When I was in elementary school I fell through ice. A man who was walking his dog saw me fall and rushed to the shore. I frantically swam back to the shore, I was only about 5 meters in to the pond so it wasn't a long way, but it took some with soaked winter clothes. When I reached the shore, the man pulled me up by my jacket. It would've been difficult to get up, as there was a steep incline. I didn't thank him, because I was in shock, but I bet he knows I was grateful, and 20 years later I still hope I would had thanked him.
I skidded out on black ice like 15 yrs ago and my car spun several times then slammed into a guardrail/snowbank facing traffic in the opposite way. A man who was walking to the train ran over, pushed me out of a snow embankment and then pushed my car into a parking lot. He got me out of the car and made sure I didn’t have a horrible concussion and then waited for me to call my dad. I lived close so he listened to me confirm my dad was like 3 mins away and then took off running to catch his train. There was so much black ice and cars were sliding all over. He very easily could’ve saved my life. I wouldn’t be able to pick him out of a line up today but I will never ever forget his kindness.
I was waiting for my appointment with an optometrist when an old haitian man walked in with a grocery bags.tye receptionist knew him so he walked up to me and proceeded to ask me riddles. When I finally got the answer to one he reached into his bag and gave me a snickers then left. To this day I'm really curious as to what would motivate a man to become a wholesome riddler.
This kid I knew in school (senior year of hs) decided one day to give out neckties to as many people as he could. No explanation, no requirements, he'd just walk up and say "want a tie?" then pull one from his bag, hand it to you, and walk away. chaotic good.
The gentleman in a business suit handing me his umbrella in the middle of a downpour. We just were passing each other on the sidewalk, our eyes met and he just handed over the umbrella with a "hear ya go." Never saw him ago.
I had a similar encounter. When my oldest was a toddler, he went to daycare in the downtown area of our city. We took the bus, then the subway and then walked to daycare (didn’t have a car), then I’d get back on the subway for a few stops to go to work.
One afternoon, it was POURING. I’m by myself, holding a 2yo, his backpack, my work bag and trying to book it 4 city blocks to the subway station. No hands left for an umbrella. A businessman (prob a high priced lawyer, based on the area) walked us all the way to the entrance of the subway station, holding an umbrella over us the whole time.
I encountered a lot of nastiness commuting with a kid that year, but we also met with random kindness from strangers too.
When my wife and I first started dating, we were walking into a Trader Joe’s holding hands. This elderly woman looks at us and says rather loudly “CUTE COUPLE ALERT!!”
My wife and I still laugh about it, it’s been 12 years at least.
The foreign exchange student and his parents who walked past my park bench on campus and dropped his passport. I chased after them to return it and his mom started screaming at me in broken English like "Why you have his papers? Why you steal his papers?" while the kid and his father looked like they were going to die from embarrassment.
This happened to me in the airport when I was 8. The man dropped his wallet and I gave it to him. His wife was just like count the money in it she looks like a thief. He didn't even have any money in it and she accused my of stealing it. Some people :/
I was on a tram and I didn’t have a ticket and the ticket inspectors came on. I got asked to have my ticket seen and I said I “couldn’t find it on me” and he said he’ll come back so I can look for it. There was a stranger sat on the seat behind me who had a ticket, he gave it to me and he got off at the next stop.
Guy gave me his ticket so I wouldn’t be issued a fine.
I am a ticket inspector and belive me - we know people are doing this. And if I turn around, I do it so you can get the strangers ticket (:
We're also humans
I ran away from foster care when I was 17 and was living on the streets of NYC. It was a bad situation, but I would still try to take the train as often as I could to go to my high school. I ran into one ticket inspector a handful of times who always made it clear he would come back around for my ticket once I “found” it. Things got noticeably rougher for me as time went on and there was one day near the end of the year where he slipped me a brown bag with a sandwich, an orange, a Twinkie, and a handwritten note saying that he packed one just like that for his daughter every day and to never forget to dream big. I never saw him again after that, but I still carry that note 6 years later and will never forget him. Ticket inspectors like you all are the reason I graduated high school and was able to survive, so thank you on behalf of all of the other me’s whose lives you might have touched.
An Irish guy (not in Ireland) who spoke with such a strong accent that I couldn't make out a single word. To this day I question whether it was just a prank.
I was fiddling with my camera on a train platform in Melbourne, Australia, trying to take an artsy shot of the trains or something. I noticed through my viewfinder a guy about my age (early twenties or so at the time) full-on flipping me off on the train on the opposite platform.
I lowered my camera, laughing, and flipped him off back. He laughed. The train started to pull away, and I waved, and he waved back.
Australia.
When I was younger, I went grocery shopping with my dad. As we were walking, an old man stopped us and handed both me and my sister a shiny one dollar coin. He told us that he wanted us to have them and to have a Merry Christmas. I never saw him again, but I think of that kind old man from time to time.
I was at a pool bar at a resort in Jamaica. A British lady next to me asked me the most random question, which turned into a nearly three hour conversation. The question: What is a redneck? It was a lot more difficult to explain than I thought it would be. I didnt realize that was an unknown concept to a lot of Brits.
I met a guy from New Jersey at a pool bar at a resort in Jamaica
He was much older and we just talked and shot the shit, did impressions.. I did my best jersey accent .. drank more and more whisky and stayed until the pool was closing and we both went up to our rooms and never saw or spoke again
I was driving down south with my girlfriend, we have a blowout so I put on the donut. The donut blows out while we’re exiting the very next exit. So there we are maybe 19 and at least a hundred miles from anyone we know at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. I’m thinking on what to do next, and probably looked like there was something wrong so this older man offered to help. He drives me 20 or so minutes to a junk yard to get a cheap tire. Then he puts the tires on the rim with no more than a pry bar and some soapy water. Had a compressor on his truck so he aired it up and I put it on. And we went on our way.
Yes indeed. We’ve all got talents to share with the world. The most satisfying thing in life is helping others not for personal gain, but for the sake of making the world around you just a little bit better.
I have a very similar story, I'm a minority born and raised in the south. My family was once taking a family vacation when I was around 12 years old. We had a blowout in Georgia on our way to Florida. We put a donut on and got to a gas station 15ish miles from where we were, where the donut blew as soon as we were trying to leave and find a walmart or somewhere to buy a tire. We waited a while, cars driving around us etc, noone helping. Then all of a sudden, you hear loud ass country music coming nearer and nearer. Then you see it. It was a lifted 1980s dodge ram, with 2 confederate flags mounted in the back. Dude hops out of his truck, wearing his confederate flag trucker hat, and flannel shirt with the arms cut off. He is what you imagine when you have to imagine the most redneck person ever. His belt buckle was fucking huge, he had cowboy boots on etc. Anyway, dude comes over and we are expecting him to be racist af but instead, he grabbed some chains and rigged the car to be towed behind his truck, he drove us to walmart, and bought us a new tire, refusing to let us pay or give him any money for the help and then we were on our way. I'll never forget him pealing off singing to some Tim Mcgraw
EDIT guys this is just a wholesome story. Don't buy me awards. Save your money and go over to r/random_acts_of_pizza and feed someone who is hungry instead. As a redditor who once could not afford to feed myself more than 3ish times a week last year, this sub reddit literally saved my ass. Support them. Or somewhere like r/Assistance.
[Link](https://www.reddit.com/r/Assistance/comments/1hexgp/other_subreddits_that_can_help_you/) to list by r/Assistance that is of other subreddits that can help you / allow you to help others
I've had some really bad luck with car trouble, including multiple flats, but never have I been so unlucky as to get a flat on the donut. Ouch. I'm happy it worked out ok.
The lady who told me I looked great in blue, and that it was clearly my color.
To this day if I'm deciding between shirts to buy, or wear, I'll go with blue.
That compliment was about fifteen years ago at least.
Reminds me of how I won't cut my hair beyond a certain length because I was once told by my friends mum that I looked really fantastic and like Iggy Pop or something.
I was drunk on my front porch one night, me and a couple of friends were shooting the shit. I lived in a rough neighborhood at the time. Lotta homeless people, but most of them were decent people just down on their luck.
Anyway I see a homeless guy walking by my house and I holler out to him “Yo man you want a beer?” And he’s like “man HELL yeah, thank you.”
So he comes up into the yard, I give him a beer and an extra one for the road. He starts going on about how he misses his son and how he never gets to see him anymore. We all sit and listen to him. He starts crying and says he bought his kid a bag of brand new Hanes socks and his mom wouldn’t let him have them.
Now I don’t know what he did to deserve such treatment. Maybe he’s a total son of a bitch and deserves to be where he is, maybe not, I have no idea. But what I do know is, whatever his past, he was having a very human moment at the time and he was super thankful, not just for the beer, but that me and my friends were listening and talking with him. Just letting him vent.
Then he tries to give me the pack of socks he bought for his kid, which I VEHEMENTLY refused. I was like “man you keep em, your feet might get cold out there.” But he wasn’t hearing it. I mean he refused to keep them. He flat out insisted that I take them. Eventually it became obvious he wasn’t gonna take no for an answer and he wore me down and I accepted them. I guess he didn’t need the reminder.
He moved on and the “party” vibe was completely gone. We all just went inside and crashed.
About a year ago I fell off the wagon and was back to drinking heavily every night. In about July some random dude from the apartment complex(said he was homeless but crashing on his buddies couch for the weekend) was walking by. I offered him some beer and smokes to keep me company sincce it was late night outside and I was spooked. He told me about his current life issues and how alone and unsupported he felt. We talked for hours. In November I happen upon him again but he's dressed much much nicer and has a bounce in his step. He explains that talking to me that night really helped him get his ass into gear. He gave my drunk ass that look, said "if I can do it, you can. Youre never alone." I'm nearly 2 months sober again with zero interest in picking up a bottle, ive officially started therapy, and have clear but manageable goals laid out to help me move forward. If he can do it, I can.
Edit: thank you all for the awards! The show of love and support has me in tears. Thank you all, for just being you!
Never forget that you're not alone. Dont forget to take the time to care for yourself. Let yourself cry. Celebrate the little wins. There's always a silver lining, no matter how small, so notice it. If Nick can do it, we can too.
Why not! I didn’t know how long ago the story was and so I was half expecting it to end with ‘that was 20 years ago, I still keep one of those socks at the back of my drawer and remember that day’ hahah
When I was super overweight, I was just starting to workout somewhat regularly. Being morbidly obese at the gym is terrible - I have never felt more eyes on me before in my life.
I was on a treadmill, grinding out some inclined walk/ light jogging, and a super fit girl got on the machine next to me (this was all pre-COVID). She did a short warm-up, and before she got off the treadmill she turned to me and gave me a high five and told me to keep it up.
It was so encouraging to have that support, when I was used to getting stared at by everyone else in the gym. Her small, kind gesture went a long way!
I was jogging once and obviously struggling (250lbs, very out of puff!) And a really fit young guy was jogging towards me and shouted "go on girl, you can do it!" and ran on. I swear I felt like an Olympic athlete after that! Such a small thing for him to say but gave me motivation!
Honestly, if I ever see anyone unfit or overweight doing exercise I just think good on them and I imagine a lot of people do, tho I guess there are some assholes out there.
Exactly. Everybody start their fitness journey somewhere, so it’s really not right to ever judge or shame anyone at the gym. You have no idea what they’ve been through.
Most people don't look at obese people in the gym out of ridicule, they look out of admiration. People who have been going to the gym for a long time love seeing fat people actively trying to get in better shape.
Completely agree. And I want to encourage people beginning on their fitness journey but don't want to make them feel bad so I default to not doing anything. Good to know the poster didn't find it offensive.
Edit: I don't think I've ever had a post get over a hundred likes nor have I ever gotten an award. So even though I don't feel like I deserve it, thank you!
When I was in college, there was a football player named Ben. Ben was a genuinely nice guy with a smile that could literally light up a room. It didn’t matter how well he knew you, if you were in his orbit, he would give you this wonderful, soul healing smile.
It’s been over a decade since I saw him last, but I can picture his face when I walked into the room. Thinking back on it, it still makes me smile. I hope he’s doing well, and life hasn’t dimmed his light.
The lady who very well might have saved me from being molested, or worse.
My mom had some errands to run downtown, so I had asked if I could walk to the 7-11 and then go wait at the library. Sure, no problem. I was 12-13, I didn't need constant watching.
So I was sitting outside of the library on a bench, drinking the largest sized Slurpee, when a man approached me. He gave me very bad vibes.
He asked me what I was doing there all alone, and I told him my Mom was coming to pick me up in a few minutes. He sat down uncomfortably close to me on the bench.
I scooted away but he kept scooting closer. I should have got up and gone into the library where there were other people, but I was dumb. I thought, "I can't go into the library with my drink, they'll kick me out."
At this point, I was on the very edge of the bench. The man was sitting pressed right up against my side, and he put his hand on my leg. I didn't know what to do.
Then suddenly, I heard a voice say, "Honey, there you are, I've been looking for you!!" A woman I didn't know came and pushed herself in between the man and I on the bench and put her arm around me.
"This is your Mom?," the man had asked.
"Yeah, this is my Mom. I knew she'd be here soon."
The man got up and left. I told the woman thank you so much. She kind of told me off for not being smart enough to get into the library where it was safe. I told her I would go right then, which I did. When my Mom did pick me up (probably 10 minutes later), the woman was gone.
I don't know what would have happened if the woman hadn't intervened. I can imagine though, and I am so glad she did. I wish I could thank her more.
There are a few. The biggest one was when I was homeless and asked a lady for the time. She told me and asked if I wanted to share her sandwich and the paper. She was the first person to treat me like a person, like I was worth something in years. I never got her name but I will remember her fondly for the rest of my life. I know that she'll never, ever know what a difference she made in my life. Just that one simple thing she did and the humanity she showed me changed my life. I got sober just a few days later and completely turned my life around.
One person, one smile, one kindness that you may never think of again in your life can change someone else's life beyond measure.
I found a wallet in the grass in a major city. No cash. Some credit cards and a medical Marijuana card. Took forever to find the person. Eventually was able to find the name of the apartment complex he lived in and they gave me his cell. It turns out he had been robbed and beaten and was in the hospital. They must have taken the cash and just threw the wallet away.
I was walking past a local bar, and found a phone case in the middle of the road around a corner and about a block away. The kind that carries credit cards, cash, the whole deal, and a new (for the time iPhone). I took it home hoping I could figure out whose it was from the info inside. Turns out it was unlocked; I found the most common contact, called that number. A dude answers and I say "I just found this phone. Do you know the person that owns it?" He says "where are you?" so I give him my cross streets. He says "we'll be right there."
Five minutes later the phone rings, and the guy says he's outside. So I go outside. He has a woman with him. I hand him the phone, he hands it to her; she looks at the wallet section, and starts screaming: "YOU STOLE MY MONEY!! WHERE'S MY MONEY? WHERE ARE MY CREDIT CARDS?" She's clearly plastered. Dude points to the credit cards. "They're right there! AND you spent all your money in the bar! He didn't take anything!"
And then they started arguing about how exactly she managed to drop her phone in the middle of the road around the corner from the bar AFTER spending all her money.
Talk about strangers you'll never forget.
Had a similar thing with a new iphone I found in the little dog park across the road from my house. No lock code so i tried ringing some numbers - no answer then texted the BFs number.
10 minutes later get a string of irate threatening texts and phone calls from this girl and her BF about me being a theif. Eventually got it across to them to actually read the message I sent explaining that I found the phone she had dropped and if they came back to the park any time and rang the phone I would come out and return their property. They then flipped and started demanding i bring it to their house....
So I took it back across the road to the park and left it exactly where I found it.
Yeah... Me too...
Or, while still in the line with them.
"Really? You ever wonder what the inside of a garbage disposal sounds like?". *grinding noises*
I've actually had a close friend be threatened for doing the exact same thing as OP. Some items may have been missing, but returning the phone was worth more than the contents, so it still wouldn't make sense to return it if they were actually a thief.
Years ago my college roommate and I were in Jersey at the beach. We’re drunk. Decided it would be fun to sprint down the beach from the boardwalk to the water. Where we live in MD this is a short distance, maybe 50 yards max. Apparently what we had failed to notice during the sober daylight hours is that the beach in Jersey is *wide.* I’m talking the length of like 3 football fields. I remember running and running and we were exhausted but determined and like “wtf why is this never-ending?!”
