John Philip Johnson leaves his house and smiles thinking that the world is a wonderful place. He smiles at people who pass him and buys a carnation for his buttonhole but gives it to a passing child. He takes many detours on his route, walking with no particular destination in mind. He eventually passes by a woman and a child moving out of their home. Noticing the woman looks tired, Mr. Johnson offers to watch her son and shares peanuts with him. When the woman tells him that they are moving to Vermont, Mr. Johnson gives her the name of an acquaintance in Vermont and tells her to call his acquaintance should she need any help.  As he continues along, Mr. Johnson meets a woman named Mildred Kent. As he talks to her, she continuously mumbles that she is late to work. Ignoring her complaints, Mr. Johnson tells her to wait and purposely selects a young man named Arthur Adams from among the rushing people on the sidewalk. Adams complains about being late to work as Kent did, but Mr. Johnson gives them both enough money to cover their day’s earnings. He also gives them additional spending money and tells them to enjoy their day together instead.  Mr. Johnson resumes his walk and continues his acts of kindness. He helps a woman lift boxes and gives a peanut wrapped in a dollar bill to a man begging on the street. He encounters two young adults looking for vacant apartment ads in a newspaper, and tells them about the apartment recently vacated by the young woman leaving for Vermont. Hungry, he goes to eat lunch alone at a restaurant and eats two of their rum-cake pastries. Passing a beggar who stares into the diner, he presses money into the man’s hand. He walks onto a nearby park and feeds the rest of his peanuts to the pigeons. On the way home, Mr. Johnson tries to catch a cab but lets other people go before him three or four times before catching his own. The driver tells him that picking up Mr. Johnson was an omen that the driver should not bet his money on a racehorse he had his eyes on.  When he gets home, Mr. Johnson asks his wife about her day and she tells him about how she accused a woman of shoplifting and quarreled with the bus driver. While Mr. Johnson spent the day committing acts of kindness, Mrs. Johnson spent the day inconveniencing others. Mr. Johnson asks his wife if she would like to switch positions with him the next day and she agrees.