(JESSICA WALLACE / iNFOnews.ca)

Any journalist knows, the world is not all sunshines and butterflies. I was reminded of it this morning as I assembled my regular daily story list.

A convicted rapist is in the Kamloops courthouse this week for a dangerous offender hearing to potentially put him away for good. A man was found dead last night at the Crossroads Inn, possibly days before anyone noticed. A cyclist — a man who chose a greener form of transportation — was killed last night after being hit by a vehicle. A man viciously beaten with a skateboard just got out of hospital this week after nearly three months in recovery.

And that's just today's story list.

No sunshine and butterflies there. So I want to change it up a bit and tell you a few good things that happened to me in the last few months: Three random acts of kindness by strangers throughout the city.

The first happened on a rare movie date night with my boyfriend a few months back. A stranger walked up to us and asked us if we needed tickets, saying they had extras. They wouldn't accept money from us.

The next, I was running behind for work, so I parked in front of the courthouse where they charge an arm and a leg for parking. I rushed to the parking ticket dispenser to find a ticket jammed into the coin slot with time to spare. It's something I've continued doing with my old tickets on the rare occasion I park out front.

Finally, just last week, I was driving through the Starbucks drivethru in Sahali. As I drove up to the window to pay, the barista told me that the driver of the car in front of me paid for my coffee. I was delighted and surprised and a smile came over my face. A measly $3 coffee had just made my entire day.

I asked the barista 'Why?' She said that 'sometimes it just happens.' I paid for the coffee of the next car in hopes it would continue on, car to car.

These are just the acts of kindness that stand out in my mind.

Of course, there's the bottle depot staff who offer hand wipes despite forgoting to rinse my bottles, again. And there's the gas attendant who offers a funnel and a hand with checking oil, even though I'm a stubborn feminist who wants to do it myself.

So thanks Kamloops. When mired in the doom and gloom of the news, you've rescued me with kindness. I'm passing it along.

To contact a reporter for this story, email: jwallace@infotelnews.ca, call: (250) 319-7494 or tweet: @jess__wallace.

News from © iNFOnews, 2013