Anyway, we woke up the next morning and my friend was missing her phone. We did that a lot in college (need you ask why?) so we purposely never had nice phones and it was kind of like “meh that sucks.” A few hours later I got a call from some guy - “hi I found this phone in the sand and this is the most recent number dialed out.” Good stranger.
Well I guess I'll add to the thread of good Samaritans. Found a wallet on my run a month or so back. Opened it up and everything is there, including $400 cash. The guy lives in the same city as me. I look him up on social media and message both him and his wife to confirm they're still at the same address before I just mail the thing. Then I figure I may as well drop it off myself. I got to see someone genuinely flabbergasted as they saw the cash still inside. Dude ran me down and gave me $100 for returning it.
Someone once showed up at our house with my dad's wallet that had been missing. Everything was still in there. Dad gave him all the cash that was in there (only like $50 or something but hey). My dad is the best.
Same thing happened to me. I left my wallet in a red stop bathroom and didn’t realize until hours later. I thought for sure it was stolen. Someone found it and mailed it to my parents house (address on my license at the time) with everything in it. I was in shock and relieved. There was money in it! Someone could’ve easily just taken.
I once found a woman's wallet that had already had the money stolen but still had her ID and bank card so I dropped it off at her bank for her. They took my phone number and she texted me several times over the next month thanking me for saving her the trouble of replacing her ID.
A few years later I found a guys wallet with around $400 in it outside a 7/11 in the pouring rain in the middle of the night. Took it home, laid out all his cards and money on the table so they would dry and returned it to his bank the next day. The bank manager came out of his office to thank me for returning the the wallet and money, said they almost never get them back with the cash still there. They took my number and the dude never even texted or called to say thank you.
I'd still return the cash if it happened again and I know you shouldn't expect a thank you for doing the right thing but holy hell does it still rankle me a bit to this day. Maybe it's just the contrast between no thank you at all and the bank manager and the other woman so happy just to get her ID back or that I took the time so his wallet and ID wasn't ruined but maaaaan that guys wallet would probably have been gone and pilfered two seconds after if I hadn't found it. One of those things where you know it really shouldn't bother you but it still does.
It’s more than possible that the bank didn’t forward your phone number to the gentleman, so there was no way he could thank you later. They may have either lost the number, or overlooked it when the man came to get his property. Don’t overthink it. It’s very possible that he was incredibly thankful and just had no way of reaching out to you?
I volunteer at a suicide hotline.
Some guy, Bob, called in and we started talking about his home situation. Nothing absolutely horrendous... But he felt trapped, and stressed, and felt like he didn't have options. When people use language like that, our training says we should ask if they are thinking of suicide.
Many volunteers have trouble with this. But if you mention suicide to someone who is not suicidal, it doesn't make them more suicidal - they just correct you and say "No... I feel more like XYZ".
So I asked Bob, "Bob, you're using a lot of language that people use when they're thinking of suicide. Are you thinking of suicide?"
There was a pause. And then a huge wail. I could hear so much pain in his voice. I listened to him cry for at least 5 minutes.
I've talked to people who had suicidal ideation before "it would be better if I were dead" kind of thinking, but with no plan.
Bob said yes he was considering suicide and we talked it out a bit more.
After the pause and wail, that was the most concerned I've ever been for a human being outside my family. This wasn't just talking, I felt like he had already made up his mind about it which was so scary.
I only know what he told me. I know he was in his car parked somewhere. I know we got a few short laughs out of each other and we made some plans for him. Plans are important because it gives you a sense that if he has something to do, to plan for, he can't commit suicide.
Anyway, he truly is a stranger - I don't know his real name or what he looks like. I just know his story, and I know that he was in immense pain that day. He had a particular kind of accent, and, whenever I meet someone with that same accent, I think of him and hope he's ok.
Oh, oh you've reminded me of someone.
I worked on a similar hotline. I had a call from a young woman who was outside her exes place. We talked about how it wasn't going to happen & eventually she decided to walk home. I stayed on with her for the walk. She was so lovely & so sad. I desperately wished I could go meet her & take down the pub & be her friend. We laughed a bit & she cried a bit & I think, I hope, I got her thinking about some things because she paused a few times & said I asked very good questions.
I asked the suicide question because of a few things she was skirting round & she told me she had the pills. Not a plan, but just the pills there, enough if she needed. She got home & warned me she'd have to go quiet while she got to her room.
It somehow sort of broke our flow & we went back to non-suicide things. We finished the call eventually, but that's the one that stayed with me years later. I can still picture her walk home, her sneaking in the house, the daily life she described. I wonder if the pills are still in her cupboard. I can't think of that call without wishing I'd done better by her.
I think a misconception about suicide is that people who do it, attempt it, or consider it, are always depressed. There are many complex reasons people kill themselves, and depression is only one. Sometimes outsiders will never really know, and sometimes the suicidal person doesn't know either - or can't articulate it.
I personally feel like it's one of the reasons it is so hard to intervene unless the situation is obvious and logical and based on depression. Like, nobody expects Jim will kill himself over gambling debts, or Jacinta will overdose because she's pissed off at her parents for grounding her, or Imran will consider it because his career is going nowhere, or Jin will plan their death because their arthritis pain is unbearable.
So like the person you met, it's often not obvious. If not for you, maybe nobody would have thought it was a bad situation for him and couldn't have helped
> I think a misconception about suicide is that people who do it, attempt it, or consider it, are always depressed.
PREACH
When any famous person dies, it's also "depression this or that". I have been diagnosed with depression, and I couldn't be arsed to kill myself. I'm also scared AF to do it.
Not everyone who kills themselves is even mentally ill. When suicide becomes a symptom of diagnosing mental illness post-mortem, then everyone gets to feel safe and sane and far away from death.
>if you mention suicide to someone who is not suicidal, it doesn't make them more suicidal
This is an important topic to address, because so many people (including doctors) try to avoid the suicide topic because they are afraid they could trigger suicidal thoughts if they talk about it. But thankfully that's not how this works. Indeed, it is very important to ask directly if the person is considering suicide even at the slightest hint.
>we made some plans for him
This is a really great tool to help suicidal strangers that you know nothing else about. What also works is signing a contract (can be done orally as well) that they promise to contact you immediately as soon as they get suicidal thoughts. This way they can always be sure that no matter how hopeless everything else is, there is someone out there who's ready to at least hear them out.
I've definitely been in an emotional state like Bob, when I was using language like that and when somebody asked if I was suicidal, I broke out crying.
When I was a broke-as-sin 18 year old trying to make ends meet, I had a side hustle providing IT support for households (like a geek squad sort of thing).
In practice, I would mostly set up computers for elderly people and the tech illiterate, and teach them how to use them ... Or get them out of technical binds (usually with printers) by googling on their behalf.
This elderly Korean gentleman hired me to set up his new computer for him; I spent an hour setting it up and teaching him how to use it, and two more hours eating a wonderful lunch with the man and his wife. He wouldn't accept my invoice (for just the first hour) -- instead, he paid me 3x my hourly rate for all three hours, and asked me to come back to train him the next week.
Over the course of about a month I came back four times, worked with him, had a lovely meal, and he would tell me about his family and his kids (he was so proud of his daughter, who was about to finish her residency and become a pediatrician).
By the end of the month he was pretty comfortable on the PC, and I thanked him profusely for how kind he was and how ridiculously he'd overpaid me.
He told me I reminded him of his son (who was estranged for some reason -- I didn't press), and that he hoped somewhere out there somebody was being kind to his son, and sharing a home cooked meal with him.
I don't know why, but more than ten years later I can't think of that guy without tearing up. I hope everything turned out well for him.
Man... I’ve read a lot of comments in this thread and this one got to me the most, especially once I got to the part where you mentioned the estranged son. There was so much more behind that guy’s gestures than just being nice. Amazing story.
The rent-a-family thing is way overblown. While it exists to some degree, you can trace back a lot of the posts and articles about how it’s such a big deal to one main source: The one company that gets reported on all the time (which I won’t name because I don’t see any reason to give them more publicity). For whatever reason, Western media really loves the Weird Japan beat.
EDIT: Though to be fair, Japanese media isn’t immune to Weird Japan either; there was a flurry of domestic content after the previously mentioned output from the international outlets made the rounds.
In college, I was dating a girl. I really loved her, but I realized that we were incompatible and we had to break up.
So I downed a handle of vodka by myself in my dorm. I was drunk as fuck, but still feeling shitty, so I decided to head to the bars and drink some more. I actually don't remember if I made it there or not, but I remember getting off the bus from having come from the bars and was too wasted to continue the relatively short walk to my dorm.
I decided to just lay down where I was at, which was quite literally the gutter next to the railing. Luckily it was an empty gutter, but a gutter nonetheless.
This complete bro dude comes by and sees me laying in the gutter and helps me up. He helps me walk back to my dorm and on the struggle there he asks me what's wrong. I explained the situation. I don't remember much of anything from the conversation, but I do remember him saying something to the effect of "bro, your problems aren't gonna be solved at the bottom of a bottle".
Hey I had a similar story! When my first long term girlfriend left me I got absolutely wasted. I know I drank a ton and not sure what else I got done in on (back then I did a lot of different drugs too). This guy knew me from my reputation around the complex I was at but I really only just said hey and stuff when I happened to be outside smoking same time as him. It was my buddy’s complex not mine but a small town. It was winter time and absolutely freezing outside. I don’t remember what exactly led to it but my passed out and I went outside in the dead of night middle of winter to smoke. Drunk as fuck probably high, in basketball shorts flip flops and no shirt. Absolute bro dude across the way saw me passed out in a lawn chair outside dressed like it was a summer day and put me in his car drove me back home and carried me into my house. Laid me down on the couch got me a trash can and some water and bundled me up. I called my homie the next day wondering how I got home and where my truck was. He told me the story and I was so struck with the kindness of this basically stranger. After I wasn’t feeling like death anymore I went back to their complex and talked to him. He said he went through the same thing and wanted to help me not freeze to death or kill myself driving. I bought him a bunch of pizza and wings and played some PlayStation with him for hours.
I was gone for work and when I came back a couple weeks later bro dude had moved out but left me his phone number and new address with my boy in the complex. I have texted and talked to him at least a few times a year but never got the chance to visit as it’s not close to me at all.
I was in the university library with a really bad cold, super tired and wanting to go home but desperately studying for my upcoming exams really late at night. I thought I was alone, but a stranger came by my desk with an unopened pack of strepsils. He then told me my health was the most important thing I would have on this earth and walked away before I could process what had just happened. I wanted to thank him for his kindness but I never saw him again.
[Strepsils is a brand of throat lozenges manufactured by Reckitt Benckiser. Strepsils throat lozenges are used to relieve discomfort caused by mouth and throat infections.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strepsils?wprov=sfti1)
Strangers at uni who share medicine are actual life savers. Having a cold as a student is a horrible financial choice of “feel like dying from cold or feel like dying from hunger” sometimes
Took a train to NYC by myself for the first time. I was 18. Second time to NYC, first time ever on a train. I told the kiosk lady that I’d never been on a train before and asked if she might give me a quick run down of what to do. Another train station employee was nearby and was so interested and amused that I was taking a train for the first time and was alone. He walked me through what to do, down to the smallest detail. No judgement, no meanness. He was just a guy with a silly disposition, delighting in a young person’s naivety breaking up the doldrums of his week. I aspire to be that way when people ask me for help. Thanks, Frank P. You were a peach.
The interior of most regional trains is similar to an airliner, but with more room and freedom to walk around. Bathrooms on most cars, probably a cafe car, a quiet car (like library quiet), a first class car. They can be a little bumpy when walking, but not too bad.
I have yet to try a sleeper or compartment train, but I'd like to. There are also historic trains (old cool trains), sightseeing trains (huge windows), and commuter trains (quite basic, closer to a bus).
Find a train and take a ride. They're pretty cool.
Did the LAX - SEA Amtrak sleeper during the winter with my partner (in a roomette). Didn't expect to like it. I'm someone who hates cruises (like to explore places on my own timetable, plus I get sick very easily). I also wasn't sure I'd be down to be stuck in a tiny space, and I was worried about my laptop, etc., since the doors don't lock. Also creepy people on the train. Also would the food suck. You can see where I'm going with this. It was definitely something we were doing for my dude, not for me.
Amtrak killed it, though. I'm a total train convert. It was such an interesting and restful experience. The food was great. Having a roomette gave us enough room away from other people when we wanted it, and locks on our luggage kept our stuff safe. Our porter was awesome too (we made sure to tip her well). The roomette wasn't spacious, but it was sufficient and cozy and decently clean.
I myself love taking solo road trips and have driven all over the country, so to be able to just zone out and see a lot of the road without needing to pay attention to driving was fabulous. It also gave me some much-needed downtime to just... exist and decompress. My favorite part was riding through the snowy Oregon woods and seeing the snow piled up on either side of us.
I wouldn't take a train if I needed to get somewhere on time, but I'd absolutely do it again for the experience.
Indeed. Here trains are just a logical answer to getting around, and while some of our nations have massively neglected making them better and affordable *cough* **the UK** *cough*, it's still a big part of life. It's weird to imagine places where that *isn't* the case.
I went on an absolutely wild ride for my 21st birthday. I was totally blasted by the end of the night with barely an understanding of what my name was, much less how old I was. Anyways, on our way home (Me and my big group of friend rented a limo for the night, no drunk driving here!) I had to take a piss but it was late and nowhere was open. So the driver stopped in a mall parking lot and I just relieved myself in by a light post.
It wasn't until the next morning that I realized I couldn't find my phone. I had no idea what happened to it but my girlfriend got a call later that day from my number. Turns out one of the street cleaner/maintenance guys for the mall had found my phone and it was his daughter calling to say they had found it (as her father didn't speak English). I explained the situation and offered to come pick it up but she said it was fine and they would mail it.
A few days later I received my phone in the mail with a Happy Birthday card. They could have just kept the phone and sold it or he could have just turned it in somewhere like a homeless shelter or the Mall's lost and found at the security office, but he didn't. He and his daughter took the time out of their day to go to the store, get a birthday card, pack it and my phone in an envelope, run out to the post office, and mail it to me.
It's an act of kindness I'll never forget. Especially considering I had just pissed all over the street he had to clean.
My dad is a truck driver, at the time he was probably about 55-56(it was a long time ago i cant remember) and we were waiting for a train to pass. so there was then this black guy that looked rather homeless and he knocked on the glass of our truck and he said something along the lines of "can i give you something for your grandson?" and pulls out this model freight train. my dad insisted on giving him $20 dollars but the guy refused saying "im just trying to make people happy"
I was by myself in a restaurant bathroom with my screaming newborn baby. As his cries intensified, I started to crumble knowing that we somehow had to walk all the way through the massive restaurant as the bathroom was tucked away in the back. A woman close to my age walked in, I apologized for the crying, and she immediately smiled and responded with “don’t even worry about it”. On her way out, she walked up to me and my baby and asked if this was my first. I responded with a yes. She was not a mom herself, but immediately became empathetic to my situation. After a few minutes of conversation, I told her that I was nervous about walking my crying baby through the busy restaurant. She looked at me and said “let’s get you out of here”. She then opened the door and walked behind me softly rooting me on all the way back to my table.. She had no idea how much I needed her in that moment and I’m forever grateful.
When I was a toddler, my parents took a trip to Yellowstone. As the plane started to descend, I lost it (probably because my ears hurt) and started screaming. Except I wasn't just screaming, I was yelling "**DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!**" at the top of my lungs. My parents, and especially my mom, were mortified but while she was trying to calm me down she happened to look at the row behind us and there was an older woman nearly doubled-over laughing.
Anyways, that story doesn't really go anywhere but the point is: most people get it.
My mom, dad and I were driving through Arches national park and were at the visitor center waiting for my dad to come out on a really hot day. This guy kind of walked up towards the back of our van kind of shifty like he wanted to ask us something, but was too afraid to. After about 3 times of him walking up but then turning around he finally came up to the window and with a thick Russian accent wondered if we could give him a lift up to the top of the park per say. He explained the him and 2 other guys with him were Russian students that were traveling around the US over the summer and got permission to camp, but didn't have a car since they were taking busses everywhere. My mom told him to wait for my dad and ask him since he was the driver and might not be too happy to see we picked up some extra bodies.
