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A Black woman and white man share a refreshing exchange and it offers healing for us all

She expected the worst when a white man approached her overheated vehicle. But what she received instead brought her to tears.

@realbillygotti/Instagram

We need more moments like these.

Of course, racism and hatred are very real issues, and ones that we must discuss in order to make progress. But with all the coverage of people behaving badly flooding our awareness through the media and online, it can be easy to write off humanity entirely. To believe that the world is inherently a divisive, dangerous, and ultimately declining place to live. When in reality, not everything is so bleak.

That’s what makes sharing this story so important.

In December of 2023, a Black woman named Jo'lee Shine was stuck in her overheated car in front of a stranger's house, waiting for a tow truck to arrive.

racism, karens, wholesome moments, southern hospitality, kindness, atlantaJo’lee preparing for the worst. @realbillygotti/Instagram

When a white man, the homeowner, began approaching her, Jo'lee immediately started recording the interaction. And thank goodness she did, because this was a moment worth immortalizing.

“I'm so sorry, my car ran hot,” she says in the clip, and begins trying to start the car to prove her situation.

And then, in the sweetest southern accent you ever heard, we hear “don’t try to crank it baby.”

When then hear him offer to put water in the car, made sure Jo'lee had coming to pick her up, and then…wait for it…asked if she wanted lunch.

"We’ll be eating lunch shortly. While we wait on [the tow truck] if we get everything set up I’ll come get you and we’ll have dinner,” he says.

This brings Jo’lee to instant tears. “That was so sweet,” she whimpers.

racism, karens, wholesome moments, southern hospitality, kindness, atlantaJo’lee in tears after being invited to share a meal. @realbillygotti/Instagram

With a chuckle, the man replies, “that’s the way we are.” he then shared how he just had 22 people over at his house the night before for “a family gathering.”

Jo’lee declines the lunch offer, but profusely thanks the kind stranger as she wipes the tears that continue to fall. Just before he goes, the man says that he’ll check back in, joking that the tow truck “might be delayed” and she might change her mind.

In her caption, Jo’lee wrote, “I wasn’t going to post this, but I wanted people to know that they’re still good people in this world.”

Seems like that mission was accomplished. The video, which has gotten over 176,000 likes on Instagram, gave everyone a little dose of hope. Just take a look at some of these lovely comments:

“This is who we are...it sucks that movies have put fear in people to that level. That makes me sad that there's fear and division keeping us all from sharing love that I KNOW is in all of us.”

“The media works to divide us, don't believe their lies. We love all people.. God Bless.”

"I'll come get you when we get dinner on the table?!!" ❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹🔥🔥🔥🔥🙌🙌”

“The way he called you baby without a mean tone in his soul.”

“This renews my faith in humanity. He tried to help her without any thought of race.”

“Just when we think humanity has died, this happens ♥️. Human kindness for the win.”

Indeed, the world has its’ Karens…and even worse characters. But it also has people who invite strangers to dinner, just because it’s a nice thing to do…because it’s the “way they are.” It’s the way a lot of us are, when we let ourselves be.

This article originally appeared two years ago

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Mom is blown away when she asks daughter to finish toxic phrases from her childhood

"This healed something in me."

Photo by Adam Winger on Unsplash

Mom and daughter heal generational trauma.

One of the most redeeming things about being a parent is the opportunity to right parenting wrongs from childhood. Healing generational trauma and breaking chains for a new generation is a powerful parenting gift.

And TikToker Brandi Davis (@brandi_davis24) is trying to do just that. Following a trend that began on Instagram, Davis asked her young daughter to finish some "toxic phrases" she grew up hearing throughout her childhood. Her daughter's responses show that her upbringing has truly been different.

"Asking my daughter to finish these phrases I heard growing up healed me a little bit," she captioned the video. "Her answers 🥺 breaking one generational curse at a time!!"

@brandi_davis24

Her answers 🥺 breaking one generational curse at a time!! #breakinggenerationalcurses #wholesome #disciplinephrases #fyp #trending #mommy #mommydaughter #lovehersomuch

In the video, Davis is sitting in her car with her daughter. She tells her, "I'm gonna start a sentence, and you're just gonna finish it with whatever you think it's supposed to say, okay?" Her daughter agrees, and she begins to say toxic phrases to her that she heard throughout her childhood.

"I brought you into this world so," Davis says, and her daughter replies, "I'm beautiful." Davis responds, "You're beautiful!" (The phrase is: I brought you into this world so/and I can take you out of it.)

