There Was Goodness in 2020

Most of us are saying good riddance to 2020. What a year? We can't wait for a better 2021. All there seemed to hear was bad news, COVID-19, the Presidential election turmoil and so much more. However, as bad as we think 2020 was, there was a lot of goodness. Maybe our trials and tribulations of the year brought out some hidden goodness in people.

Like this story in Petoskey. Fox 17 reported a waitress there received quite the surprise when she was given a $2,021 tip for a takeout order on Dec. 29.

"I'm just so grateful. I never thought something like this would ever happen to me," Becky Beer said.

The anonymous tip was added to a $44.69 to-go order at J.W. Filmore's. On top of the receipt were several notes: "JBN Tip Challenge," "Just Be Nice" & "2021 Happy New Year."

There were many others examples from around the country that we just never heard about. For instance, a former bartender and restaurant manager in the Philadelphia suburb of Media, has been going around to her town’s local restaurants to handing out $100 in cash to servers and waitstaff.

For thousands of nursing home residents across the United States who've been quarantining for months because of the COVID-19, hugs are a luxury they can't afford. So, a teenage Boy Scout, designed three "hug booths" that allow people to embrace without touching at all, and they are taken to different nursing homes weekly to "hug" the residents.

A grandmother working at McDonald's and delivering newspapers to make ends meet for herself and her husband, is surprised with a new car so they are able to get around safely. Or, how about the Florida man who paid off 114 residents past due electric bills so their power wouldn't be shut off. And then there was Emily and Billy, whose wedding  didn't go as planned. Because of COVID restrictions, the couple decided to get married at City Hall in Chicago. And instead of taking the deposits for their reception back, they decided to repurpose them. The couple put their $5,000 worth of reception food to a good use on Thanksgiving by donating the 200 meals to Thresholds, an organization that provides services and resources for people with serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders in Illinois.

There were hundreds of stories just like these, people making better and helping others as we struggled through the pandemic.

There IS a lot of goodness in the world. We just don't always know where it is.