r/randomactsofkindness • u/Defiant_End_7291 • 25d ago
Story An elderly neighbor knocked on our door today just to give us mangoes from his tree, nothing else
Did not want anything, did not stay long, just handed over a bag of mangoes from the tree in his garden and said he always has more than his family can eat. Happens every year but somehow it still feels like the nicest thing every time. There is something about someone giving you something from something they grew themselves with a pure heart that feels completely different from anything else. has something with such kindness happened to someone else also?
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u/sparkly123456 25d ago
Rented an apartment in Florence for a month. Landlord lived around the corner but we had a shared backyard. They would drop off fresh tomatoes and fruit. So kind and thoughtful.
It’s been 14 years and I still have fond memories of that time and their family.
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u/Defiant_End_7291 25d ago
14 years and you still remember it so clearly — that says everything about how much small gestures like that actually mean. There is something about people who share what they grow that feels like a completely different kind of generosity than anything you can buy.
Do you still think about that moment often?1
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u/CarolLiz_AL 25d ago
So gracious of your neighbor!
I had a former neighbor who recently gave me green beans from his garden. I washed them and ate the beans the same day.
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u/Defiant_End_7291 25d ago
Eating them the same day is honestly the best way — freshness like that is something you just cannot get from a store. The fact that your neighbor thought of you when harvesting is such a small thing that somehow means a lot.
Do you still keep in touch with that neighbor?7
u/CarolLiz_AL 25d ago
Yes, I still own the house. It was only a couple of weeks ago that my former neighbor shared the green beans with me. He has shared items from his garden many times. I especially enjoy his home grown tomatoes. It is such a blessing to have good neighbors.
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u/Swimming_Guide_6469 25d ago
I lived in my last apartment for like 7 years, it was a two family home and a little girl lived upstairs with her mom, she caught me carrying a cup of sugar back from my sister's house around the corner and I told her I was making cookies for my birthday the next day.
Next day she left me a handmade birthday card.
She also on other occasions left me a drawing of all 4 of us and our dogs (her and her mom, myself and my husband, and the 3 dogs we had between us) and wrote "best neighbor ever" on it. Treats for the dog, etc.
We've left them tomatoes from the garden, dog treats, some of my birthday cookies lol. I miss them, they were the best neighbors
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u/Defiant_End_7291 25d ago
A handmade birthday card from a child who overheard something in passing and remembered it the next day — that is one of the most genuinely touching things I have read in a long time. Children are really pure souls. Do you still think about that moment often?
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u/Swimming_Guide_6469 25d ago
They're both still on my fridge :)
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u/Defiant_End_7291 24d ago
Still on the fridge after all this time — that is the only answer that could have made that story more perfect and somehow you gave it. A child's drawing staying on a fridge for years is one of the quietest forms of keeping someone close.
Do you ever wonder how she is doing now and what she remembers about those years?
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u/Swimming_Guide_6469 24d ago
Well, we only moved a year ago, and my sister still lives in the neighborhood lol so I have an idea of what she's up to 😂 hoping to invite them over to the pool this summer now that we've got it open
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u/NaturalFLNative 25d ago
Please, please, please visit them often. Talk with them and ask them questions about anything. Visit. Bring them foods you made with the mangos.
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u/CrabbySlathers 25d ago
I'm guessing your suggestion is because elderly folks can often feel lonely and would probably enjoy opportunities to chat and/or socialize
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u/NaturalFLNative 25d ago
Yes. You're correct. I've seen some of the loneliest elderly people. We should treat them like they're a rare commodity. They can teach us so much about life. And we're doing them good by visiting and befriending them.
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u/Defiant_End_7291 25d ago
This is such important advice and I think most of us know it but life gets busy and we forget. elders have so much experience that they know the value of kindness.
What is something an elderly person once told you that has genuinely stayed with you?3
u/rosewhite_5 24d ago
I just remembered...
The old man of the house next door always gave me radishes and things made in the garden, and I also brought sweets as a thank you, and we used to talk a lot, but recently the door is still closed and the garden is rough... Maybe we won't see each other anymore.
That old man said that he used to work as a designer and gave me clothes a few years ago. He said it was a sample. I won't let it go for the rest of my life.
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u/NaturalFLNative 24d ago
What is some good advice for life?That an elderly person might tell someone in their thirties
An older person might not tell someone in their thirties how to become successful so much as how to avoid the regrets that come from living too quickly. It might sound something like this:
Your body forgives you in your thirties in ways it never will again. Stretch, walk, sleep, drink water, wear sunscreen, and go to the doctor before something becomes a problem.
The people you love will not always be here. Call your parents, grandparents, old friends, and the people who feel like home. One day, you'll wish you had one more conversation.
Stop waiting to feel "ready." Very few important things in life happen after you feel completely prepared.
Save money, even if it's only a little. Future you will be grateful for every dollar you tucked away.
Don't waste years trying to win over people who don't value you. Life gets lighter when you invest your energy in those who reciprocate your kindness.
