Good job baggage stranger! Random acts of kidness should always be noted!

I like to remember that one never knows exactly how the tiniest act of kindness might impact someone's life.

Just go buy another fucking bag and drop it off or mail it to were the person works with a note, and/or perhaps do something nice like a gift thanking the person for going the extra mile and what it meant. Maybe you don't know their name, so just put in the note with a description of what happened and ask whoever opens it to try and find the person at that building. Sorry, I'm glad you've moved on to a better place, but it's pretty lame to only think "I, anonymous" is the only way you can thank the person. You had the strength to move out, now step up.

reswin, I'm guessing that if they had to "leave everything behind" they are probably pretty broke right now... if I was the giver in this situation, knowing the outcome would me so much more to me then getting my stupid bag back.

Rockmama, I dont know how many totes I've recieved for free. Doesent take any money to get one and drop it off with a note. Guess its just easier to post an anon "Thank you" on the internet so the poster can feel good about themselves and move on.

wtf? Buy that person a new bag. They are like one dollar!

Jesus, people! You're attacking an abused,traumatized woman over not replacing a tote bag? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU? It's just a fucking bag...and she's almost certainly telling the truth about not being able to replace it. If she's escaped from an abuser, she may well be in another city and not feel safe in doing anything that could give anybody here a clue as to where she now is. She may also be broke. Why are you so much more concerned about a trivial piece of property than you are about a woman who has good reason to fear for her life?

Souls. Try Growing Them.

It's entirely possible that she lost not only the bag but also the scrap of paper with the bag donor's address.

Awwww... this is a lovely story. Well, except for the part about the abuser. He can suck a sack of hairy dicks.

being an abused person does not excuse someone from common tact or responsibility. She may well be broke but a simple thank-you note would be the decent thing to do.

You know, anyone kind enough to give a total stranger a tote bag is kind enough to understand when it doesn't come back. I'm gathering from the story that the giver didn't even ask, the recipient asked how to give it back. This person's been dumped on enough, and I'm glad they got out and they're trying to turn their life around.

To the author,
Ignore the unkind assholes judging your IA, post. If you read this, send an e-mail my way and I'll take you grocery shopping and replace the bag you borrowed, so you can return it and thank the individual in person for their kind gesture. Shame on you, judgemental ones. Make an effort in life to be positive with your spare minutes instead of perpetuating a cycle of cynical despair. diverdisco@yahoo.com

What happen to the entitled whiners and clueless complainers? I did not know this feature could be used for appreciation.

Thank goodness there are entitled whiners here in the comments to fulfill the columns feckless fucker standard.

What a bunch of twisted impertinent jaded twits to offer sanctimonious Emily Post advice or belittle her for writing I Anonymous. She's "paying it forwards" in spades, as they say - just by her writing and giving us hope for humanity. How dare to blemish that.

What @12 and @13 said.

I recently gave one of my bags (not a cheap tote, but the kind that you can stuff into itself to make a small bag and carry it in a purse) to someone who was obviously buying all of their groceries at 7-11 and was walking home, but didn't realize 7-11 didn't have bags with handles.

Do I give a fuck if I get that bag back? No. I knew then that would never see that bag again, and I don't care. I just didn't want someone to have to make two or more trips with their tiny backpack to 7-11. She didn't ask me for anything and I didn't ask her for shit for doing it. Seeing her relef and her thanks was enough. Screw you dicks who think anon is a bad person for not writing a thank you note. Wtf is this? Emily Post?

I like the IAs that are not whiny rants. This is a nice story. If you are one of the people feeling anxious about whether the kind bag donor has received appropriate thanks and compensation for their random act of kindness perhaps you should take this opportunity release a few reusable bags into the universe and pay off a portion your own fucking karmic debt. Or take a pill. One or the other. But spare us the etiquette lesson.

Reported trolls for trollish trolling. Nobody can be that much of a dickbag in real life?

Lots of prejudice in these posts. Seems everone assumes its a she and the abuser is a he. Would you opinion be the same if that wasnt the case?

Sure. ^

#10: That's what this "I.A." was, for Christ's sakes.

#19: yes, some people can. Do the names Trump and Eyman mean anything to you?