"When we go in this store don't," Davis says, and her daughter replies, "Don't run away." (The phrase is: When we go in this store don't/ask for anything.)

"Children are for," Davis says, and her daughter replies, "Attention!"(The phrase is: Children are for/being seen not heard.)

She continues with more questions. "I'm going to give you something," Davis says, and her daughter replies, "Cuz I'm good!" (The phrase is: I'm going to give you something/ to cry about.)

"I love you but," Davis says, and her daughter take a while to reply. "Any answer is okay. It's not a trick," Davis encourages her as she thinks. Ultimately, she can't come up with one. (The phrase is: I love you but/I don't like you.) Davis adds in a caption, "I love that she couldn't think of a 'but' because she knows there is never a 'but' after with me."

The emotional video resonated with viewers in the comment section:

"This healed something in me. You’re doing a great job 🤍,"

"This baby has been nothing but loved and protected her whole life 💐🥹 cheers to you mama 💐."

"Gosh makes me realize how toxic our parents generation was and how much we are breaking those chains for our kids."

I’m a 43 year old man, the kid inside me does not know how to respond to this but feel happy for your daughter and it pointed out some darkness I was not aware of in my childhood."

"The fact I didn’t have to read and knew what the rest of it was… and her little pure heart had no clue 😭😭 definitely made me tear up. Good job mama."

This trend began on Instagram with mental health activist and parent Anna Muller (@annakristinam). She shared a video asking her young son the same questions, captioning it, "Seeing how my son finishes toxic parenting phrases." The video garnered over eight million views, and since then has become a trend on TikTok.

In a follow-up video to her original on Instagram, Muller shared more on the trend in her caption. "Thank you everyone for all the love on my previous video 😭 this trend is so wholesome and it’s so beautiful to see the parents breaking generational cycles and the kind humans we are raising together 🤍," she wrote.

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Woman asks her Uber driver if he'll pretend to be her dad at the mechanic and he nailed it

He understood the assignment. No question.

Photo credit: Canva

This guy deserves 5 stars, for sure.

When we think of 5-star Uber drivers, we might picture someone who knows how to read a room (or a car, in this case), maybe someone who has an assortment of charger cables, or a bomb playlist. One Uber driver, however, is getting glowing praise for giving more like 20-star service.

Here’s what happened: A woman named Catalina (@catalinamascochina), presumably on her way to a mechanic, had lamented to her driver how she was worried the mechanic would overcharge her for unnecessary things.

This concern is not unwarranted, of course. While anyone can be ripped off by a mechanic, it's fairly well known that women are often, but not always, charged more than men for auto repairs when they appear uniformed about the going rates for certain parts and services. Shady? Yes. But a reality, no doubt about it.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Catalina’s driver fully understood her plight, and in the video posted to her TikTok, we can hear him saying “I know how these guys are.” That’s when Catalina seems to joke, “Tell em’ you’re my dad!”

The Uber driver must have been totally onboard with this plan, because next thing you know, we see him in full Dad stance at the shop deftly waving off the mechanic's attempt to upsell, saying “We keep an eye on it; don’t worry about it. We’ll do it next time.”

Getting even more into character, he then demanded Catalina to “pay for the oil change and let’s get out of here. Come on, follow me.” Somebody give this guy an Oscar already.

“Thaaaaanks, Dad,” Catalina cooed as they shared a hug. In the onscreen caption she also joked that “the acting skills are a little [too] good cuz why he actually yelling at me like a dad?”

@catalinamascochina LMAOOOO
♬ original sound - catalina

While viewers did note that, ideally, women wouldn’t have to conspire with their Uber drivers in order to get fair treatment, that it was really nice to see a man willing to help out in such a cool way.

“Now THIS is the masculinity we need,” one person wrote.

“What a sweetheart,” echoed another. “You definitely got in the right uber.”

Another even suggested, “they should have a service like this for girls that don’t have fathers and need to get their cars serviced worry-free.”

Others just chimed in to give the guys kudos for his acting chops. That, and many suspected he must be a dad IRL.

dad, mechanic, dads, help, strangers, favorsDads are gonna be dads.media0.giphy.com

“He activated dad mode and immediately became frustrated.”

“You gave him a story to share at dinner with his actual kids.”

“Acting? He’s clearly a dad.”

‘He wasn’t acting. In the moment you were his child.”

The world is not a perfect place, and likely never will be. But sometimes all it takes is one act of kindness to make it all that much easier—and more enjoyable—to navigate.