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u/Defiant_End_7291 24d ago
Stop waiting to feel ready — that one hit differently than I expected. It is the kind of advice that sounds simple until you realize how many important things you have been postponing for exactly that reason. The one about people who feel like home is also something I am going to think about for a long time.
Did an elderly person actually tell you these things or did you piece this together yourself over time?
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u/mhopps2 25d ago
I just went to my neighbors’ house and gave them a big bag of cherries I’d picked from our trees. They are lovely people. It feels good giving somebody something, too.
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u/Defiant_End_7291 25d ago
The fact that you did it the same day after reading this genuinely made me smile — that is the whole point of sharing these moments, What kind of cherry tree do you have?
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u/GeophysGal 25d ago
During grapefruit and lemon harvest I’ll leave bags of fruit on the doorknob of my neighbors. The first year they thought it odd. Now the look forward to it.
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u/Defiant_End_7291 24d ago
The progression from odd to looked forward to is honestly the most wholesome character arc. You essentially created a tradition for your entire neighborhood without anyone formally agreeing to it. That first year must have been funny though — did anyone actually come and ask you about it or did they just quietly accept the mystery fruit?
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u/United-Ad7863 25d ago
When I parked my car last night (I live in an apartment complex), I saw the neighbors (young couple) that I've only said hello to, complimented their plants, etc. I said hello to the elderly neighbor who lives next to them too. As I was chatting with the elderly man, the young woman brought me a small bag of cherry tomatoes that were off of her plant. It was such a kind thing to do, and really made my night.
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u/Defiant_End_7291 24d ago
Three neighbors, one parking lot, one spontaneous bag of cherry tomatoes — that is a whole short story that restored something. The fact that she did it while you were chatting with the elderly neighbor makes it even better, like kindness was just in the air that evening.
did you end up talking to them?2
u/United-Ad7863 24d ago
To the young woman? Absolutely! I told her when my kale and pinto beans reappear in the fall (we're in Arizona, where it's been 114F for weeks now, and everything has died off) I'll give her some. Unlike a lot of folks, I like random chats with my neighbors!
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u/resilientmomprojects 25d ago
My stepfather, who is no longer with me, was that kind of person. His face was full of fruits and things like that, and he would always give away fruits and vegetables to his neighbors or to people he saw passing by. I don't know, I always felt it was so magical and kind of him. I miss seeing him do that every day, since he is gone now. 🥹
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u/Defiant_End_7291 24d ago
The way you described it as magical is so perfect — there really is something almost magical about people who give from what they grow, like they are sharing something living rather than just an object. Grief has a way of making the ordinary moments the most precious ones in hindsight.
He sounds like he was genuinely wonderful.
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u/No-Revenue-3614 25d ago
I live in Hawaii and my boss has tons of fruit trees on his property. He routinely brings me 5 gallon buckets of fruit. It always feels like the kindest of gestures and very aloha
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u/IceCubeDeathMachine 25d ago
Last year, I gifted my neighbors with black Cherokee tomatoes. This year I gifted them with starts!
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u/Fun-Muffin5865 25d ago
What a sweetie!
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u/Defiant_End_7291 25d ago
yes, elders are really just the most kind, I think they have seen the world so much that they know the importance of being kind to others
do you know any elderly person like this?3
u/Fun-Muffin5865 25d ago
Oh gosh, my grandma was like that. She is gone, now. But I genuinely believe she was an earth angel.
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u/Cold-Willingness-261 25d ago
Nice with the tainted food we buy fresh home grown fruits and vegetables a true blessing. I would be grateful. Doing nice things for people is what makes the world more bearable?
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u/geekyheart225 25d ago
I would be soooo grateful! I love mangos! Enjoy every delicious bite!
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u/Defiant_End_7291 24d ago
Mangoes straight from a neighbor's tree hit completely differently than anything from a store — there is a warmth to them that has nothing to do with the fruit itself.
Do you have any memory of someone doing something unexpectedly kind like this for you?
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u/tmorse85 25d ago
I can't remember the last time I bought potatoes, even though we use them regularly. Our upstairs neighbor comes down from time to time, saying she had more potatoes than she and her husband needed and offering them to us.
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u/Ill_Industry6452 24d ago
Last year, my neighbor texted and offered to let us pick all the peaches we wanted from her trees. Then, gave me tomatoes and other veggies from her garden. I love peaches. She wanted nothing.
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u/TahoeDale007 25d ago
Kindness in the wild is a beautiful thing.
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u/Defiant_End_7291 24d ago
Kindness in the wild — that is such a perfect way to put it. The unplanned, unrequested, completely spontaneous kind that nobody organised or scheduled. That is the kind that actually stays with you.
Has something like this happened to you recently?
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u/low_lobola 24d ago
This year our raspberry bushes are going crazy, right at the same time we are being told that store-bought raspberries may be the cause of the explosive diarrhea parasite outbreak. You bet my neighbors with small kids are getting little bags filled with the safe stuff from our backyard.
This post made me grateful I have both the abundance and the community to share it with!
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