The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

economist suntribune tests of tolerance thursday dec 12 2002 york residents a nice bunch of folks what a nice bunch of people you are perhaps everybodys heart grows three sizes during the holiday season but the majority of york region resi dents passed our test of compassion and initiative with flying colours the york region newspaper group has been sending spies around the region to see how resi dents respond to typical situations last week we explored how you respond to common annoyances this week we tested your willing ness to help others and how you respond when someone helps you test 1 buddy can you spare a dime our reporters found themselves short a few cents at a checkout counter in whitchurchstouffville there was no need to even ask for help gracious shoppers were quick on the draw with their change and the cashier pointed out the give a penny take a penny box in newmarket it was a case of ask and you shall receive as shoppers volunteered as much as 60 cents to help our reporter pur chase chocolates but in richmond hill and vaughan it was a different story our spy couldnt pry a nickel out of people in a checkout line test 2 lost in york region our testers went looking for directions in all corners of york region and everyone went above and beyond the call of duty in newmarket drivers were will ing to sit still even after a light turned green to offer directions and in one case even went ahead of our driver to point the way to the courthouse in vaughan passersby not only offered directions they also warned our reporter his destination paramount canadas wonderland was closed in markham our spy not only vs hold door open no problem received directions to hwy 407 but a warning about the cost test 3 my hands are full our testers loaded themselves up with packages and brie a brae and strolled through york region communities no matter where they went people came forward to hold doors open in richmond hill they even offered to help carry the packages in whitchurchstouffville our tester concluded they will open the door for you if youre only holding your breath test 4 turning the tables our testers put on their good samaritan hats and held doors open for shoppers at the area mall in markham and richmond hill every single person said thank you although some hillcrest shop pers appeared puzzled by the unex pected kindness our newmarket spy encountered a mixed bag some shoppers were genuinely appreciative others blew by without so much as a glance so congratulations york region youre helpful compas sionate and overflowing with the milk of human kindness next week well see how honest you are by hannelore volpe staff writer would people stop to open doors for me and generally lend a hand that was my mission in stouffville as i lugged a heavy briefcase in one hand plus a purse and a large bulky sweater to cover both hands i tried to look like a helpless damsel in distress in downtown stouffville although no knight in shining armour rode up a man held the door as i headed to latcham gallery and the care and share thrift store on my way out i spotted a lady sitting on the bench nearby i slowed down hoping shed notice my plight she ignored me however i noticed that she looked pretty tired and had a cane i guess she was in more need of help than i was the local doughnut shop was no problem time and time again ive noticed anyone in the doorway will hold the door open sometimes let ting in a dozen coffee drinkers at a time im sure even if you were only holding your breath theyd hold the door open at canadian tire a woman let me go through first maybe its a smalltown thing or something related to the fact that if we go to canadian tire it must be to do some important home renovation i could feel the camaraderie of tradesmen tradeswomen er peo ple emanating from the place i decided to challenge the younger generation and headed off to the nearby two for one pizza place where i knew the kids hang out at lunch time i slowed down and added a little limp to make the look convincing i appeared distressed i asked for help a young man maybe in grade 10 held the door until i was all the way in coming back out i was even more laden down now i had to carry my heavy bag purse sweater and a couple of pizza slices that of course had to be kept perfectly horizontal so the toppings wouldnt slide off a high school girl did the honours the td canada trust with its heavy doors is another place where folks help each other people came to the rescue as i was in midpush very seldom have i encountered rude behaviour when it came to entering places around town sometimes someone who obvi ously has their knickers in a knot will breeze by and push ahead i could probably count those times on one hand in all the 15 years weve been in stouffville thank you is normal behaviour by kathleen griffin staff writer maybe its the christmas season goodwill towards men and ailthat or maybe its just the canadian way each and every one of the dozen or so people i held doors for at markville shopping centre recently noticed and they all said thank you even obviously harried shop pers like the brownhaired woman with two toddlers clinging to her red jacket were appreciative she carried two enormous wal- mart bags and was trying to calm one of her overheated tired boys he sounded like he was gearing up see teens page 1l i might be a conman but people helped me anyway by mike adler staff writer who might i be a conman with a hard luck story to tell a panhandler a fanatic but people i approached for directions in markham seemed unconcerned that i might have an underlying motive they didnt even look annoyed the first person i accosted in a parking lot at denison street and markham road not only gave me exact directions to hwy 404 she offered to drive a few blocks to steeles avenue just so i following her car would know where to turn as if that werent enough she also told me how to reach the high way on hwy 407 of course she had to explain some things about the 407 in case i had never heard of it i would receive a bill later she said you have to go under the camera i did no worse when i put the same question to four teenagers hanging out by a doughnut shop at the same plaza just drive west on steeles for seven or eight minutes they said past the ibm building past victoria park avenue until i see a bridge thing youll see it one of them said i discovered the same courtesy was extended to a clueless stranger in other parts of town a man heading into a bank on main street markham pointed out the way to markham museum just north of 16th avenue so did a woman on the sidewalk you should drive though it may be too far for you to walk she said for some reason i asked her if the street which continues north as hwy 48 goes all the way to barrie she didnt flinch at this although she did not supply me the sorry truth that if doesnt maybe part of the way the woman said so i might use it to reach barrie get a map the woman suggest ed starting to move away but still smiling in another plaza this time on hwy 7 just west of main street i stopped a man walking in from the jonquil crescent entrance and asked him where sciberras road was radiating confusion i said it was supposed to be near main street just east ofmain street i was sure of that my mistake here assuming main street markham was the only one in markham was the same one i made on january 8 1996 my first day on the job i thought sciberras was in unionville the man said and as he explained there was a main street there as well i marvelled but now he was thinking harder scibberas might run all the way down to unionville he said point ing with his hand i dont know you got me stumped there soon however i told him id fol low his advice and look for scibberas in unionville where it really was and thanking him scut tled away experience fine dining this festive season available for christmas delivery at special pricing 4747 hwy 7 east of kennedy unionville 905 4775524 mon wed 106 pm thursfri 109 pm saturdays 10530 pm closed sunday itsy 1