By Pattie Mihalik

When my friend Andy was kind enough to offer 10 of us a night cruise on his pontoon boat, it proved there is no such thing as strangers when people are having fun.

One woman said it best when she said, “Everyone is one’s friend on the playground.”

The pontoon boat was our version of a playground as relative strangers partied together.

While we all exchanged pleasant banter, I noticed one frail looking old man by himself in the back of the boat.

I did what I usually do when I see someone who looks like he’s in need of a friend — I went back and talked with him.

Much to my surprise, the man’s sadness seemed to lift instantly and he proved to be a fascinating conversationalist.

When it was time to leave the boat, the old man called me over, saying there was something he wanted to tell me.

“Thank you,” he said, “for spending time with me.”

He went on to tell me his wife died six months ago and he lived alone with no one to talk to.

“I think it’s been weeks since I’ve been able to talk to someone, so thank you for taking time with me,” he said.

Talk about humbling. There I was being thanked for exchanging simple conversation with a lonely old man.

While that happened a few weeks ago, I can’t forget how a simple act of kindness impacted someone.

I later learned he was on the boat because our captain was a former neighbor. He had his wife pick up the man and bring him along on the boat ride because he knew the guy was lonely since his wife died.

Talk about an act of kindness.

Sometimes we do a simple act of kindness and don’t think it’s any big deal. Yet the recipient of the kindness notices.

Sometimes it’s our small act of kindness that lifts someone’s spirits and makes their day brighter.

At a recent meeting we were talking about an accident on a bridge that delayed traffic for hours.

One man told us he would still be stuck in the traffic tie-up instead of at our meeting if it weren’t for a small act of kindness on the part of another driver.

“I would never have been able to cut across traffic if he didn’t stop his car and motion for me to cross the road,” the man said.

It’s often road rage that gets noticed, yet there are dozens of small courtesies that go unnoticed except for those being helped.

I was that driver needing help yesterday when I realized I was in the wrong lane. Unknowingly, I was in the left turning lane instead of a lane with through traffic.

When I looked over at the driver in the lane next to me, the lane I needed to be in, I was calculating if I had enough room to move to that lane.

The answer was no, not without being smacked by 55 mph traffic.

Much to my surprise, an alert driver in the through lane noticed I had my right turn signal on but had no room to safely get over. He slowed his car and motioned for me to move ahead of him.

A potential accident was avoided because of a small act of kindness.

My friend Becky is someone who is always on the lookout for someone she can help.

For instance, she was spending her lunch break sitting on a bench eating her sandwich when a young man sat down with her.

When Becky started talking with the stranger as she so often does, she learned he was in a jam. He had to be in court in a half-hour but had no ride to get there. The friend who was supposed to drive him never showed up.

“The judge won’t be happy and not showing up just might be the thing that will compel him to give me jail time,” he said.

Becky didn’t judge him or ask questions. Instead, she spent 20 minutes driving him to the courthouse instead of finishing her lunch.

“We all do what we can for others,” she said.

Well, not everyone.

Some of us would hesitate to take a stranger in our car, especially one on his way to court.

Others would worry about insurance problems “in case something happened.”

Happily, there are still plenty of good people like Becky willing to help.

When my friend Roy’s car broke down, he was on his way home from his job as a critter control specialist.

His cellphone battery had run down and he needed to flag someone down for help.

I suppose it was understandable that cars whizzed by without stopping because his jacket was splattered with blood from his earlier encounter with a big boar.

When someone finally stopped, Roy borrowed his cellphone to call a family member.

Later he went on our local social media to thank the man who helped.

I sometimes lament how too many people are more inclined to criticize rather than help.

We can do something to counter that by spreading kindness through our own actions.

Now, more than ever, we need to do our part to help kindness spread.

You never know how your one small act of kindness can make someone’s day.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.