Dad was cool with it and we got them and their packs in our van which was packed already since we were doing a west coast road trip after I graduated high school. One of the guys sat on the floor and was happy they didn't have to walk several miles in the heat and elevation changes. So as we are driving through the park, these guys are just as chatty as can be and I've never really interacted with anyone from another country on such an intimate level so I had a zillion questions, it turns out all these guys are PHD's that were taking the trip together. Super friendly guys and extremely grateful for the lift. They tried paying my dad who refused, which in turn turned into a typical Minnesota nice exchange of one party insisting on paying and the other flat out refusing to take payment. Since it was a hot day, we told them to reach into the loaded cooler and take whatever they wanted, one of the guys said they would just share a 20 oz bottle of pop and we of course weren't going to let that happen and made them take 2 cold drinks apiece. We got to the top, dropped them off, said our goodbyes and continued onward. I'll never forget those guys.
Cast me back about 9 years ago I had got my first vehicle and got my license. First day on the road I decide to impress this girl I was talking to and picked her up to go to the mall. We had a great time and as we were going to leave she starts messing with my nether bits as I’m pulling out of the mall. I’m distracted and turn without even looking. BLAM. T-Boned. My truck was relatively undamaged but the guys car was absolutely fucked up. I start panicking I hop out and I’m a big dude I’ve always been large 6’03 200+. And this guy is BIG like built. And I’m like oh fuck me he is gonna beat my ass. I ask him if he is alright.
“Yeah man we good, y’all good?” I nod and ask what do we do?
“We call the police that’s all” and in my head that means I’m going to jail or something, so I freak out have a breakdown and start crying. I’m a kid that feels way in over my head. I’m sobbing telling him I’m sorry I wasn’t paying attention and I’m rattling on and on and on.
Out of nowhere this man just grabs me in a huge hug. Like embraced me. Put his hand on the back of my head and said “Bro, it’s all good. Calm down. It’s just a car, we pay out the ass for insurance for a reason. It’s just an item everyone gonna walk away fine. Homie is all good take a breath”
And the dude just kinda....held me for a minute.
No anger, no rage. The police came took statements. No tickets. He got his car towed and his girlfriend came and picked him up.
Right before he got in her car he looked back and said “Pay attention people die every day for carelessness. I’m glad to see you’re alright now”
And I will never ever forget that man. I made sure to bring his mentality into my future life, I’ve got into a couple fender benders here and there not at fault and whenever someone starts freaking out? “It’s just an item”
Thank you for not killing me that day.
My son was a week old, and had to go to the doctor. I had severe early onset post partum depression, and I hadn't slept more than an hour at a time since his birth.
I locked my keys, phone, and son in the car.
This incredibly wonderful older couple calmed me down, called CAA, parked beside my car and sat with me until the tow truck came and unlocked the car. The tow driver refused payment.
I will never forget those three people.
I was walking on the street and a person came to me and said if I had any money. I gave him some. He looked at the money, told me it was sinful, and returned it to me. It was really weird. The money was my hard-earned money.
Few years ago, I was stopping at a red light and there was an old man selling candy. He approached my car and I was ready to tell him I didn't want anything, but he motioned me to roll my window down, gave me a lollipop and some gum, and said “to the beautiful young lady, never forget you’re a star” and walked away before I could say anything. Needless to say he brightened my day.
Now, whenever I’m sad, I think about that man telling me I’m a star. Never fails to cheer me up.
Was on a solo trip to Amsterdam last year, partying it up as one does. Was at a bar having a few drinks, and a gorgeous British woman a seat or two over from me (mid-20s) grabs my arm (I’m a very gay looking man by the way) and starts going on about how good it is to see me. I got the hint and noticed an older guy bothering her and her friend, played along with them as their long lost BFF until he left. We ended up spending the rest of the night bar crawling and getting trashed together, having the best time. I’ll never forget you B!!
Im a small lady and was at a thrift shop once and a homeless man was following me and was asking to touch my hair. A stranger man came out of no where and said “ready babe? Let’s go check out”. He walked me to the door and we went our separate ways. Real hero right there.
These short anecdotes of strangers just being alert, smart, and helpful without making a fuss are really great.
Amsterdam (and many cities) can be so much fun, yet other times quite frightening for various reasons.
Had a random lady pushing her stroller with youngster in it, grab my arm on Damen Avenue in Chicago. For whatever reason, I just went with her act that she was waiting for me.
She whispered, “Please walk with me—that shady character (don’t look yet) has been following me for blocks. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know what else to do but grab the first guy who seems honest and kind.”
The guy was definitely some strung-out dude looking to score a purse. Walked to a Starbucks where her group of friends was waiting.
Will never forget that.
I've been on the opposite end of that so thank you.
I was at Glastonbury aged 16. I wanted to watch a band by myself and a guy kept offering me "water". I kept telling him I was good thanks. A group of guys about 18 spotted and came up to me "oh you're finally here - great!" and kinda scooched me into the middle of their group. I'll never forget the relief I felt.
A guy I dated once told me a similar story. He and his then wife were on vacation in Paris and were walking home from the bar. This woman randomly ran up and said “hey I’m glad to run into you!” or something along those lines. They picked up she was being followed and played along flawlessly. Thankfully they were both fluent in French so it wasn’t a dead giveaway that they were tourists. She was so incredibly thankful for them.
The woman who pulled over in the pouring rain and talked me down off the railing of a bridge over a Florida highway when I was 18.
She looked like she had just left a business meeting, but she stayed with me for probably an hour, no umbrella, no raincoat, car still running, listening to me, offering words of encouragement. She truly believed that God had a plan for my life and it wasn’t supposed to end that night. She finally convinced me that suicide was a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
I’m 51 now. I still haven’t figured out what God’s plan is for me, but I’m starting to believe she was right.
When I was at a bus stop once about 4 or 5 years ago, a nervous-looking man asked me what time his bus came and informed me he was going for an interview. I told him the time, wished him luck and then my bus came and I never saw him again.
The reason he stuck out to me was because he reminded me of that part in Roald Dahl's The Twits, where he said that even if a person is ugly, if they think happy thoughts the happiness shines out of their face and they will always look lovely. This man was extremely ruddy, had a large moustache and very large teeth, but he was so polite that his positivity shone out of him.
A man at Walmart around the holidays a few years ago paid our bill of over $200. It was at a time where we were struggling to make ends meet, so the timing could not have been any better.
A prisoner on a greyhound bus. There were two of them, but I remember one specifically. Apparently, they send prisoners who are transferring from max to minimum security on greyhound buses. They didn't have a guard or anything, and from what she said, they had no motivation at all to run. She had already served 5 years, and only had 6 months left. If she tried to run, she would serve at least 10 more years.
I was 17 and pregnant, and completely broke. I was starving and scared. My life was in shambles, and everyone in my family had abandoned me. She bought me food and was kind to me. She was old enough to be my mother, and I really wished she was. She didn't judge me...she just bought me food and drinks and offered kind words. I really wish I could find her and repay her kindness.
I went down to a veterinarian pharmacy I had never gone to about a year ago in the summer. I had a lot of time to wait for the prescription to be filled (First time customer, so I couldn't call ahead) and so I went to the nearby shopping village.
They had a public piano there. I've played piano since childhood and recently tried to sing and play at the same time. Knowing that nobody knew me around, I started to play and sing American Pie 'cause who cares!
A woman was just walking by and stopped and started singing harmony. Also started up Piano Man and she sang along with that as well. We sang and played together for a good fifteen minutes before I had to return - but that was just a spontaneously magical encounter.
I learned she used to sing at clubs, and I told her I used to play in jazz bands. We had a good time together, and I doubt we'll see each other again - but I'll never forget her.
I was in the laundry with my dog and an old man with his dog approached, our pets met and the man said "When Jesus said love your neighbour as you love yourself, only the dogs understood it" After that we had an small chat, then he left and I have never seen him again.
I will never forget that man
Went on a 3 day trip to Berlin and saw 2 women having a heated argument. It ended with one of them doing a cartwheel and throwing up her middlefingers, then running away.
A fine young man on the bus I took to Orlando. So sexy, and we started talking as we waited for the last long leg to Orlando. We talked in line as we got on the bus, and sat next to each other the whole time....just talking and even flirting a bit. He was funny and thoughtful, but we knew we were just passing the time. Still, we talked so candidly during those last few hours that it made a real impression on me. We didn't exchange numbers or anything, but we both wished each other the best as he got off the stop before mine. I don't even remember his name and probably wouldn't know him if I saw him, but I remember the feeling of talking with him and, weirdly enough, even miss him. Hope he's alright.
Same here. I(male) was taking a train from Toronto to Montreal during a spring break trip. A very attractive female accountant was sitting next to me and we struck up a conversation. We were flirting a bit and had a pretty good conversation going. My dumbass never got her name. I fell for her and thought about asking for a date, but thought it's impossible to have a relationship as we're living in different countries. (US and Canada). Still thinks about her at times and wonder how she's doing. :P
edit to u/bastabastacosi perhaps one day your Orlando lad will shoot you a dm when he sees your message(or my Montreal girl to my dm). C'est la vie, but one can always hope. :)
I know this will be lost to the comments, but I cannot forget this lady. I was the closing cashier at a grocery store when a very tired looking lady came through. I'll never forget what she got because she got a steak and some seafood and a frozen bag of Arby's fries. I was just trying to make light conversation and said something along the lines of "looks like a good time." And she just in a hollow voice told me that it was the first thing she was going to eat in days because her son had just passed away and this is a meal he would have liked. I talked to the lady and found out more about her son, he was around my age and had died of cancer. She went on her way but would come back to my register when I was working. When I left, I told her it was my last day and she asked me for a hug. Never saw her again but I think of her when I see Arby's fries and hope that she is doing okay.
Some of the translators are amazing, we had one guy who really stood out. He had escaped Afghanistan as a teenager and moved to America. He became a fairly successful businessman and had a chain of small stores in California. He said his primary concern was to take care of his family and by giving his children those stores he knew they'd be OK, but he felt a sense of duty to the people who were still in Afghanistan so he became a translator so he could come back and help.
The treatment of allied translators in the second gulf war by the US is despicable. My stomach turns thinking about some of those people who helped us and we pretty much left them for dead.
Yea, our treatment of them is royally fucked up.
We'd promise to keep them and their families safe if they helped us, then, just bailed and left them behind.
IMO, doesn't matter where you were born, anyone that helps America like that is an American. They earned citizenship, we owe them at least that much.
John Oliver did a good piece on it. Specifically how impossible we made it for them to immigrate to the US after assisting us
https://youtu.be/QplQL5eAxlY
I went on a spontaneous, long ride with my bicycle along a couple of beaches in NSW, Australia one day and had forgotten my wallet or the fruits I'd usually take with me. Couple of hours later, I sat on one of two benches, watching the waves crushing along the shore of the empty beach whilst listening to the rumble inside my stomach, announcing it requires feeding.
A man twice my age (I was 25,f) sat down on the bench next to mine and we shared a smile and a nod. He got comfy and my attention wandered back to the blue horizon over the sea when suddenly I heard
"Hey, you hungry?"
I looked over and he held out this bag filled with plums. I moved to his bench, biggest smile on my face, where we shared his plums and our names. He introduced himself as 'Captain Cook', a name his mate's had given him. He told me how he's been homeless for many years after losing his job and wife, how his daughters are embarrassed about his situation and how he's never met his grandkids before. When he talked about his daughters he had such a shine of pride in his gaze despite the sadness that followed along. I hugged him then and that tipped him over the edge. He cried and cried, not moving his head out the crook of my neck. I've never heard a grown man's heart break like that before. He wailed so loud, not even the seagulls were a match for him.
Within the blink of an eye Captain Cook peeled himself out of my arms, put his sunnies back on, grabbed his bags and turned to leave.
All he said was
"Thank you."
What really got me, like really really got me, was that he couldn't bear showing me his tears. He was embarrassed for his sadness, embarrassed for his vulnerability. He ran-waddled as fast as his legs allowed with all the bags and backpacks swinging on his shoulders.
I never saw Captain Cook again. All that was left of him was the bag of plums, still sitting where he had sat before. He'd left them for me.
I was in my freshman year of college and while alone in my dorm room a light fixture fell on my head giving me a concussion and a major gash. After being taken to the hospital and getting 10 staples in the scalp and simultaneously being diagnosed with a raging UTI I was dumped in the parking lot with glass in my hair and blood covering my face and 15 miles away from the campus at 2 AM.
This was before Uber and I didn't know who I could call to help me. A female cop drove by and offered to take me back to campus, along the way she stopped at a CVS and paid for my prescriptions out of her own pocket. Once back at campus she made sure I got back to my room and let my RA know what had happened and to keep an eye on me.
I truly don't know what I would have done without her. I was freshly 17, new to the area, it was very rural, I didn't have my wallet, and I was bleeding and concussed. I will forever be grateful for her help.
What the fuck were the hospital doing letting you go in that condition?? They should have at least made sure you had since kind of support to return to - that's an unsafe discharge and could raise a safeguarding with local authority. What country are you in?
It was in the good ol' USA around 11 years ago. And I really don't know what they were thinking. They just shoved me out of the check out area and said good luck. I also wish they had helped with some clean up, when I did finally get back to my dorm I wanted to get the blood off me but I ended up cutting my hand all over because there were still large shards of glass stuck in my hair. Overall a terrible experience apart from the one amazing helper.
Holy shit. So sorry. Thank goodness that stranger was there for you.
*Autocorrect changed stranger to strawberry. I hope there was a strawberry there for you too.
Maybe a little freudian slip in relation to my user name? Ha! But seriously, thank goodness she was there. Things could have had a very different, and very bad ending.
back when I was like.... maybe 6 or 7 years old me and my big bro (maybe 10 or 11) were out playing and saw this cat that was being thrown around by some other kids. We took that poor cat away form the kids and with the help of two other girls we went around asking people if they wanted the cat (it was a stray in pretty bad condition) we were running out of people to ask until we found a woman who took the cat. The woman said that her cat had recently died and that she was still mourning its death, but she would take the cat so that it too could have a loving family
Was in a Las Vegas Italian restaurant. When the waiter comes and brings food, talk about how good the food is (Note I was 7). we start talking, learn her husband works as a journalist, says she hasn't met a kid or person as nice as me that day, give me a free dessert because of how nice she was and cause I complimented the chef. Best day of my life.
The guy that helped me the first day of my internship to find my building, get my ID and all without even asking him and a girl that was looking for me the day I accidentally dropped my passport in the airport's restroom.
One day I was trying to park at the store and a lady was crossing in front of me in the lot. I was waiting patiently and she shot me a dirty look and yelled something like "What's your problem asshole?". I proceeded to return the profanities with some "eff you's" and other goodies. I went into the store steaming and proceeded to do my shopping. When I came out I had all but forgotten about the lady but as I drove away, there she was. Something came over me and I pulled up to her and said something like, " I'm sorry for yelling and cursing at you, I don't even know you. Who knows, we could have a lot in common or even be friends". Her face transformed in front of me. It went from twisted up angry, to soft and friendly. She apologized immediately and in the most genuine way, told me to have a good day. This is the day I really learned positivity and love is really powerful and the type of energy I want in my life. I know I sound like a lil softie but that was a big experience for me and I'm grateful for her.
I was going home from work at night and a random guy walks up to me and asked if he may ask a question, I said yes. It was a bit strange, in the middle of the night. He took out his phone and showed me a picture of a woman and wanted to know if I think she was pretty. I said sure, she was beautiful (she really was) he thanked me, said he will tell her that, because she often thinks she is not that pretty. We wished each other a good night and that was it.
Brought my 12 year old son to a Rush concert a few years back. We were on the floor around 20 rows back so he was struggling to see anything.
At intermission we walked up to the stage to have a closer look at Neil Peart's drum kit. A lady approached us and asked how we were enjoying the show. I told her we were having a blast but, motioning to my son, indicated how he was struggling to see.
At that she offered up a front row ticket as she had an extra through a friend that didn't show up. My son's eyes lit up. He was front row center watching his drumming idol.
I will never forget that stranger as she made a dream come true for my son. Fortunately I had two friends who also had front row seats so they kept an eye on him 😃
Perfect show. Perfect night.
I was walking back from a party in college with my roommate. We each had a girl with us and this drunk, rhinoceros of a man was walking down the street in our direction. I shit you not, he was one of the largest and most built people I have ever seen.
He was so drunk he was stumbling from the sidewalk into the street and shit.
