There I was, heading to the door of Ali Baba restaurant and using my cane to move along when the door opened. You held it open for me and you said, "The cane does it for you every time, doesn't it?"

My answer, quickly, was, "You bet it does!"

You didn't treat me like an old cripple. Nothing about pity was indicated.

That was empowerment you gave me. I felt a little taller and younger, tough and capable.

I love you for that, but in my somewhat bent posture, I didn't even see your face. From the stature I did observe you must be in your late 50s or early 60s, and what a great guy.

So, thanks for the lift. You're wonderful.

-- DORIS KENNEDY, Squirrel Hill

On the evening of July 23, I was shopping at the Home Depot in Bridgeville. After returning home, I discovered that my wallet was missing from my purse. Apparently, I had removed and inadvertently misplaced it when I hastily tried to locate a measuring tape inside my purse. The store was now closed.

The next morning, I called Home Depot and spoke to a woman named Joanie. She double-checked the area where I lost the wallet but her efforts were to no avail.

She then checked the store's vault -- and there it was. It was fully intact, with all my credit cards and cash.

I want to thank the person who turned in my wallet. What an act of honesty. You definitely will be rewarded in some way.

This column continues to reinforce my belief that there are truly wonderful people in the world.

-- LORRAINE (RAINE) MLINARICH, Scott

On July 20, my husband was involved in a serious accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Bedford -- yes, it was the accident that closed the turnpike for four hours that evening.

The next day a very kind state trooper called me to check on my husband's condition and give me some important information, including the name and number of the tow truck company. I called Interstate Emergency Services and spoke to a gentleman called Lynn to check on the contents of the car and what was left -- his wallet, cell phone, luggage, laptop and a trunk full of personal things (most importantly, golf clubs!).

I asked if he could put whatever he found into the car's trunk because the insurance company was towing the car to a salvage yard closer to Pittsburgh and I could pick the things up there.

Since I had not seen the car, I did not know what shape it was in. Lynn, Interstate's general manager, offered to take pictures and e-mail them to me. (My husband was extremely lucky -- there was not one straight piece of car left, including the trunk.)

And this is where the "kindness" comes into play. Lynn went back to the car and had me dial my husband's new phone. He crawled around to find it, which he did. Then he offered to mail the phone and wallet, which had cash and credit cards in it, to us. I could get the luggage and other items at the salvage yard. Lynn called me the next day to let me know the luggage and laptop were in his office now as it had started to rain.

He then offered to take it all to a FedEx facility and have it shipped to us, minus the golf clubs (which did not survive the accident).

You cannot know how grateful I was. At the time, I was spending day and night at the hospital with my husband. Everything arrived a few days later.

We both have thanked Lynn multiple times, but I thought it was well worth it to share this story of going above and beyond.

-- JANET MOSESSO, Upper St. Clair