Stranger's '26 Acts' Gesture Makes Family's Morning

OUTSIDE BOSTON, MA -- A local woman was walking back to her table at a cafe Friday morning when she saw the looks on her family's faces.

"When I sat down they were silent and showed me a note on a piece of paper. At first I thought it was a joke, but when I saw the note on another table, I knew it was real," said Julie Purcell, a Marlborough resident.

The handwritten note (pictured with this article), left at Purcell's table at Sunnyside Cafe around 9:15 a.m., indicated that their breakfast was paid for: it was one of several a kind stranger requested servers leave at patrons' tables.

The note read it was one of "26 acts," which is an apparent movement in honor of the victims of the shootings in Sandy Hook, CT.

"I called the waitress over to see who did this beautiful act of kindness, and she replied by saying, 'I can't tell you, I'm not allowed to. I was given a few of these notes and was to choose who received them. I decided to choose you,'" Purcell said.

"Water filled my eyes with all the emotional tragedies that have occurred in the past week," Purcell said. "It is so heartwarming to know that there are good-hearted, kind people out there."

We at Patch are touched by the stranger's random act of kindness, and know there are many other stories like it out there. Have you been the recipient of kindness from a stranger? Does the holiday season prompt you to do more things for others? Tell us in the comments.