Yearly Archives: 2026

Best of FPF: Good Neighbors

Posted on Friday, January 16, 2026 by • No comments yet

Danielle shared the following appreciation in the Braintree Forum. We thought it was well worth a share:

“We ran into vehicle issues in the parking lot at Walmart tonight, and after hours of trying to fix everything ourselves, the most wonderful man came over to help us out. Turns out he and his wife live in Brookfield, just a couple of miles from us, and they genuinely saved us hundreds of dollars and weeks of stress.

“They didn’t have to stop and help. They didn’t have to bring the kids and me home so we wouldn’t be cold and wet while THEIR people fixed everything for us. They didn’t have to take my husband back to the truck so we could get it home. They didn’t have to take time out of their night to help us at all, but they did, and I will forever be grateful for good neighbors who go out of their way to help other people for nothing other than they’re just good humans with beautiful souls.

“I will never forget everything you did for us. Thank you.”

Best of FPF: A Stranger’s Kindness

Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2026 by • No comments yet

In late December, Susan shared this story in the Middlebury Forum. We thought it was well worth a share:

“I am a volunteer at the Neat Repeats thrift shop in Middlebury, and the store has been busy with holiday shoppers these past few weeks. Yesterday, a young customer came in, purchased a few items, and after he paid for them, he handed me some cash, saying, “Please use this to help the next customer who needs it.”

And not more than 5 minutes later, a mother and her young daughter came into the store, and it was clear to me that the mother was very carefully adding up the cost of the items that she had selected. She then (sadly) told her daughter to put back a few things because she didn’t have enough money. But thanks to a stranger’s kindness, I was able to give this woman the money she needed to pay for those few items she could not afford to buy.

Needless to say, this lady was overwhelmed with gratitude, and she left the store in tears. Actually, there wasn’t a dry eye in our staff workroom after this incident. So, I want to express our thanks to the wonderful young man who just made one local family’s Christmas that much better. By any measure, this is a beautiful example of the holiday spirit in our community, and I am grateful to be a part of it.”

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Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more

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