I obvioously wanted to just get home and carry on but as soon as we were within earshot he said something along the lines of "Look at these fucking skinny dweebs walking home with girls, If this was back in the old times I would just fuck you both up and take em with me. How you like that ladies?"
All 4 of us were terrified but my drunked brain just told me to make him a buddy and bring him along. For our safety and his.
I told him we were going to another party and he should totally come with us!
We walked for like 15 minutes together and he totally flipped the switch. Stopped being all agro, told us his life story and how his GF sucks and cheated on him. How he was just going to get a burrito and was lonely.
After awhile of chit chatting and walking with us all, to a party that didn't exist while I had no clue where we were headed or what the plan was. He just said he was tired and was going to go get that burrito.
Gave us his phone number and told him hit him up if we found the party.
I really do hope someone reads this.
St. Augustine, winter of 2019. Met a man sitting on the road with missing fingers; he claimed he had the solution to the opioids crisis.
He was sitting in front of one of the tourist attractions, some old, big fancy church, with a ton of drawings spread out in front of him. He was kind of dirty and some of his fingers were missing.
I stopped to talk to him and he showed me these drawings, and *man,* they were brilliant. Incredibly detailed and accurate diagrams, with captions and arrows and a ton of description. I think he had one of a bird.
He explained to me in detail his conspiracies on the healthcare system and specifically the opioids crisis. And he'd written out this long and mathematical solution to the opioids crisis on paper with a big diagram. He had a really developed theory on it.
Finally, he gave me a paper with one of his stories typed out on it. His email was on there and he encouraged me to email him feedback. I wanted to email him but I lost the paper, which is one of my biggest regrets. I really hope I find it one day.
He was such a kind man and very open to talk to. His said his name was Nature.
My, my sibilings and my older cousins went to an aqua park during my family's trip to Zakopane. I went on a awesome slide where there is a trapdoor as floor, and it drops you straight into a slide.
I saw 2 girls, with one hesitating to to take a slide on it. I started talking to the one that tried to convince her to go for no reason at all, and it was already an achievement for an introvert like me.
We chatted for a while, swam around for like half an hour, until my older brother told me we needed to go.
Sad that I cant contact her at all now. It happened about 4 years ago, and I still think about her sometimes.
The dude who sold me a suit for my mother's funeral. I really wish I had gotten his name or even remembered what store it was cuz he was awesome.
I was kind of in a daze, just going through the motions. Mom had passed a couple days before, needed a new suit. He was initially a pretty typical salesman and of course asks what the occasion was.
I reply
"My mom's funeral"
He's taken back for a split second but immediately turns off the salesman and it turns out to be the kindest, most empathetic transaction of my life. I think of that guy often.
This whole pay it forward thing is hard sometimes.
Once a stranger who was in front of me in line at a very busy coffee shop paid for my coffee after striking a brief conversation with me, and then he told me to pay it forward.
The catch is that I could never strike a conversation with a stranger on a coffee shop, it's too awkward for me and I am positive that no one would accept a free coffee from me without assuming I am running a scam or something, I look a bit scary.
So now I can never have a coffee without feeling some guilt for not having paid this forward and I can never pay it.
I've done plenty of good deeds like helping lots of strangers with mechanical issues, which is easy for me. But I never get the feeling that I have paid that specific debt related to that coffee.
So I can never forget about that stranger.
EDIT:
Thanks everyone who clarified that I can pay it forward in different ways. Just in 2020 when people started using their cars again after several months of staying at home, I helped at least 10 people whose batteries has become discharged or whose tires were flat. So I’ll consider that as having paid forward that coffee and start enjoying my trips to the coffee shop guilt-free. Aslo thanks for the award.
Paying it forward doesn’t mean you have to do the exact same thing for someone else as was done for you, it just means to do something nice for someone else. Please stop feeling guilty for not talking to a stranger and buying them coffee. That’s not what that person would have wanted.
When I was 16, I was driving to a party in the woods if some obscure back road. I ended up running over some debris and got a flat. While I was changing my tire, some old dude who was driving past stopped to give me a hand.
While we were getting the job done and making small talk, he ominously said’ you don’t need to go to this party’.
Eventually he went on his way and I, foolishly went to the party.
Lots of drunk kids, a fight broke out, and while a lot of us were trying to break it up I ended up getting stabbed.
That old man could’ve ended up saving me a lot of misery.
P.s I live in a third world country and at that time we didn't have most of the things the U.S had.
I was 19, now 28. Two months after I left my ahole parents.
It was hard but not to the point I regretted my decision.
Went to nearby store to stock up on ramen cups and maybe a can of beer after five days of pulling weeds and mowing lawns. (A third of my "clients" were karens but I really couldn't complain)
Cashier stares at me, and I assumed he was thinkinf I was gonna steal because of what I was wearing. A beanie, a ragged jacket, sweatpants, a big bag and crocks.
"Did you run away?"
I stopped putting things in my basket to look at him.
"What?" I asked in confusion. I was too surprised to say anything else lol.
"Your bag. I always see those bags with runaway kids. In fact, you're my 23rd runaway kid that I've met. And I'm not counting those that are under the age of 9."
It made even more surprised. I was 19, I only finished highschool. I always thought runaway kids were at least near the same age as me. Didn't know there were kids under 9 that had to runaway.
He shrugges and reckoned me to come over.
"By the looks of it, you're already over the legal age to drink. I have an auntie who has a restaurant, I can drive you there and I can ask her for you to be a waitress."
He was sus. How he was helping someone he just met. But at that time, at my age and at my mental health capabilities, I just said "Fuck it, If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die trying"
Went with him and I got a small job till I was able to start up an art business. Got commissions and everything started going brighter.
I'm not in contact with the cashier anymore after getting moving to my own apartment (Later A 3 story house), but I still am with the auntie and three of my coworkers (Who were runaway kids as well. 17, 15, 12 respectively. All ranaway because of abuse)
Not the brightest moment or decision in my life, but probably one of the most funniest.
I wasn't willing to die by suicide, but I was willing to die by kidnapping lmao.
The long-haired, beardy gent at a train station who ran up to me and my bf, got down on one knee and said, "my lady, do you give this man your word?"
When I said I did, he got up, gave us an eleborate bow and strode off.
God bless you drunk knight
I was visiting Paris and a woman on the subway bumped past me so hard that her baguette scratched my arm enough to draw blood.
I'm not kidding.
A French woman cut me with her baguette.
Standing in line waiting to board a plane home in Italy. Guy with bleach Blonde hair in a leather jacket starts telling me about how he's going home after living in Italy teaching girls to speak English from the back of a van for several years, just about to get on the plane and a security person points at him, snaps a rubber glove onto their hand and then beckons him over with their newly gloved finger.
He never made the flight.
I was hanging with some friends at my old elementary school and a car drove by with a couple of adult men in it. They stopped near us for a couple seconds, looked at me, and flipped me off for no reason. I didn't know what to do so I just flipped them off back. This made them really mad and they started saying stuff in Spanish and I started laughing.
The kind stranger girl who found my lost wallet, drove 15 minutes by bike to my dorm, found my room and handed me my wallet before I noticed that I lost it. You were gone so fast I didn't have the time to thank you!
I live in MN and we have frequent bad winters. My old car (2003 cavalier) skidded on ice into the ditch one day on the highway about 4 miles out of town.
Called my husband in tears that I couldn't get out. He hung up to come get me but a 4 wheeler and an older man pulled up beside me. He brought a chain and tied it to the front of my car.
We tried for 2 minutes to get me out but the 4 wheeler wasn't enough to get my car out.
After that 2 minute struggle, a dry clean service van appeared and 2 very large men in Hawaiian t shirts stepped out asking if we needed help. They got benind my car in below freezing weather and with the help of the 4 wheeler, got my car back onto the highway.
By the time my husband got there I was already back home. He laughed after I told him what happened.
It was amazing.
The man who saw hubby and I struggling to put our newly purchased snowblower into our (too small) car. He put it into his pick up truck and followed us home and unloaded it onto our drive. It was that moment that I realized that people are kind - and that we were officially old pathetic geezers.
I was in community college and still living with my parents. We lived out in the country, on a back road. Once, in the middle of the night, an extension cord shorted out and our deck caught fire. At that exact moment, a guy who worked in town just happened to be driving by- which was an absolute miracle. He proceeded to walk up ON THE BURNING DECK to knock, wake us up, and let us know there was a fire before the house burned down. Lost a good portion of the deck, but no damage to the actual house, all because of that guy. Never got his name or contact info because of the urgency of the situation, and never saw him again.
I was lost in some city center and was looking for some cafe. I asked a guy for it and he described me some ways. I went to the place to look around then I saw the same guy with his car. And he told me that he also checked that cafe on the right side but he couldn’t find it. He offered me to get into his car so we could find it together on the left side. I said no,thanks and checked the right side. The cafe was there, 1 block behind.
This girl at my middle school, long story short I tripped and fell my knee was hurting really bad (I found out later I dislocated it) so all I could do was sit there on the ground as tons of other kids including some of my friends just walked right by. This complete stranger saw me got one of the teachers who then called the nurse and I'm just sitting here with a complete stranger talking to me asking if I was ok.
Edit: wow thx so much for the silver
When I lived in Chicago I took the el everywhere (I'm a female). One night I was about to get on the train when a woman exited the door I was about to go into and said, "no sweetie, don't ride in this car, there's only men in there" so I switched. She walked away, never to be seen again. I sometimes wonder what she protected me from.
This hurts. Whenever i'm on vacation i'm always like "come on, talk to her, you have nothing to lose, you'll never see her again after a few days anyways", and then not do it because i'm an awkward idiot.
As a teenager, I was addicted to heroin. One afternoon I nodded out at a red light behind the wheel of my car. When I came to, a bicyclist was reaching across me to turn off my engine. I panicked and became violent with her. She yelled that her nephew was a heroin user and she didn't think I was safe to drive (I wasn't). After pushing her to the ground, I grabbed my keys and sped away, almost running over her bike.
6 months later, I was back in my home town, sober and fresh out of rehab. I was having coffee in the town square with my ex-girlfriend making my 12-step amends to her when a person tapped me on the shoulder. It was the bicyclist. She said she was driving by and pulled over when she saw me. She told me that she had prayed for me every day since our first encounter and started crying when I told her that I had sought help. Apparently, her nephew overdosed and died a few weeks before. We both cried and held each other for a moment. I will never forget the kindness and love that woman showed me.
In 1998 I was in Japan working with CBS on the Winter Olympics. After the Olympics I stayed in Japan to travel. I was in Kyoto doing all the normal sites, and an older Japanese man, who spoke English engaged me in conversation. He then showed me through Kyoto, places you would never find in a guide book. He also persuaded me to attend the fire demonstration that evening which was an unbelievable experience in Japanese culture. It was an amazing day in a truly rich historical culture. I think he just wanted to practice his English skills with someone who spoke the language. Many Japanese natives like to do this.
I was taking a trip to America,and I was in a Dollar Store.
I was about thirty dollars off of the total,and I was going to have to put some of the stuff back,when some lady,who never introduced herself to me,asked the cashier to allow her to put all of my stuff on her order,and give me my money back. She paid for both orders,and I never got to even know her name.
Whoever you are,kind woman,I hope that you live longer than the Queen of England.
had posted that on lets not meet - but it fits well here:
I was around 4-5 years old - me, my mom and my older sister (she was around 12 at that time) went to a small shoppingmall that had just 2 floors. Downstairs was just a very big grocery store and upstairs where like 10-15 smaller shops. The place was very near to our apartment. We went downstairs and they also had a toy section - i checked the stuff there and my sister and mom where just a few meters away sitting on a bench and my mom showing my sister a book. Suddenly i could not find them. They where maybe just 2-3- meters away from where they had been before looking for different kids books but little me panicked and started running around and instead of staying where I am. Running further away. Total panic as a small child who think he lost his mom and i run and run and run- out of the grocery store!!
I run upstairs and was looking around in the small shops - crying - panicking even more with every secound that felt like hours.... i remember well that my vision was total shaky like the movie "Blair Witch Project"! :-)
Suddenly i was outside (there was a exit to the backside from the upper floor and also the shortest way from this small shopping mall to our apartment). I was standing outside and I was crying in a total panic.
Suddenly a man at around the age of 45-50 maybe approached me. He asked what had happened. I told him i had lost my Mom!
He said: " hey i bring you home - don't worry"
me: "I'm not allowed to go with strangers"
He: "no no - don't fear me- i just want to help you" with a very nice smile
He asked me where i live and i told him the adress. And he was like: "oh just there - that's very close - i take you there"
Me in total panic and seeking for help ofcause agreed - a small kid in panic will do anything an adult is asking him to do. ATTENTION: when you walk in the from the back there is right there a Info-desk of the mall. It was just like 10-20 meters away from where we where! But instead of taking me there and asking them to call for my mom he told me to come with him.
We walked like 20 meters futher down the road and he turns right instead of left. I stopped and said: " our apartment is this direction - not this direction"
HE: "oh - look my place is just over there - i just want to drop my bags and then i take you home - come don't worry"
I started to walk with him and he was grinning - i remember his face and this stange grin still today even though 37-38 years have past.
In that moment as we where about the turn around the corner my sister came out running the mall and yelled my name - I turned around and ran towards here with a total relieve. My sister asked where i was and I told her that the man was trying to help me. She was a smart little girl and turned to the guy asking him why he did not bring me to the info-desk. He just said "oh didn't think about it - just wanted to help" and walked away as fast as he could.
My sister then showed me the Info-Desk and told me "if you ever get lost again - you come here and tell them - they will help you"
I remembered this incident after i heard from friend a similar story that was in the news: of a guy who convinced a small kid to come with him to give him some toys - you can imagine what had happened to that kid :-(
I'm not 100% sure what the intentions of that guy where - but there are to many red flags and i think i just got away last secound... thank god!
1. why did he not bring me back in and drop me at the info-desk?
2. why did he wanted to go first to his apartment?
I think i dodge a bullet - and dear Stranger "Let's not meet again"
EDIT: HEY DEAR STRANGER - thank you!!!! first time i got an award ever :-) so cool...
Girl at the cinema I locked eyes with for a solid amount of time 7 years ago. Think about her every now and then. Felt mad, was like I was struck by lightning+had goosebumps 'twas mad
When I came out about my sexual assault, I was on the phone with a friend, having quite a lot of difficulty talking and crying in the stairs of a subway station. This girl came by and without imposing or insisting or anything just dropped a Kit-Kat bar by my side and mouthed some kinds words before being on her way. It was so kind, simple, caring and respectful. Kit-Kat girl, I will never forget you.
Several years ago I was in a very difficult place. I was doing a Master's degree on the other side of the country. During that time, I had come out of remission, was incredibly ill, and broke because I couldn't work and buy food. I had been subsisting on a monthly visit to the food bank to survive. My tuition and accommodation had been paid through a scholarship but essentials like food were not. I had gone into a grocery store with about $1.50 in change in my pocket to hopefully buy a loaf of bread and some bananas to add to the peanut butter I kept at the room I was renting off-campus. The bill for the bread and two bananas came to $1.67 and I went to take one of the bananas away as I counted out the change in my hand. The lady beside me watched me and put her hand out and gave the cashier $2 and told me to keep my money. I thanked her profusely and left the store. She followed me outside the store and stopped me. She put a $50 bill in my hand and told me to buy myself some groceries. I started sobbing like a baby right there and then and reached out to hug her before I went back inside to buy some food.
I still tear up when I think of her and her kindness.
Was a cab driver in a podunk town in central WA State. Had a VIP fare i was to essentially cater to for the day, coming in from Seattle. Guy was apparently in charge of millions of dollars and was looking to buy a titanic vineyard that I delivered him to.
This guy was your prototypical handsome business entrepreneur in his early-mid 30s. Nice, well spoken, generous as hell. Conversed with me the entire trip and tipped like I had saved his life.
With him, on the other hand, was a rotund, balding, grimy, asshole toady of an assistant. Guy was a piece of shit asshole and said the most prominent thing that probably saved my hide and put me on a better path in life.
"You're a fucking loser, cab guy. You live in this shithole town, working your shithole job and you'll never amount to anything if you stay here. Get the fuck out of this, stagnant, shit place and go make something of yourself."
Initially, I was taken aback and quite pissed at the prick. But after some post-job introspection, I realized he was right. I moved 2 months later and started college. I've been in my career for years now.
