Unsung Heroes

I'll admit it: Most of my posts focus on gripes and frustrations. Readers of my blog might come away with the impression that I'm kind of a jerk who wanders around looking for things to argue about, complaining ceaselessly about government and corporate stupidity to anyone in earshot. That impression is mostly correct.

Today, I'd like to shift gears. There are some human behaviors I take note of, small, almost invisible acts of kindness, or mere politeness, that make this old world a better place to live. Here then, are ten of my unsung heroes:

1. People who return their shopping carts to the cart return bins in parking lots, even if they aren't coveniently placed.
2. People who have concise messages on their voicemail, so you can start leaving them a message in under thirty seconds.
3. People who spay and neuter stray cats.
4. People who give blood.
5. Parents of children who are deeply tanned when they return to school in the fall. (I mean the children are tan. I could care less about whether the parents have spent their summers outside.)
6. Waiters and waitresses who magically appear with a pitcher of iced tea the second my glass is 2/3rds empty.
7. People who populate wikipedia with accurate information.
8. Retail outlets that don't require me to fill out a card collecting my personal information in order to get their best prices.
9. People who can talk about religion and politics without the main thrust of their argument being that people who disagree with them are evil or idiots.
10. People who call in sick to work when they wake up coughing/sneezing/feverish.

I suppose that even pointing out the heroes among us can be interpretted as a form of griping. By saying I admire people with concise voice mail, I suppose I'm admitting annoyance with those who have long ones. But, that wasn't my intention when I launched into this list. If you're one of the people on this list, seriously, thank you for being you.

So... any one else have any nominees? Who are your unsung heroes?