This is the table at which I enjoyed a veggie burger and fries after my unexpected encounter with random acts of kindness.

On Sunday afternoon I'd parked my wheelchair-accessible minivan behind the Coney Island restaurant where I planned to have a late lunch. I'd been careful to leave plenty of room for my ramp to unfold, with extra for me and my scooter to avoid the parking barrier that was coming in at a funny angle. At least I thought I'd left enough room. But, alas, I ended up running my scooter's rear wheels up onto the barrier, causing me and the scooter to land in a jumble on the pavement. I wasn't in a position to be at risk of being hit by a car, but my scooter was on top of me. Within a minute, two women had stopped their car, gotten out and come running to my side, crying, "Are you all right?" Within five minutes there were a dozen men and women of all ages and races surrounding me, each one offering help. Two of them righted my scooter. Two more gathered up my camera & case, wallet, glasses, cell phone and water bottle. As you might imagine, the first thing I'd asked was for someone to please pick up my camera and return it to its case. The camera was my main concern. I wasn't really hurt; I'd just banged my very hard head on the pavement. Actually the only damage was to my eyeglass frames that got knocked askew, but that will be easily fixed.

Before I knew it, a strong young man had his hands under my armpits and was lifting me up off the ground and depositing me in my scooter seat. After the others had left, three women remained. Two of them were the ones who had first come to my aid. They said they weren't going to leave until they saw that I was really OK. We introduced ourselves by name, I thanked them with all my heart, and one gave me a hug before believing my assurances that I was fine. Soon they went back to their cars and I went on to the restaurant.

Whoever said this world was going to hell in a handbasket didn't know what they were talking out. People are kind. So incredibly kind.