The Kindness of Strangers

How could I not be interested in reading a book about travelers who had been in peril and rescued by the kindness of strangers? A book that had a preface by His Holiness The Dalai Lama?
Kindness - capital K - is love in action isn't it? This book, The Kindness of Strangers, is a collection of short stories (and I mean short, not the fake short stories that are actually like mini novels)published by Lonely Planet in 2003. Here is a review by Lonely Planet.  I like how this book came to be out of a writing contest.  Perhaps LP should have another writing contest though they really have covered the best possible topic already.

I was once rescued by the kindness of a stranger in my travels.  I was 18, hell bent on going to Liverpool to see the Beatles museum and to be where they were and absorb their wisdom, so I left my travelling companion in London and got on the train.  While on the train, people I chatted with were so surprised to hear that I was going to Liverpool by myself, and did I know how dangerous it was there?  People had guns there, and there were 'blacks' there.  As a multi-cultural-loving Canadian I immediately dismissed all warnings based on what looked like racism.  I arrived, got out my lousy map and went in search of the hotel I had made a reservation at.  I got lost.  A policeman on his beat approached me and when I showed him where my hotel was on the map, he said in the kindest, most paternal tones ever 'But my darling, that's in the red light district.  It's not safe for you there.'  At this point I started crying, exhausted from being lost and stressed from all the dire warnings I'd endured in the name of loving the Beatles.  The policeman walked me to the YMCA down the street, a place where he said I would be safe.  It was a YMCA of course, not a YWCA, so being the only female that I could see staying there, I felt weird and a bit freaked out surrounded by all the sketchy folks, so I kept to my room.  

Now Liverpool is a bit dodgey, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, though I didn't see any guns or 'blacks'.  It's not fresh out of your daydream of Strawberry Fields.  There's a reason why the Beatles went on tour - to get away from their home town.  I did end up going to the museum and it was pretty cool and I got a nifty t-shirt and I was on my way  back to London the next day.

Mine is a pretty tame story compared to what you'll find in this book.  The Kindness of Strangers is an excellent example of what an anthology should be - poignant, heart-warming, and small enough to slip into your back-pack.