A simple act of kindness is greatly appreciated in this troubling time in which we live.

Or anytime, frankly.

That’s why it made our day last week when a Butler County woman called the Eagle newsroom to tell us about strangers coming to the aid of her son and his two friends thousands of miles away in Wyoming.

She told us the trio traveled to Casper, Wyo., on a hunting trip and checked into a local motel.

The next day, they discovered that someone had broken into their vehicle and had stolen about $6,000 worth of hunting gear.

An officer who responded to the call later sent out a mass email, and the police department was able to round up enough gear from those responding to enable the young men to proceed in their pursuit of elk in the Big Horn Mountains.

Rebekah Ladd, public information officer for the Casper Police Department, said she and the others could tell the three tourists were good people who could be trusted to return any borrowed gear.

We were moved by the mother’s story and could tell by her voice as she told it that she was touched by the generosity of strangers thousands of miles away in Wyoming.

She gave us a contact number for her son. A reporter reached out to him, and his story was on the front page of Sunday’s Butler Eagle.

In this chaotic COVID world where we wonder if the man socially distant from us in the grocery store checkout line is infected with the virus that has killed 200,000 Americans since March, it is gratifying to see that people still make an effort to reach out to those in need.

Being kind, lending a helping hand to someone or even just smiling at someone (even through a mask) can do a lot to brighten spirits.

Acts of kindness can make the world a happier place and boost feelings of confidence, happiness and optimism.

They may also encourage others to repeat the good deeds they’ve experienced themselves — contributing to a more positive community.

And it isn’t a difficult to do. It costs you nothing to be nice.

The people of Casper, Wyo., who rallied around a group of strangers from Butler County, Pennsylvania, can be a model for us all.

— JGG