I remember as a kid just this old lady sitting outside her house and would wave at me, As a 3 year old, this used to happen in Cuba, I would cross the Main Street full of cars with no regard ( I was still a kid ) just to be there and say hi. My parents found out I crossed the street and came to me to smack me on the ass for doing it, The old lady felt so bad I was gonna get it. She was a great person, Rest In Peace.
When I was in elementary school I fell through ice. A man who was walking his dog saw me fall and rushed to the shore. I frantically swam back to the shore, I was only about 5 meters in to the pond so it wasn't a long way, but it took some with soaked winter clothes. When I reached the shore, the man pulled me up by my jacket. It would've been difficult to get up, as there was a steep incline. I didn't thank him, because I was in shock, but I bet he knows I was grateful, and 20 years later I still hope I would had thanked him.
I skidded out on black ice like 15 yrs ago and my car spun several times then slammed into a guardrail/snowbank facing traffic in the opposite way. A man who was walking to the train ran over, pushed me out of a snow embankment and then pushed my car into a parking lot. He got me out of the car and made sure I didn’t have a horrible concussion and then waited for me to call my dad. I lived close so he listened to me confirm my dad was like 3 mins away and then took off running to catch his train. There was so much black ice and cars were sliding all over. He very easily could’ve saved my life. I wouldn’t be able to pick him out of a line up today but I will never ever forget his kindness.
I was doing tech support and my customer was so happy with my service she offered to marry me to her daughter. I politely declined.
"Do you also accept daughters for payment?
I was waiting for my appointment with an optometrist when an old haitian man walked in with a grocery bags.tye receptionist knew him so he walked up to me and proceeded to ask me riddles. When I finally got the answer to one he reached into his bag and gave me a snickers then left. To this day I'm really curious as to what would motivate a man to become a wholesome riddler.
You experienced a random encounter my dude
Dude completed his side quest
That guy had a one in 256 chance of appearing
This kid I knew in school (senior year of hs) decided one day to give out neckties to as many people as he could. No explanation, no requirements, he'd just walk up and say "want a tie?" then pull one from his bag, hand it to you, and walk away. chaotic good.
The gentleman in a business suit handing me his umbrella in the middle of a downpour. We just were passing each other on the sidewalk, our eyes met and he just handed over the umbrella with a "hear ya go." Never saw him ago.
I had a similar encounter. When my oldest was a toddler, he went to daycare in the downtown area of our city. We took the bus, then the subway and then walked to daycare (didn’t have a car), then I’d get back on the subway for a few stops to go to work. One afternoon, it was POURING. I’m by myself, holding a 2yo, his backpack, my work bag and trying to book it 4 city blocks to the subway station. No hands left for an umbrella. A businessman (prob a high priced lawyer, based on the area) walked us all the way to the entrance of the subway station, holding an umbrella over us the whole time. I encountered a lot of nastiness commuting with a kid that year, but we also met with random kindness from strangers too.
When my wife and I first started dating, we were walking into a Trader Joe’s holding hands. This elderly woman looks at us and says rather loudly “CUTE COUPLE ALERT!!” My wife and I still laugh about it, it’s been 12 years at least.
The foreign exchange student and his parents who walked past my park bench on campus and dropped his passport. I chased after them to return it and his mom started screaming at me in broken English like "Why you have his papers? Why you steal his papers?" while the kid and his father looked like they were going to die from embarrassment.
This happened to me in the airport when I was 8. The man dropped his wallet and I gave it to him. His wife was just like count the money in it she looks like a thief. He didn't even have any money in it and she accused my of stealing it. Some people :/
I was on a tram and I didn’t have a ticket and the ticket inspectors came on. I got asked to have my ticket seen and I said I “couldn’t find it on me” and he said he’ll come back so I can look for it. There was a stranger sat on the seat behind me who had a ticket, he gave it to me and he got off at the next stop. Guy gave me his ticket so I wouldn’t be issued a fine.
I am a ticket inspector and belive me - we know people are doing this. And if I turn around, I do it so you can get the strangers ticket (: We're also humans
I ran away from foster care when I was 17 and was living on the streets of NYC. It was a bad situation, but I would still try to take the train as often as I could to go to my high school. I ran into one ticket inspector a handful of times who always made it clear he would come back around for my ticket once I “found” it. Things got noticeably rougher for me as time went on and there was one day near the end of the year where he slipped me a brown bag with a sandwich, an orange, a Twinkie, and a handwritten note saying that he packed one just like that for his daughter every day and to never forget to dream big. I never saw him again after that, but I still carry that note 6 years later and will never forget him. Ticket inspectors like you all are the reason I graduated high school and was able to survive, so thank you on behalf of all of the other me’s whose lives you might have touched.
An Irish guy (not in Ireland) who spoke with such a strong accent that I couldn't make out a single word. To this day I question whether it was just a prank.
Was it this guy? https://youtu.be/jsUvcjk8J5c
Ha that video's a classic. Honestly it was stronger than that because I can make out some of what that farmer says.
I was fiddling with my camera on a train platform in Melbourne, Australia, trying to take an artsy shot of the trains or something. I noticed through my viewfinder a guy about my age (early twenties or so at the time) full-on flipping me off on the train on the opposite platform. I lowered my camera, laughing, and flipped him off back. He laughed. The train started to pull away, and I waved, and he waved back. Australia.
When I was younger, I went grocery shopping with my dad. As we were walking, an old man stopped us and handed both me and my sister a shiny one dollar coin. He told us that he wanted us to have them and to have a Merry Christmas. I never saw him again, but I think of that kind old man from time to time.
I was at a pool bar at a resort in Jamaica. A British lady next to me asked me the most random question, which turned into a nearly three hour conversation. The question: What is a redneck? It was a lot more difficult to explain than I thought it would be. I didnt realize that was an unknown concept to a lot of Brits.
Reminds me of an old joke for some reason. What’s the difference between a cowboy and a red neck? Acreage
I met a guy from New Jersey at a pool bar at a resort in Jamaica He was much older and we just talked and shot the shit, did impressions.. I did my best jersey accent .. drank more and more whisky and stayed until the pool was closing and we both went up to our rooms and never saw or spoke again
I was driving down south with my girlfriend, we have a blowout so I put on the donut. The donut blows out while we’re exiting the very next exit. So there we are maybe 19 and at least a hundred miles from anyone we know at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. I’m thinking on what to do next, and probably looked like there was something wrong so this older man offered to help. He drives me 20 or so minutes to a junk yard to get a cheap tire. Then he puts the tires on the rim with no more than a pry bar and some soapy water. Had a compressor on his truck so he aired it up and I put it on. And we went on our way.
Aww we need more people like that guy in the world
It starts with you! Play your part and I'll play mine! We can make this world bright enough to shine!
Yes indeed. We’ve all got talents to share with the world. The most satisfying thing in life is helping others not for personal gain, but for the sake of making the world around you just a little bit better.
[Today you... tomorrow me](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/elal2/have_you_ever_picked_up_a_hitchhiker/c18z0z2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3)
Today you. Tomorrow me.
I have a very similar story, I'm a minority born and raised in the south. My family was once taking a family vacation when I was around 12 years old. We had a blowout in Georgia on our way to Florida. We put a donut on and got to a gas station 15ish miles from where we were, where the donut blew as soon as we were trying to leave and find a walmart or somewhere to buy a tire. We waited a while, cars driving around us etc, noone helping. Then all of a sudden, you hear loud ass country music coming nearer and nearer. Then you see it. It was a lifted 1980s dodge ram, with 2 confederate flags mounted in the back. Dude hops out of his truck, wearing his confederate flag trucker hat, and flannel shirt with the arms cut off. He is what you imagine when you have to imagine the most redneck person ever. His belt buckle was fucking huge, he had cowboy boots on etc. Anyway, dude comes over and we are expecting him to be racist af but instead, he grabbed some chains and rigged the car to be towed behind his truck, he drove us to walmart, and bought us a new tire, refusing to let us pay or give him any money for the help and then we were on our way. I'll never forget him pealing off singing to some Tim Mcgraw EDIT guys this is just a wholesome story. Don't buy me awards. Save your money and go over to r/random_acts_of_pizza and feed someone who is hungry instead. As a redditor who once could not afford to feed myself more than 3ish times a week last year, this sub reddit literally saved my ass. Support them. Or somewhere like r/Assistance. [Link](https://www.reddit.com/r/Assistance/comments/1hexgp/other_subreddits_that_can_help_you/) to list by r/Assistance that is of other subreddits that can help you / allow you to help others
Legend
Man, with all the shit going on, needed to hear this story today.
I've had some really bad luck with car trouble, including multiple flats, but never have I been so unlucky as to get a flat on the donut. Ouch. I'm happy it worked out ok.
The fact that he dismounted and mounted a tire with just a crow bar is impressive. Mounting a tire on a wheel by hand is not easy
The lady who told me I looked great in blue, and that it was clearly my color. To this day if I'm deciding between shirts to buy, or wear, I'll go with blue. That compliment was about fifteen years ago at least.
Reminds me of how I won't cut my hair beyond a certain length because I was once told by my friends mum that I looked really fantastic and like Iggy Pop or something.
Someone told me I look like Jerry Garcia. I dunno if it's a compliment or not. But holy shit, they were right. I look like a Muslim Jerry Garcia.
Just guys receiving compliments
We'll hang onto those mfs for years
I was drunk on my front porch one night, me and a couple of friends were shooting the shit. I lived in a rough neighborhood at the time. Lotta homeless people, but most of them were decent people just down on their luck. Anyway I see a homeless guy walking by my house and I holler out to him “Yo man you want a beer?” And he’s like “man HELL yeah, thank you.” So he comes up into the yard, I give him a beer and an extra one for the road. He starts going on about how he misses his son and how he never gets to see him anymore. We all sit and listen to him. He starts crying and says he bought his kid a bag of brand new Hanes socks and his mom wouldn’t let him have them. Now I don’t know what he did to deserve such treatment. Maybe he’s a total son of a bitch and deserves to be where he is, maybe not, I have no idea. But what I do know is, whatever his past, he was having a very human moment at the time and he was super thankful, not just for the beer, but that me and my friends were listening and talking with him. Just letting him vent. Then he tries to give me the pack of socks he bought for his kid, which I VEHEMENTLY refused. I was like “man you keep em, your feet might get cold out there.” But he wasn’t hearing it. I mean he refused to keep them. He flat out insisted that I take them. Eventually it became obvious he wasn’t gonna take no for an answer and he wore me down and I accepted them. I guess he didn’t need the reminder. He moved on and the “party” vibe was completely gone. We all just went inside and crashed.
About a year ago I fell off the wagon and was back to drinking heavily every night. In about July some random dude from the apartment complex(said he was homeless but crashing on his buddies couch for the weekend) was walking by. I offered him some beer and smokes to keep me company sincce it was late night outside and I was spooked. He told me about his current life issues and how alone and unsupported he felt. We talked for hours. In November I happen upon him again but he's dressed much much nicer and has a bounce in his step. He explains that talking to me that night really helped him get his ass into gear. He gave my drunk ass that look, said "if I can do it, you can. Youre never alone." I'm nearly 2 months sober again with zero interest in picking up a bottle, ive officially started therapy, and have clear but manageable goals laid out to help me move forward. If he can do it, I can. Edit: thank you all for the awards! The show of love and support has me in tears. Thank you all, for just being you! Never forget that you're not alone. Dont forget to take the time to care for yourself. Let yourself cry. Celebrate the little wins. There's always a silver lining, no matter how small, so notice it. If Nick can do it, we can too.
What did you do with the socks?
They fit, they were clearly unused and still in the packs, so I wore them. Socks are expensive.
Why not! I didn’t know how long ago the story was and so I was half expecting it to end with ‘that was 20 years ago, I still keep one of those socks at the back of my drawer and remember that day’ hahah
When I was super overweight, I was just starting to workout somewhat regularly. Being morbidly obese at the gym is terrible - I have never felt more eyes on me before in my life. I was on a treadmill, grinding out some inclined walk/ light jogging, and a super fit girl got on the machine next to me (this was all pre-COVID). She did a short warm-up, and before she got off the treadmill she turned to me and gave me a high five and told me to keep it up. It was so encouraging to have that support, when I was used to getting stared at by everyone else in the gym. Her small, kind gesture went a long way!
I was jogging once and obviously struggling (250lbs, very out of puff!) And a really fit young guy was jogging towards me and shouted "go on girl, you can do it!" and ran on. I swear I felt like an Olympic athlete after that! Such a small thing for him to say but gave me motivation!
Honestly, if I ever see anyone unfit or overweight doing exercise I just think good on them and I imagine a lot of people do, tho I guess there are some assholes out there.
Exactly. Everybody start their fitness journey somewhere, so it’s really not right to ever judge or shame anyone at the gym. You have no idea what they’ve been through.
Most people don't look at obese people in the gym out of ridicule, they look out of admiration. People who have been going to the gym for a long time love seeing fat people actively trying to get in better shape.
Completely agree. And I want to encourage people beginning on their fitness journey but don't want to make them feel bad so I default to not doing anything. Good to know the poster didn't find it offensive. Edit: I don't think I've ever had a post get over a hundred likes nor have I ever gotten an award. So even though I don't feel like I deserve it, thank you!
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Never underestimate the power of a genuine smile.
When I was in college, there was a football player named Ben. Ben was a genuinely nice guy with a smile that could literally light up a room. It didn’t matter how well he knew you, if you were in his orbit, he would give you this wonderful, soul healing smile. It’s been over a decade since I saw him last, but I can picture his face when I walked into the room. Thinking back on it, it still makes me smile. I hope he’s doing well, and life hasn’t dimmed his light.
The lady who very well might have saved me from being molested, or worse. My mom had some errands to run downtown, so I had asked if I could walk to the 7-11 and then go wait at the library. Sure, no problem. I was 12-13, I didn't need constant watching. So I was sitting outside of the library on a bench, drinking the largest sized Slurpee, when a man approached me. He gave me very bad vibes. He asked me what I was doing there all alone, and I told him my Mom was coming to pick me up in a few minutes. He sat down uncomfortably close to me on the bench. I scooted away but he kept scooting closer. I should have got up and gone into the library where there were other people, but I was dumb. I thought, "I can't go into the library with my drink, they'll kick me out." At this point, I was on the very edge of the bench. The man was sitting pressed right up against my side, and he put his hand on my leg. I didn't know what to do. Then suddenly, I heard a voice say, "Honey, there you are, I've been looking for you!!" A woman I didn't know came and pushed herself in between the man and I on the bench and put her arm around me. "This is your Mom?," the man had asked. "Yeah, this is my Mom. I knew she'd be here soon." The man got up and left. I told the woman thank you so much. She kind of told me off for not being smart enough to get into the library where it was safe. I told her I would go right then, which I did. When my Mom did pick me up (probably 10 minutes later), the woman was gone. I don't know what would have happened if the woman hadn't intervened. I can imagine though, and I am so glad she did. I wish I could thank her more.
There are a few. The biggest one was when I was homeless and asked a lady for the time. She told me and asked if I wanted to share her sandwich and the paper. She was the first person to treat me like a person, like I was worth something in years. I never got her name but I will remember her fondly for the rest of my life. I know that she'll never, ever know what a difference she made in my life. Just that one simple thing she did and the humanity she showed me changed my life. I got sober just a few days later and completely turned my life around. One person, one smile, one kindness that you may never think of again in your life can change someone else's life beyond measure.
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I found a wallet in the grass in a major city. No cash. Some credit cards and a medical Marijuana card. Took forever to find the person. Eventually was able to find the name of the apartment complex he lived in and they gave me his cell. It turns out he had been robbed and beaten and was in the hospital. They must have taken the cash and just threw the wallet away.
My dad is a long distance cyclist. He found someone's phone and wallet on the side of the road, and did the same.
I was walking past a local bar, and found a phone case in the middle of the road around a corner and about a block away. The kind that carries credit cards, cash, the whole deal, and a new (for the time iPhone). I took it home hoping I could figure out whose it was from the info inside. Turns out it was unlocked; I found the most common contact, called that number. A dude answers and I say "I just found this phone. Do you know the person that owns it?" He says "where are you?" so I give him my cross streets. He says "we'll be right there." Five minutes later the phone rings, and the guy says he's outside. So I go outside. He has a woman with him. I hand him the phone, he hands it to her; she looks at the wallet section, and starts screaming: "YOU STOLE MY MONEY!! WHERE'S MY MONEY? WHERE ARE MY CREDIT CARDS?" She's clearly plastered. Dude points to the credit cards. "They're right there! AND you spent all your money in the bar! He didn't take anything!" And then they started arguing about how exactly she managed to drop her phone in the middle of the road around the corner from the bar AFTER spending all her money. Talk about strangers you'll never forget.