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Dad camping with his kids shares the wholesome note left on his car from a another camper

"It’s always nice, as a guy, to get a compliment."

Photo credit: Canva, Note image via RCampR6/Reddit

A dad got a sweet note from a fellow father after camping with his kids.

One of the hardest parts of being a parent is never being sure whether you're doing a good job or totally bombing it. If you're conscientious enough to even wonder if you're a good parent, you probably are, but parenting entails a million little choices and interactions, and there's always a lingering voice in your head saying, "What if you're really screwing this whole thing up?"

Reassurance and encouragement are always appreciated by parents, but not always received, which is why a note from one camping dad to another has people celebrating the kindness of anonymous strangers.

"You are killing it as a dad."

Someone on Yosemite Reddit thread shared a photo of a handwritten note with the caption, "To the man who left this thoughtful note on my windshield at Lower Pines Campground this weekend, I extend my heartfelt gratitude; your acknowledgment of my efforts to be a good father means a great deal to me."

The note reads:

Windshield Note.
byu/RCampR6 inYosemite

"Bro,

I camped in the spot behind you last night. Let me just say, you are killing it as a dad. First off, I watched your wife guide you in as you backed up your trailer and nailed it on the first try without any yelling. Then your kids unloaded from the truck and were mild-mannered and well behaved. You told stories around the campfire and I had the pleasure of listening to the sounds of giggles and laughter.

From one dad to another, you are killing it. Keep it up.

P.S. Whatever you cooked for dinner smelled delicious!"

How often do we share these thoughts with strangers, even if we have them? And who wouldn't love to get a surprise bit of praise with specific examples of things we did right?

Everyone needs to hear a compliment once in a while.

dads, giving men compliments, fatherhood, camping, camping with kidsA handwritten note with the words "good job!" on itPhoto credit: Canva

So many people found the note to be a breath of fresh air and a good reminder to compliment people when we feel the urge:

"That would make any daddy's eyes water."

"It’s always nice, as a guy, to get a compliment."

"I complimented a guy's glasses at work (I'm also a guy, and btw they were really cool glasses, I wasn't just being nice) and now he keeps trying to tell me where he got his glasses and how I should get some. But I'm just having to be polite because I already have glasses and I'm not in the market. I finally had to tell him I'm not going to buy them lmao I just like them on him.

Made me feel like that's the first compliment he's had in years because he can't stop talking about it. Also I mainly liked the glasses because I think he's cute but he really thinks it's just the glasses haha jokes on him that cute bastard.""I was in the store with my wife and one of our 'adopted nephews' yesterday (we’re close friends with his parents and we’ve known him and his brother since they were newborns and 2yo, respectively). A woman came up to me at checkout while my wife was running out to the car and said 'I’m not sure what your family relationship is here, but I just have to tell you how nice and refreshing it is to hear all the laughter and joy from the 3 of you. You both seem like such a good influence on him and it warms my heart.' It’s such a small thing but as a dude, I can’t remember the last time someone gave me a compliment in public and it made my freaking day."

"10/10 letter. The and not yelling part gave me a good chuckle lol."

"We need so much more of men getting such heartfelt and sincere compliments. Thanks for sharing. ❤️"

dads, giving men compliments, fatherhood, camping, camping with kidsA man smilingPhoto credit: Canva

"I’ve never considered leaving a note, but when I see a harmonious family with good parenting, it’s healing for me. My childhood was awful."

"Such an awesome compliment! Even though I don't have children myself, I like to remind my friends too that they're doing great & it brings them happy tears."

"This made me cry. I love that you are getting your 'flowers.' My dad sucked, I’m so glad you are one of the good ones."

"This made me cry too. It’s so hard to be a human. Let alone a parent. Getting a good job sticker every now and then really means a lot these days."

"I'm a big bearded guy and I would cry if I got this note. More people like this, please."

The best part of this story is that no one knows who the dad who wrote the note is, not even the dad who shared it. It wasn't written for clout or notoriety, it wasn't to get attention or make himself look good. No name or signature, just an anonymous act of kindness to uplift a stranger whether he needed it or not.

dads, giving men compliments, fatherhood, camping, camping with kidsA dad with his kid on his shouldersPhoto credit: Canva

We all need to hear or read kind things said about us, and sometimes it means even more coming from an anonymous stranger who has nothing to gain by sharing. A good reminder to share it when you feel it—you never know how many people you may move and inspire.

This article originally appeared last year.

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