t eaten in days. Dude left and came back with a gas station sandwich that had clearly been previously unwrapped. Encouraged me to eat it. I opened it and the guy had put dog shit in the sandwich. I refused and he started to get aggressive but other people were around and started watching. That made him uncomfortable and he left.
Have a hard time trusting people since being homeless. I wonder why. But I do give everyone the benefit of the doubt and try to be as nice as I can. Do I fuck up and fail? Yep. Do I try and fix it when I do? Yep. It’s all you can do. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, true, but the needs of the few still matter. I try not to forget that. I have a feeling you do the same on that front.
If you’re actively noticing that you have a problem with your patience then you are already better than a LOT of people. You notice a problem and you’re trying to fix it. A terrifying amount of people have issues similar to that but don’t care. Just say fuck it and let the consequences ride. If you’re thinking about it then you’re thinking about it because you’re a good person. There’s no way you’d get to the point of pushing someone over the edge because you’re not capable of that far. Why? Because you a good person yo. Go do a “I’m a good person” dance. You’ve earned one.
That’s fucking awful! I’m sorry you had to go through that.
Well here’s something sad in a funny way. Out of all the traumatic shit I’ve gone through, being homeless is pretty low on the list.
I’ve gone through so much at that this point it’s whatever. I’m a product of what I went through. I have no idea who I’d be if I didn’t but I doubt he’d be half as interesting. I’m okay with that trade off.
Go do your fuckin “I’m a good person” dance or I’ll get Morn to supervise.
I am sorry with what you have gone through. No I repeat, no one deserves to be treated like you were and I am assuming a lot of homeless are.
No one deserves to but we do nonetheless. That’s life at this point. “It is what it is.” Really need that tattooed on my wrist at this point.
Can’t change the past. Can only look forward and try and help make sure it doesn’t happen to others. C’est la vie. He somehow said with terrible French pronunciation. Despite it being a text message.
Honestly, what stops me from going crazy on assholes is thinking of everything I’d lose if I did. But if I’m already homeless and you offer me a sandwich with dog shit inside I don’t care, I’m beating you until I crush your skull. You don’t play around with cornered rats. You really have to be one of the worst people on the planet to do that, I’m doing a favor to humanity by removing you from it.
The one thing I value more than anything else is my freedom to move and do what I want. Am I limited by a thousand other things such as money or physical disability? Yes Sir. But my freedom is precious. Won’t trade anything for it.
To add to this - sometimes, people are being shitty because the world has been so shitty to them. You can’t balance it out alone, but if every one of us were 5% more gentle with people we come across, there would be a ripple effect like this world has never seen.
Want a startrek future? It’s going to take tiny steps from all of us to get there.
Hurt people hurt people
It’s a phrase I learned due to the toxicity of the relationship with my ex.