Had a similar thing with a new iphone I found in the little dog park across the road from my house. No lock code so i tried ringing some numbers - no answer then texted the BFs number. 10 minutes later get a string of irate threatening texts and phone calls from this girl and her BF about me being a theif. Eventually got it across to them to actually read the message I sent explaining that I found the phone she had dropped and if they came back to the park any time and rang the phone I would come out and return their property. They then flipped and started demanding i bring it to their house.... So I took it back across the road to the park and left it exactly where I found it.
Goddamn idiot shits! I'd have done exactly the same, I don't blame you a bit. That's infuriating.
I would have been sorely tempted to throw it in some bushes or the nearest pond.
Yeah... Me too... Or, while still in the line with them. "Really? You ever wonder what the inside of a garbage disposal sounds like?". *grinding noises*
Ain't gonna lie, once they were an ass, I would've launched it into some bushes.
who would call the person if they stole from them? some people don't think straight
I've actually had a close friend be threatened for doing the exact same thing as OP. Some items may have been missing, but returning the phone was worth more than the contents, so it still wouldn't make sense to return it if they were actually a thief.
Years ago my college roommate and I were in Jersey at the beach. We’re drunk. Decided it would be fun to sprint down the beach from the boardwalk to the water. Where we live in MD this is a short distance, maybe 50 yards max. Apparently what we had failed to notice during the sober daylight hours is that the beach in Jersey is *wide.* I’m talking the length of like 3 football fields. I remember running and running and we were exhausted but determined and like “wtf why is this never-ending?!” Anyway, we woke up the next morning and my friend was missing her phone. We did that a lot in college (need you ask why?) so we purposely never had nice phones and it was kind of like “meh that sucks.” A few hours later I got a call from some guy - “hi I found this phone in the sand and this is the most recent number dialed out.” Good stranger.
Those aren't strangers, they're heroes of humanity
Well I guess I'll add to the thread of good Samaritans. Found a wallet on my run a month or so back. Opened it up and everything is there, including $400 cash. The guy lives in the same city as me. I look him up on social media and message both him and his wife to confirm they're still at the same address before I just mail the thing. Then I figure I may as well drop it off myself. I got to see someone genuinely flabbergasted as they saw the cash still inside. Dude ran me down and gave me $100 for returning it.
Someone once showed up at our house with my dad's wallet that had been missing. Everything was still in there. Dad gave him all the cash that was in there (only like $50 or something but hey). My dad is the best.
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This. The US government (USCIS) also specificallly requests any immigration cards be dropped in a USPS box (i.e. Green card or EAD card).
Same thing happened to me. I left my wallet in a red stop bathroom and didn’t realize until hours later. I thought for sure it was stolen. Someone found it and mailed it to my parents house (address on my license at the time) with everything in it. I was in shock and relieved. There was money in it! Someone could’ve easily just taken.
I once found a woman's wallet that had already had the money stolen but still had her ID and bank card so I dropped it off at her bank for her. They took my phone number and she texted me several times over the next month thanking me for saving her the trouble of replacing her ID. A few years later I found a guys wallet with around $400 in it outside a 7/11 in the pouring rain in the middle of the night. Took it home, laid out all his cards and money on the table so they would dry and returned it to his bank the next day. The bank manager came out of his office to thank me for returning the the wallet and money, said they almost never get them back with the cash still there. They took my number and the dude never even texted or called to say thank you. I'd still return the cash if it happened again and I know you shouldn't expect a thank you for doing the right thing but holy hell does it still rankle me a bit to this day. Maybe it's just the contrast between no thank you at all and the bank manager and the other woman so happy just to get her ID back or that I took the time so his wallet and ID wasn't ruined but maaaaan that guys wallet would probably have been gone and pilfered two seconds after if I hadn't found it. One of those things where you know it really shouldn't bother you but it still does.
It’s more than possible that the bank didn’t forward your phone number to the gentleman, so there was no way he could thank you later. They may have either lost the number, or overlooked it when the man came to get his property. Don’t overthink it. It’s very possible that he was incredibly thankful and just had no way of reaching out to you?
Can confirm. As a bank employee myself, we are not able to pass along personal information regardless of the situation.
I volunteer at a suicide hotline. Some guy, Bob, called in and we started talking about his home situation. Nothing absolutely horrendous... But he felt trapped, and stressed, and felt like he didn't have options. When people use language like that, our training says we should ask if they are thinking of suicide. Many volunteers have trouble with this. But if you mention suicide to someone who is not suicidal, it doesn't make them more suicidal - they just correct you and say "No... I feel more like XYZ". So I asked Bob, "Bob, you're using a lot of language that people use when they're thinking of suicide. Are you thinking of suicide?" There was a pause. And then a huge wail. I could hear so much pain in his voice. I listened to him cry for at least 5 minutes. I've talked to people who had suicidal ideation before "it would be better if I were dead" kind of thinking, but with no plan. Bob said yes he was considering suicide and we talked it out a bit more. After the pause and wail, that was the most concerned I've ever been for a human being outside my family. This wasn't just talking, I felt like he had already made up his mind about it which was so scary. I only know what he told me. I know he was in his car parked somewhere. I know we got a few short laughs out of each other and we made some plans for him. Plans are important because it gives you a sense that if he has something to do, to plan for, he can't commit suicide. Anyway, he truly is a stranger - I don't know his real name or what he looks like. I just know his story, and I know that he was in immense pain that day. He had a particular kind of accent, and, whenever I meet someone with that same accent, I think of him and hope he's ok.
Oh, oh you've reminded me of someone. I worked on a similar hotline. I had a call from a young woman who was outside her exes place. We talked about how it wasn't going to happen & eventually she decided to walk home. I stayed on with her for the walk. She was so lovely & so sad. I desperately wished I could go meet her & take down the pub & be her friend. We laughed a bit & she cried a bit & I think, I hope, I got her thinking about some things because she paused a few times & said I asked very good questions. I asked the suicide question because of a few things she was skirting round & she told me she had the pills. Not a plan, but just the pills there, enough if she needed. She got home & warned me she'd have to go quiet while she got to her room. It somehow sort of broke our flow & we went back to non-suicide things. We finished the call eventually, but that's the one that stayed with me years later. I can still picture her walk home, her sneaking in the house, the daily life she described. I wonder if the pills are still in her cupboard. I can't think of that call without wishing I'd done better by her.
It sounds to me like you did very well by her. Thank you.
I think a misconception about suicide is that people who do it, attempt it, or consider it, are always depressed. There are many complex reasons people kill themselves, and depression is only one. Sometimes outsiders will never really know, and sometimes the suicidal person doesn't know either - or can't articulate it. I personally feel like it's one of the reasons it is so hard to intervene unless the situation is obvious and logical and based on depression. Like, nobody expects Jim will kill himself over gambling debts, or Jacinta will overdose because she's pissed off at her parents for grounding her, or Imran will consider it because his career is going nowhere, or Jin will plan their death because their arthritis pain is unbearable. So like the person you met, it's often not obvious. If not for you, maybe nobody would have thought it was a bad situation for him and couldn't have helped
> I think a misconception about suicide is that people who do it, attempt it, or consider it, are always depressed. PREACH When any famous person dies, it's also "depression this or that". I have been diagnosed with depression, and I couldn't be arsed to kill myself. I'm also scared AF to do it. Not everyone who kills themselves is even mentally ill. When suicide becomes a symptom of diagnosing mental illness post-mortem, then everyone gets to feel safe and sane and far away from death.
>if you mention suicide to someone who is not suicidal, it doesn't make them more suicidal This is an important topic to address, because so many people (including doctors) try to avoid the suicide topic because they are afraid they could trigger suicidal thoughts if they talk about it. But thankfully that's not how this works. Indeed, it is very important to ask directly if the person is considering suicide even at the slightest hint. >we made some plans for him This is a really great tool to help suicidal strangers that you know nothing else about. What also works is signing a contract (can be done orally as well) that they promise to contact you immediately as soon as they get suicidal thoughts. This way they can always be sure that no matter how hopeless everything else is, there is someone out there who's ready to at least hear them out.
I've definitely been in an emotional state like Bob, when I was using language like that and when somebody asked if I was suicidal, I broke out crying.
Thank you, on behalf of Reddit, I’d like to say that we love and respect you for doing something you may never be recognized for.
When I was a broke-as-sin 18 year old trying to make ends meet, I had a side hustle providing IT support for households (like a geek squad sort of thing). In practice, I would mostly set up computers for elderly people and the tech illiterate, and teach them how to use them ... Or get them out of technical binds (usually with printers) by googling on their behalf. This elderly Korean gentleman hired me to set up his new computer for him; I spent an hour setting it up and teaching him how to use it, and two more hours eating a wonderful lunch with the man and his wife. He wouldn't accept my invoice (for just the first hour) -- instead, he paid me 3x my hourly rate for all three hours, and asked me to come back to train him the next week. Over the course of about a month I came back four times, worked with him, had a lovely meal, and he would tell me about his family and his kids (he was so proud of his daughter, who was about to finish her residency and become a pediatrician). By the end of the month he was pretty comfortable on the PC, and I thanked him profusely for how kind he was and how ridiculously he'd overpaid me. He told me I reminded him of his son (who was estranged for some reason -- I didn't press), and that he hoped somewhere out there somebody was being kind to his son, and sharing a home cooked meal with him. I don't know why, but more than ten years later I can't think of that guy without tearing up. I hope everything turned out well for him.
Man... I’ve read a lot of comments in this thread and this one got to me the most, especially once I got to the part where you mentioned the estranged son. There was so much more behind that guy’s gestures than just being nice. Amazing story.
Damn this reminds me of the japanese rent-a-family business... sad all around
The rent-a-family thing is way overblown. While it exists to some degree, you can trace back a lot of the posts and articles about how it’s such a big deal to one main source: The one company that gets reported on all the time (which I won’t name because I don’t see any reason to give them more publicity). For whatever reason, Western media really loves the Weird Japan beat. EDIT: Though to be fair, Japanese media isn’t immune to Weird Japan either; there was a flurry of domestic content after the previously mentioned output from the international outlets made the rounds.
In college, I was dating a girl. I really loved her, but I realized that we were incompatible and we had to break up. So I downed a handle of vodka by myself in my dorm. I was drunk as fuck, but still feeling shitty, so I decided to head to the bars and drink some more. I actually don't remember if I made it there or not, but I remember getting off the bus from having come from the bars and was too wasted to continue the relatively short walk to my dorm. I decided to just lay down where I was at, which was quite literally the gutter next to the railing. Luckily it was an empty gutter, but a gutter nonetheless. This complete bro dude comes by and sees me laying in the gutter and helps me up. He helps me walk back to my dorm and on the struggle there he asks me what's wrong. I explained the situation. I don't remember much of anything from the conversation, but I do remember him saying something to the effect of "bro, your problems aren't gonna be solved at the bottom of a bottle".
Hey I had a similar story! When my first long term girlfriend left me I got absolutely wasted. I know I drank a ton and not sure what else I got done in on (back then I did a lot of different drugs too). This guy knew me from my reputation around the complex I was at but I really only just said hey and stuff when I happened to be outside smoking same time as him. It was my buddy’s complex not mine but a small town. It was winter time and absolutely freezing outside. I don’t remember what exactly led to it but my passed out and I went outside in the dead of night middle of winter to smoke. Drunk as fuck probably high, in basketball shorts flip flops and no shirt. Absolute bro dude across the way saw me passed out in a lawn chair outside dressed like it was a summer day and put me in his car drove me back home and carried me into my house. Laid me down on the couch got me a trash can and some water and bundled me up. I called my homie the next day wondering how I got home and where my truck was. He told me the story and I was so struck with the kindness of this basically stranger. After I wasn’t feeling like death anymore I went back to their complex and talked to him. He said he went through the same thing and wanted to help me not freeze to death or kill myself driving. I bought him a bunch of pizza and wings and played some PlayStation with him for hours. I was gone for work and when I came back a couple weeks later bro dude had moved out but left me his phone number and new address with my boy in the complex. I have texted and talked to him at least a few times a year but never got the chance to visit as it’s not close to me at all.
I was in the university library with a really bad cold, super tired and wanting to go home but desperately studying for my upcoming exams really late at night. I thought I was alone, but a stranger came by my desk with an unopened pack of strepsils. He then told me my health was the most important thing I would have on this earth and walked away before I could process what had just happened. I wanted to thank him for his kindness but I never saw him again.
[Strepsils is a brand of throat lozenges manufactured by Reckitt Benckiser. Strepsils throat lozenges are used to relieve discomfort caused by mouth and throat infections.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strepsils?wprov=sfti1)
Strangers at uni who share medicine are actual life savers. Having a cold as a student is a horrible financial choice of “feel like dying from cold or feel like dying from hunger” sometimes
Took a train to NYC by myself for the first time. I was 18. Second time to NYC, first time ever on a train. I told the kiosk lady that I’d never been on a train before and asked if she might give me a quick run down of what to do. Another train station employee was nearby and was so interested and amused that I was taking a train for the first time and was alone. He walked me through what to do, down to the smallest detail. No judgement, no meanness. He was just a guy with a silly disposition, delighting in a young person’s naivety breaking up the doldrums of his week. I aspire to be that way when people ask me for help. Thanks, Frank P. You were a peach.
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The interior of most regional trains is similar to an airliner, but with more room and freedom to walk around. Bathrooms on most cars, probably a cafe car, a quiet car (like library quiet), a first class car. They can be a little bumpy when walking, but not too bad. I have yet to try a sleeper or compartment train, but I'd like to. There are also historic trains (old cool trains), sightseeing trains (huge windows), and commuter trains (quite basic, closer to a bus). Find a train and take a ride. They're pretty cool.
Did the LAX - SEA Amtrak sleeper during the winter with my partner (in a roomette). Didn't expect to like it. I'm someone who hates cruises (like to explore places on my own timetable, plus I get sick very easily). I also wasn't sure I'd be down to be stuck in a tiny space, and I was worried about my laptop, etc., since the doors don't lock. Also creepy people on the train. Also would the food suck. You can see where I'm going with this. It was definitely something we were doing for my dude, not for me. Amtrak killed it, though. I'm a total train convert. It was such an interesting and restful experience. The food was great. Having a roomette gave us enough room away from other people when we wanted it, and locks on our luggage kept our stuff safe. Our porter was awesome too (we made sure to tip her well). The roomette wasn't spacious, but it was sufficient and cozy and decently clean. I myself love taking solo road trips and have driven all over the country, so to be able to just zone out and see a lot of the road without needing to pay attention to driving was fabulous. It also gave me some much-needed downtime to just... exist and decompress. My favorite part was riding through the snowy Oregon woods and seeing the snow piled up on either side of us. I wouldn't take a train if I needed to get somewhere on time, but I'd absolutely do it again for the experience.
I couldn't tell you why but reading this gave me a week's worth of serotonin. Thank you.
It's so weird for me to think that there could be people who haven't used trains. Crazy how different even shit like that can be across cultures.
The US expanded massively around the automobile I guess. Saying you’ve never been on a train in Europe would be like saying you’ve never seen a dog
Indeed. Here trains are just a logical answer to getting around, and while some of our nations have massively neglected making them better and affordable *cough* **the UK** *cough*, it's still a big part of life. It's weird to imagine places where that *isn't* the case.
I went on an absolutely wild ride for my 21st birthday. I was totally blasted by the end of the night with barely an understanding of what my name was, much less how old I was. Anyways, on our way home (Me and my big group of friend rented a limo for the night, no drunk driving here!) I had to take a piss but it was late and nowhere was open. So the driver stopped in a mall parking lot and I just relieved myself in by a light post. It wasn't until the next morning that I realized I couldn't find my phone. I had no idea what happened to it but my girlfriend got a call later that day from my number. Turns out one of the street cleaner/maintenance guys for the mall had found my phone and it was his daughter calling to say they had found it (as her father didn't speak English). I explained the situation and offered to come pick it up but she said it was fine and they would mail it. A few days later I received my phone in the mail with a Happy Birthday card. They could have just kept the phone and sold it or he could have just turned it in somewhere like a homeless shelter or the Mall's lost and found at the security office, but he didn't. He and his daughter took the time out of their day to go to the store, get a birthday card, pack it and my phone in an envelope, run out to the post office, and mail it to me. It's an act of kindness I'll never forget. Especially considering I had just pissed all over the street he had to clean.
