A Funny thing happened on the way to the dentist...

I realize that this sounds like the opening to a joke and it's a little long, but bear with me--I may not be a concise writer, but I think it's a cool story :)
  Last month, I was reading one of my favorite blogs and I jotted a little note to the author telling him that I loved his books and how much they have inspired me (see previous post below). I normally don't do this, but I really loved the 5 book so much that I wanted to let someone at Compendium know how I felt.
  Unfortunately for me, this was the week where we received the storm of the century and I had a dentist appointment.  It rained 8.5 inches in one week at my house!  If you live in California you know that a slight sprinkling is enough to cause havoc in Southern California because, well -- to put it mildly, people don't know how to drive in the rain.
  I drove to my dentist appointment in the pouring rain and couldn’t find a parking spot that was close by.  I had to settle for a spot that was a block and a half down and across the street. Luckily, there was a crosswalk nearby.  As I was crossing the street in the crosswalk (Note: it had a FLASHING LIGHT!), one car stopped for me, but the car next to it did not.  The car sped through the crosswalk and almost hit me.  Apparently he didn't see me, the car that was stopped or the HUGE umbrella I was holding.
To be honest, the experience weirded me out a little bit. When my appointment was over, I decided that this time I would walk an extra block to cross at the signal and be safe. Unfortunately it was still pouring rain and overflowing driveways + walking in the rain = I was SOAKED up to my knees.  
When I made it back to work, I got in an elevator with a really attractive man.  I figured that he was probably an up and coming actor, in the building for a casting call. He looked at me and then  made a joke at my “lovely” appearance.  I'm sure that he was probably just trying to be clever, but I was a little emotional already from my crosswalk experience, and this just put me over.
  When I got back to my desk I was on the verge of tears. I tried to distract myself and checked my email to see if I missed anything important, and to my surprise there was an unread message from Dan Zadra!
  He wrote me a nice note and we exchanged a few email messages.  I let him know that I was really looking forward to reading his One book, as soon as I could find it.  And you know what?  He asked if he could send a copy of One to me.
  I can't explain the feeling I had when he sent this to me.  He didn't have to reply to me, but he did.  He didn't have to be so kind, but he was.  He has no idea how much his email lifted my spirits.  It made my day.   It was a moment that really struck a chord with me. It was one of those "heart warming, deep breath, take it all in kinda way moments... It still brings a smile to my face as I write this   ;)
  The moral of this story - NEVER underestimate the power you have to brighten someone’s day. A little kindness goes a long, long way. Sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest impact……a smile, a hello, a nice note.  Thank you again Dan Zadra.  Your books inspire and so do you :)

P.S. If you haven't heard of Compendium Inc, please--please peek at his website and see all that they offer.  You will not be disappointed.