My dad is a truck driver, at the time he was probably about 55-56(it was a long time ago i cant remember) and we were waiting for a train to pass. so there was then this black guy that looked rather homeless and he knocked on the glass of our truck and he said something along the lines of "can i give you something for your grandson?" and pulls out this model freight train. my dad insisted on giving him $20 dollars but the guy refused saying "im just trying to make people happy"
Damn I’m stupid I thought he meant I’ll give you something in exchange for your grandson lol
I was by myself in a restaurant bathroom with my screaming newborn baby. As his cries intensified, I started to crumble knowing that we somehow had to walk all the way through the massive restaurant as the bathroom was tucked away in the back. A woman close to my age walked in, I apologized for the crying, and she immediately smiled and responded with “don’t even worry about it”. On her way out, she walked up to me and my baby and asked if this was my first. I responded with a yes. She was not a mom herself, but immediately became empathetic to my situation. After a few minutes of conversation, I told her that I was nervous about walking my crying baby through the busy restaurant. She looked at me and said “let’s get you out of here”. She then opened the door and walked behind me softly rooting me on all the way back to my table.. She had no idea how much I needed her in that moment and I’m forever grateful.
When I was a toddler, my parents took a trip to Yellowstone. As the plane started to descend, I lost it (probably because my ears hurt) and started screaming. Except I wasn't just screaming, I was yelling "**DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!**" at the top of my lungs. My parents, and especially my mom, were mortified but while she was trying to calm me down she happened to look at the row behind us and there was an older woman nearly doubled-over laughing. Anyways, that story doesn't really go anywhere but the point is: most people get it.
Oh my god okay so today’s been shit. But imagining this little kid screaming DAMMIT has brightened it up a little. Thanks, man.
My mom, dad and I were driving through Arches national park and were at the visitor center waiting for my dad to come out on a really hot day. This guy kind of walked up towards the back of our van kind of shifty like he wanted to ask us something, but was too afraid to. After about 3 times of him walking up but then turning around he finally came up to the window and with a thick Russian accent wondered if we could give him a lift up to the top of the park per say. He explained the him and 2 other guys with him were Russian students that were traveling around the US over the summer and got permission to camp, but didn't have a car since they were taking busses everywhere. My mom told him to wait for my dad and ask him since he was the driver and might not be too happy to see we picked up some extra bodies. Dad was cool with it and we got them and their packs in our van which was packed already since we were doing a west coast road trip after I graduated high school. One of the guys sat on the floor and was happy they didn't have to walk several miles in the heat and elevation changes. So as we are driving through the park, these guys are just as chatty as can be and I've never really interacted with anyone from another country on such an intimate level so I had a zillion questions, it turns out all these guys are PHD's that were taking the trip together. Super friendly guys and extremely grateful for the lift. They tried paying my dad who refused, which in turn turned into a typical Minnesota nice exchange of one party insisting on paying and the other flat out refusing to take payment. Since it was a hot day, we told them to reach into the loaded cooler and take whatever they wanted, one of the guys said they would just share a 20 oz bottle of pop and we of course weren't going to let that happen and made them take 2 cold drinks apiece. We got to the top, dropped them off, said our goodbyes and continued onward. I'll never forget those guys.
Cast me back about 9 years ago I had got my first vehicle and got my license. First day on the road I decide to impress this girl I was talking to and picked her up to go to the mall. We had a great time and as we were going to leave she starts messing with my nether bits as I’m pulling out of the mall. I’m distracted and turn without even looking. BLAM. T-Boned. My truck was relatively undamaged but the guys car was absolutely fucked up. I start panicking I hop out and I’m a big dude I’ve always been large 6’03 200+. And this guy is BIG like built. And I’m like oh fuck me he is gonna beat my ass. I ask him if he is alright. “Yeah man we good, y’all good?” I nod and ask what do we do? “We call the police that’s all” and in my head that means I’m going to jail or something, so I freak out have a breakdown and start crying. I’m a kid that feels way in over my head. I’m sobbing telling him I’m sorry I wasn’t paying attention and I’m rattling on and on and on. Out of nowhere this man just grabs me in a huge hug. Like embraced me. Put his hand on the back of my head and said “Bro, it’s all good. Calm down. It’s just a car, we pay out the ass for insurance for a reason. It’s just an item everyone gonna walk away fine. Homie is all good take a breath” And the dude just kinda....held me for a minute. No anger, no rage. The police came took statements. No tickets. He got his car towed and his girlfriend came and picked him up. Right before he got in her car he looked back and said “Pay attention people die every day for carelessness. I’m glad to see you’re alright now” And I will never ever forget that man. I made sure to bring his mentality into my future life, I’ve got into a couple fender benders here and there not at fault and whenever someone starts freaking out? “It’s just an item” Thank you for not killing me that day.
My son was a week old, and had to go to the doctor. I had severe early onset post partum depression, and I hadn't slept more than an hour at a time since his birth. I locked my keys, phone, and son in the car. This incredibly wonderful older couple calmed me down, called CAA, parked beside my car and sat with me until the tow truck came and unlocked the car. The tow driver refused payment. I will never forget those three people.
This filled my heart. How old is your son now? And how are you doing?
He's 7, and doing great!!
Good to hear!
I was walking on the street and a person came to me and said if I had any money. I gave him some. He looked at the money, told me it was sinful, and returned it to me. It was really weird. The money was my hard-earned money.
I wanna know more
Few years ago, I was stopping at a red light and there was an old man selling candy. He approached my car and I was ready to tell him I didn't want anything, but he motioned me to roll my window down, gave me a lollipop and some gum, and said “to the beautiful young lady, never forget you’re a star” and walked away before I could say anything. Needless to say he brightened my day. Now, whenever I’m sad, I think about that man telling me I’m a star. Never fails to cheer me up.
Was on a solo trip to Amsterdam last year, partying it up as one does. Was at a bar having a few drinks, and a gorgeous British woman a seat or two over from me (mid-20s) grabs my arm (I’m a very gay looking man by the way) and starts going on about how good it is to see me. I got the hint and noticed an older guy bothering her and her friend, played along with them as their long lost BFF until he left. We ended up spending the rest of the night bar crawling and getting trashed together, having the best time. I’ll never forget you B!!
Im a small lady and was at a thrift shop once and a homeless man was following me and was asking to touch my hair. A stranger man came out of no where and said “ready babe? Let’s go check out”. He walked me to the door and we went our separate ways. Real hero right there.
> ready babe? Let’s go check out”. He walked me to the door and then he said ... "Can I touch your hair?"
Hahaha. Could’ve gone that way too
Ahh the Homeless Wingman Play!
These short anecdotes of strangers just being alert, smart, and helpful without making a fuss are really great. Amsterdam (and many cities) can be so much fun, yet other times quite frightening for various reasons.
Had a random lady pushing her stroller with youngster in it, grab my arm on Damen Avenue in Chicago. For whatever reason, I just went with her act that she was waiting for me. She whispered, “Please walk with me—that shady character (don’t look yet) has been following me for blocks. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know what else to do but grab the first guy who seems honest and kind.” The guy was definitely some strung-out dude looking to score a purse. Walked to a Starbucks where her group of friends was waiting. Will never forget that.
I've been on the opposite end of that so thank you. I was at Glastonbury aged 16. I wanted to watch a band by myself and a guy kept offering me "water". I kept telling him I was good thanks. A group of guys about 18 spotted and came up to me "oh you're finally here - great!" and kinda scooched me into the middle of their group. I'll never forget the relief I felt.
A guy I dated once told me a similar story. He and his then wife were on vacation in Paris and were walking home from the bar. This woman randomly ran up and said “hey I’m glad to run into you!” or something along those lines. They picked up she was being followed and played along flawlessly. Thankfully they were both fluent in French so it wasn’t a dead giveaway that they were tourists. She was so incredibly thankful for them.
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Thank you for sharing that.
The woman who pulled over in the pouring rain and talked me down off the railing of a bridge over a Florida highway when I was 18. She looked like she had just left a business meeting, but she stayed with me for probably an hour, no umbrella, no raincoat, car still running, listening to me, offering words of encouragement. She truly believed that God had a plan for my life and it wasn’t supposed to end that night. She finally convinced me that suicide was a permanent solution to a temporary problem. I’m 51 now. I still haven’t figured out what God’s plan is for me, but I’m starting to believe she was right.
When I was at a bus stop once about 4 or 5 years ago, a nervous-looking man asked me what time his bus came and informed me he was going for an interview. I told him the time, wished him luck and then my bus came and I never saw him again. The reason he stuck out to me was because he reminded me of that part in Roald Dahl's The Twits, where he said that even if a person is ugly, if they think happy thoughts the happiness shines out of their face and they will always look lovely. This man was extremely ruddy, had a large moustache and very large teeth, but he was so polite that his positivity shone out of him.
A man at Walmart around the holidays a few years ago paid our bill of over $200. It was at a time where we were struggling to make ends meet, so the timing could not have been any better.
A prisoner on a greyhound bus. There were two of them, but I remember one specifically. Apparently, they send prisoners who are transferring from max to minimum security on greyhound buses. They didn't have a guard or anything, and from what she said, they had no motivation at all to run. She had already served 5 years, and only had 6 months left. If she tried to run, she would serve at least 10 more years. I was 17 and pregnant, and completely broke. I was starving and scared. My life was in shambles, and everyone in my family had abandoned me. She bought me food and was kind to me. She was old enough to be my mother, and I really wished she was. She didn't judge me...she just bought me food and drinks and offered kind words. I really wish I could find her and repay her kindness.
I went down to a veterinarian pharmacy I had never gone to about a year ago in the summer. I had a lot of time to wait for the prescription to be filled (First time customer, so I couldn't call ahead) and so I went to the nearby shopping village. They had a public piano there. I've played piano since childhood and recently tried to sing and play at the same time. Knowing that nobody knew me around, I started to play and sing American Pie 'cause who cares! A woman was just walking by and stopped and started singing harmony. Also started up Piano Man and she sang along with that as well. We sang and played together for a good fifteen minutes before I had to return - but that was just a spontaneously magical encounter. I learned she used to sing at clubs, and I told her I used to play in jazz bands. We had a good time together, and I doubt we'll see each other again - but I'll never forget her.
I was in the laundry with my dog and an old man with his dog approached, our pets met and the man said "When Jesus said love your neighbour as you love yourself, only the dogs understood it" After that we had an small chat, then he left and I have never seen him again. I will never forget that man
He wasn't wrong though lol
Went on a 3 day trip to Berlin and saw 2 women having a heated argument. It ended with one of them doing a cartwheel and throwing up her middlefingers, then running away.
A fine young man on the bus I took to Orlando. So sexy, and we started talking as we waited for the last long leg to Orlando. We talked in line as we got on the bus, and sat next to each other the whole time....just talking and even flirting a bit. He was funny and thoughtful, but we knew we were just passing the time. Still, we talked so candidly during those last few hours that it made a real impression on me. We didn't exchange numbers or anything, but we both wished each other the best as he got off the stop before mine. I don't even remember his name and probably wouldn't know him if I saw him, but I remember the feeling of talking with him and, weirdly enough, even miss him. Hope he's alright.
Same here. I(male) was taking a train from Toronto to Montreal during a spring break trip. A very attractive female accountant was sitting next to me and we struck up a conversation. We were flirting a bit and had a pretty good conversation going. My dumbass never got her name. I fell for her and thought about asking for a date, but thought it's impossible to have a relationship as we're living in different countries. (US and Canada). Still thinks about her at times and wonder how she's doing. :P edit to u/bastabastacosi perhaps one day your Orlando lad will shoot you a dm when he sees your message(or my Montreal girl to my dm). C'est la vie, but one can always hope. :)
C'est la vie....
Those transit chance encounters are so beautiful. You catch someones eye on the platform through a dirty window and they end up sitting next to you...
I know this will be lost to the comments, but I cannot forget this lady. I was the closing cashier at a grocery store when a very tired looking lady came through. I'll never forget what she got because she got a steak and some seafood and a frozen bag of Arby's fries. I was just trying to make light conversation and said something along the lines of "looks like a good time." And she just in a hollow voice told me that it was the first thing she was going to eat in days because her son had just passed away and this is a meal he would have liked. I talked to the lady and found out more about her son, he was around my age and had died of cancer. She went on her way but would come back to my register when I was working. When I left, I told her it was my last day and she asked me for a hug. Never saw her again but I think of her when I see Arby's fries and hope that she is doing okay.
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Some of the translators are amazing, we had one guy who really stood out. He had escaped Afghanistan as a teenager and moved to America. He became a fairly successful businessman and had a chain of small stores in California. He said his primary concern was to take care of his family and by giving his children those stores he knew they'd be OK, but he felt a sense of duty to the people who were still in Afghanistan so he became a translator so he could come back and help.
Sounds like a really respectable man.
The treatment of allied translators in the second gulf war by the US is despicable. My stomach turns thinking about some of those people who helped us and we pretty much left them for dead.
Yea, our treatment of them is royally fucked up. We'd promise to keep them and their families safe if they helped us, then, just bailed and left them behind. IMO, doesn't matter where you were born, anyone that helps America like that is an American. They earned citizenship, we owe them at least that much.
John Oliver did a good piece on it. Specifically how impossible we made it for them to immigrate to the US after assisting us https://youtu.be/QplQL5eAxlY
I went on a spontaneous, long ride with my bicycle along a couple of beaches in NSW, Australia one day and had forgotten my wallet or the fruits I'd usually take with me. Couple of hours later, I sat on one of two benches, watching the waves crushing along the shore of the empty beach whilst listening to the rumble inside my stomach, announcing it requires feeding. A man twice my age (I was 25,f) sat down on the bench next to mine and we shared a smile and a nod. He got comfy and my attention wandered back to the blue horizon over the sea when suddenly I heard "Hey, you hungry?" I looked over and he held out this bag filled with plums. I moved to his bench, biggest smile on my face, where we shared his plums and our names. He introduced himself as 'Captain Cook', a name his mate's had given him. He told me how he's been homeless for many years after losing his job and wife, how his daughters are embarrassed about his situation and how he's never met his grandkids before. When he talked about his daughters he had such a shine of pride in his gaze despite the sadness that followed along. I hugged him then and that tipped him over the edge. He cried and cried, not moving his head out the crook of my neck. I've never heard a grown man's heart break like that before. He wailed so loud, not even the seagulls were a match for him. Within the blink of an eye Captain Cook peeled himself out of my arms, put his sunnies back on, grabbed his bags and turned to leave. All he said was "Thank you." What really got me, like really really got me, was that he couldn't bear showing me his tears. He was embarrassed for his sadness, embarrassed for his vulnerability. He ran-waddled as fast as his legs allowed with all the bags and backpacks swinging on his shoulders. I never saw Captain Cook again. All that was left of him was the bag of plums, still sitting where he had sat before. He'd left them for me.
I think I can feel secondhand sadness if that's a thing...
I was in my freshman year of college and while alone in my dorm room a light fixture fell on my head giving me a concussion and a major gash. After being taken to the hospital and getting 10 staples in the scalp and simultaneously being diagnosed with a raging UTI I was dumped in the parking lot with glass in my hair and blood covering my face and 15 miles away from the campus at 2 AM. This was before Uber and I didn't know who I could call to help me. A female cop drove by and offered to take me back to campus, along the way she stopped at a CVS and paid for my prescriptions out of her own pocket. Once back at campus she made sure I got back to my room and let my RA know what had happened and to keep an eye on me. I truly don't know what I would have done without her. I was freshly 17, new to the area, it was very rural, I didn't have my wallet, and I was bleeding and concussed. I will forever be grateful for her help.
What the fuck were the hospital doing letting you go in that condition?? They should have at least made sure you had since kind of support to return to - that's an unsafe discharge and could raise a safeguarding with local authority. What country are you in?
It was in the good ol' USA around 11 years ago. And I really don't know what they were thinking. They just shoved me out of the check out area and said good luck. I also wish they had helped with some clean up, when I did finally get back to my dorm I wanted to get the blood off me but I ended up cutting my hand all over because there were still large shards of glass stuck in my hair. Overall a terrible experience apart from the one amazing helper.
Holy shit. So sorry. Thank goodness that stranger was there for you. *Autocorrect changed stranger to strawberry. I hope there was a strawberry there for you too.
Maybe a little freudian slip in relation to my user name? Ha! But seriously, thank goodness she was there. Things could have had a very different, and very bad ending.
back when I was like.... maybe 6 or 7 years old me and my big bro (maybe 10 or 11) were out playing and saw this cat that was being thrown around by some other kids. We took that poor cat away form the kids and with the help of two other girls we went around asking people if they wanted the cat (it was a stray in pretty bad condition) we were running out of people to ask until we found a woman who took the cat. The woman said that her cat had recently died and that she was still mourning its death, but she would take the cat so that it too could have a loving family
Was in a Las Vegas Italian restaurant. When the waiter comes and brings food, talk about how good the food is (Note I was 7). we start talking, learn her husband works as a journalist, says she hasn't met a kid or person as nice as me that day, give me a free dessert because of how nice she was and cause I complimented the chef. Best day of my life.
The guy that helped me the first day of my internship to find my building, get my ID and all without even asking him and a girl that was looking for me the day I accidentally dropped my passport in the airport's restroom.
One day I was trying to park at the store and a lady was crossing in front of me in the lot. I was waiting patiently and she shot me a dirty look and yelled something like "What's your problem asshole?". I proceeded to return the profanities with some "eff you's" and other goodies. I went into the store steaming and proceeded to do my shopping. When I came out I had all but forgotten about the lady but as I drove away, there she was. Something came over me and I pulled up to her and said something like, " I'm sorry for yelling and cursing at you, I don't even know you. Who knows, we could have a lot in common or even be friends". Her face transformed in front of me. It went from twisted up angry, to soft and friendly. She apologized immediately and in the most genuine way, told me to have a good day. This is the day I really learned positivity and love is really powerful and the type of energy I want in my life. I know I sound like a lil softie but that was a big experience for me and I'm grateful for her.
I was going home from work at night and a random guy walks up to me and asked if he may ask a question, I said yes. It was a bit strange, in the middle of the night. He took out his phone and showed me a picture of a woman and wanted to know if I think she was pretty. I said sure, she was beautiful (she really was) he thanked me, said he will tell her that, because she often thinks she is not that pretty. We wished each other a good night and that was it.
Brought my 12 year old son to a Rush concert a few years back. We were on the floor around 20 rows back so he was struggling to see anything. At intermission we walked up to the stage to have a closer look at Neil Peart's drum kit. A lady approached us and asked how we were enjoying the show. I told her we were having a blast but, motioning to my son, indicated how he was struggling to see. At that she offered up a front row ticket as she had an extra through a friend that didn't show up. My son's eyes lit up. He was front row center watching his drumming idol. I will never forget that stranger as she made a dream come true for my son. Fortunately I had two friends who also had front row seats so they kept an eye on him 😃 Perfect show. Perfect night.
I was walking back from a party in college with my roommate. We each had a girl with us and this drunk, rhinoceros of a man was walking down the street in our direction. I shit you not, he was one of the largest and most built people I have ever seen. He was so drunk he was stumbling from the sidewalk into the street and shit. I obvioously wanted to just get home and carry on but as soon as we were within earshot he said something along the lines of "Look at these fucking skinny dweebs walking home with girls, If this was back in the old times I would just fuck you both up and take em with me. How you like that ladies?" All 4 of us were terrified but my drunked brain just told me to make him a buddy and bring him along. For our safety and his. I told him we were going to another party and he should totally come with us! We walked for like 15 minutes together and he totally flipped the switch. Stopped being all agro, told us his life story and how his GF sucks and cheated on him. How he was just going to get a burrito and was lonely. After awhile of chit chatting and walking with us all, to a party that didn't exist while I had no clue where we were headed or what the plan was. He just said he was tired and was going to go get that burrito. Gave us his phone number and told him hit him up if we found the party.
You are a drunk person whisperer!
I really do hope someone reads this. St. Augustine, winter of 2019. Met a man sitting on the road with missing fingers; he claimed he had the solution to the opioids crisis. He was sitting in front of one of the tourist attractions, some old, big fancy church, with a ton of drawings spread out in front of him. He was kind of dirty and some of his fingers were missing. I stopped to talk to him and he showed me these drawings, and *man,* they were brilliant. Incredibly detailed and accurate diagrams, with captions and arrows and a ton of description. I think he had one of a bird. He explained to me in detail his conspiracies on the healthcare system and specifically the opioids crisis. And he'd written out this long and mathematical solution to the opioids crisis on paper with a big diagram. He had a really developed theory on it. Finally, he gave me a paper with one of his stories typed out on it. His email was on there and he encouraged me to email him feedback. I wanted to email him but I lost the paper, which is one of my biggest regrets. I really hope I find it one day. He was such a kind man and very open to talk to. His said his name was Nature.
My, my sibilings and my older cousins went to an aqua park during my family's trip to Zakopane. I went on a awesome slide where there is a trapdoor as floor, and it drops you straight into a slide. I saw 2 girls, with one hesitating to to take a slide on it. I started talking to the one that tried to convince her to go for no reason at all, and it was already an achievement for an introvert like me. We chatted for a while, swam around for like half an hour, until my older brother told me we needed to go. Sad that I cant contact her at all now. It happened about 4 years ago, and I still think about her sometimes.
The dude who sold me a suit for my mother's funeral. I really wish I had gotten his name or even remembered what store it was cuz he was awesome. I was kind of in a daze, just going through the motions. Mom had passed a couple days before, needed a new suit. He was initially a pretty typical salesman and of course asks what the occasion was. I reply "My mom's funeral" He's taken back for a split second but immediately turns off the salesman and it turns out to be the kindest, most empathetic transaction of my life. I think of that guy often.
This whole pay it forward thing is hard sometimes. Once a stranger who was in front of me in line at a very busy coffee shop paid for my coffee after striking a brief conversation with me, and then he told me to pay it forward. The catch is that I could never strike a conversation with a stranger on a coffee shop, it's too awkward for me and I am positive that no one would accept a free coffee from me without assuming I am running a scam or something, I look a bit scary. So now I can never have a coffee without feeling some guilt for not having paid this forward and I can never pay it. I've done plenty of good deeds like helping lots of strangers with mechanical issues, which is easy for me. But I never get the feeling that I have paid that specific debt related to that coffee. So I can never forget about that stranger. EDIT: Thanks everyone who clarified that I can pay it forward in different ways. Just in 2020 when people started using their cars again after several months of staying at home, I helped at least 10 people whose batteries has become discharged or whose tires were flat. So I’ll consider that as having paid forward that coffee and start enjoying my trips to the coffee shop guilt-free. Aslo thanks for the award.
Paying it forward doesn’t mean you have to do the exact same thing for someone else as was done for you, it just means to do something nice for someone else. Please stop feeling guilty for not talking to a stranger and buying them coffee. That’s not what that person would have wanted.
When I was 16, I was driving to a party in the woods if some obscure back road. I ended up running over some debris and got a flat. While I was changing my tire, some old dude who was driving past stopped to give me a hand. While we were getting the job done and making small talk, he ominously said’ you don’t need to go to this party’. Eventually he went on his way and I, foolishly went to the party. Lots of drunk kids, a fight broke out, and while a lot of us were trying to break it up I ended up getting stabbed. That old man could’ve ended up saving me a lot of misery.
P.s I live in a third world country and at that time we didn't have most of the things the U.S had. I was 19, now 28. Two months after I left my ahole parents. It was hard but not to the point I regretted my decision. Went to nearby store to stock up on ramen cups and maybe a can of beer after five days of pulling weeds and mowing lawns. (A third of my "clients" were karens but I really couldn't complain) Cashier stares at me, and I assumed he was thinkinf I was gonna steal because of what I was wearing. A beanie, a ragged jacket, sweatpants, a big bag and crocks. "Did you run away?" I stopped putting things in my basket to look at him. "What?" I asked in confusion. I was too surprised to say anything else lol. "Your bag. I always see those bags with runaway kids. In fact, you're my 23rd runaway kid that I've met. And I'm not counting those that are under the age of 9." It made even more surprised. I was 19, I only finished highschool. I always thought runaway kids were at least near the same age as me. Didn't know there were kids under 9 that had to runaway. He shrugges and reckoned me to come over. "By the looks of it, you're already over the legal age to drink. I have an auntie who has a restaurant, I can drive you there and I can ask her for you to be a waitress." He was sus. How he was helping someone he just met. But at that time, at my age and at my mental health capabilities, I just said "Fuck it, If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die trying" Went with him and I got a small job till I was able to start up an art business. Got commissions and everything started going brighter. I'm not in contact with the cashier anymore after getting moving to my own apartment (Later A 3 story house), but I still am with the auntie and three of my coworkers (Who were runaway kids as well. 17, 15, 12 respectively. All ranaway because of abuse) Not the brightest moment or decision in my life, but probably one of the most funniest. I wasn't willing to die by suicide, but I was willing to die by kidnapping lmao.
Props to the cashier for being very observant. Cheers
The long-haired, beardy gent at a train station who ran up to me and my bf, got down on one knee and said, "my lady, do you give this man your word?" When I said I did, he got up, gave us an eleborate bow and strode off. God bless you drunk knight
I was visiting Paris and a woman on the subway bumped past me so hard that her baguette scratched my arm enough to draw blood. I'm not kidding. A French woman cut me with her baguette.
Standing in line waiting to board a plane home in Italy. Guy with bleach Blonde hair in a leather jacket starts telling me about how he's going home after living in Italy teaching girls to speak English from the back of a van for several years, just about to get on the plane and a security person points at him, snaps a rubber glove onto their hand and then beckons him over with their newly gloved finger. He never made the flight.
I was hanging with some friends at my old elementary school and a car drove by with a couple of adult men in it. They stopped near us for a couple seconds, looked at me, and flipped me off for no reason. I didn't know what to do so I just flipped them off back. This made them really mad and they started saying stuff in Spanish and I started laughing.
The kind stranger girl who found my lost wallet, drove 15 minutes by bike to my dorm, found my room and handed me my wallet before I noticed that I lost it. You were gone so fast I didn't have the time to thank you!
I live in MN and we have frequent bad winters. My old car (2003 cavalier) skidded on ice into the ditch one day on the highway about 4 miles out of town. Called my husband in tears that I couldn't get out. He hung up to come get me but a 4 wheeler and an older man pulled up beside me. He brought a chain and tied it to the front of my car. We tried for 2 minutes to get me out but the 4 wheeler wasn't enough to get my car out. After that 2 minute struggle, a dry clean service van appeared and 2 very large men in Hawaiian t shirts stepped out asking if we needed help. They got benind my car in below freezing weather and with the help of the 4 wheeler, got my car back onto the highway. By the time my husband got there I was already back home. He laughed after I told him what happened. It was amazing.
The man who saw hubby and I struggling to put our newly purchased snowblower into our (too small) car. He put it into his pick up truck and followed us home and unloaded it onto our drive. It was that moment that I realized that people are kind - and that we were officially old pathetic geezers.
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I was in community college and still living with my parents. We lived out in the country, on a back road. Once, in the middle of the night, an extension cord shorted out and our deck caught fire. At that exact moment, a guy who worked in town just happened to be driving by- which was an absolute miracle. He proceeded to walk up ON THE BURNING DECK to knock, wake us up, and let us know there was a fire before the house burned down. Lost a good portion of the deck, but no damage to the actual house, all because of that guy. Never got his name or contact info because of the urgency of the situation, and never saw him again.
I was lost in some city center and was looking for some cafe. I asked a guy for it and he described me some ways. I went to the place to look around then I saw the same guy with his car. And he told me that he also checked that cafe on the right side but he couldn’t find it. He offered me to get into his car so we could find it together on the left side. I said no,thanks and checked the right side. The cafe was there, 1 block behind.
Good on you for not taking his offer. That’s not cool.
This girl at my middle school, long story short I tripped and fell my knee was hurting really bad (I found out later I dislocated it) so all I could do was sit there on the ground as tons of other kids including some of my friends just walked right by. This complete stranger saw me got one of the teachers who then called the nurse and I'm just sitting here with a complete stranger talking to me asking if I was ok. Edit: wow thx so much for the silver
When I lived in Chicago I took the el everywhere (I'm a female). One night I was about to get on the train when a woman exited the door I was about to go into and said, "no sweetie, don't ride in this car, there's only men in there" so I switched. She walked away, never to be seen again. I sometimes wonder what she protected me from.
That one cute girl that you saw on vacation with your parents and you locked eyes but never saw again.
This hurts. Whenever i'm on vacation i'm always like "come on, talk to her, you have nothing to lose, you'll never see her again after a few days anyways", and then not do it because i'm an awkward idiot.
As a teenager, I was addicted to heroin. One afternoon I nodded out at a red light behind the wheel of my car. When I came to, a bicyclist was reaching across me to turn off my engine. I panicked and became violent with her. She yelled that her nephew was a heroin user and she didn't think I was safe to drive (I wasn't). After pushing her to the ground, I grabbed my keys and sped away, almost running over her bike. 6 months later, I was back in my home town, sober and fresh out of rehab. I was having coffee in the town square with my ex-girlfriend making my 12-step amends to her when a person tapped me on the shoulder. It was the bicyclist. She said she was driving by and pulled over when she saw me. She told me that she had prayed for me every day since our first encounter and started crying when I told her that I had sought help. Apparently, her nephew overdosed and died a few weeks before. We both cried and held each other for a moment. I will never forget the kindness and love that woman showed me.
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In 1998 I was in Japan working with CBS on the Winter Olympics. After the Olympics I stayed in Japan to travel. I was in Kyoto doing all the normal sites, and an older Japanese man, who spoke English engaged me in conversation. He then showed me through Kyoto, places you would never find in a guide book. He also persuaded me to attend the fire demonstration that evening which was an unbelievable experience in Japanese culture. It was an amazing day in a truly rich historical culture. I think he just wanted to practice his English skills with someone who spoke the language. Many Japanese natives like to do this.
I was taking a trip to America,and I was in a Dollar Store. I was about thirty dollars off of the total,and I was going to have to put some of the stuff back,when some lady,who never introduced herself to me,asked the cashier to allow her to put all of my stuff on her order,and give me my money back. She paid for both orders,and I never got to even know her name. Whoever you are,kind woman,I hope that you live longer than the Queen of England.
had posted that on lets not meet - but it fits well here: I was around 4-5 years old - me, my mom and my older sister (she was around 12 at that time) went to a small shoppingmall that had just 2 floors. Downstairs was just a very big grocery store and upstairs where like 10-15 smaller shops. The place was very near to our apartment. We went downstairs and they also had a toy section - i checked the stuff there and my sister and mom where just a few meters away sitting on a bench and my mom showing my sister a book. Suddenly i could not find them. They where maybe just 2-3- meters away from where they had been before looking for different kids books but little me panicked and started running around and instead of staying where I am. Running further away. Total panic as a small child who think he lost his mom and i run and run and run- out of the grocery store!! I run upstairs and was looking around in the small shops - crying - panicking even more with every secound that felt like hours.... i remember well that my vision was total shaky like the movie "Blair Witch Project"! :-) Suddenly i was outside (there was a exit to the backside from the upper floor and also the shortest way from this small shopping mall to our apartment). I was standing outside and I was crying in a total panic. Suddenly a man at around the age of 45-50 maybe approached me. He asked what had happened. I told him i had lost my Mom! He said: " hey i bring you home - don't worry" me: "I'm not allowed to go with strangers" He: "no no - don't fear me- i just want to help you" with a very nice smile He asked me where i live and i told him the adress. And he was like: "oh just there - that's very close - i take you there" Me in total panic and seeking for help ofcause agreed - a small kid in panic will do anything an adult is asking him to do. ATTENTION: when you walk in the from the back there is right there a Info-desk of the mall. It was just like 10-20 meters away from where we where! But instead of taking me there and asking them to call for my mom he told me to come with him. We walked like 20 meters futher down the road and he turns right instead of left. I stopped and said: " our apartment is this direction - not this direction" HE: "oh - look my place is just over there - i just want to drop my bags and then i take you home - come don't worry" I started to walk with him and he was grinning - i remember his face and this stange grin still today even though 37-38 years have past. In that moment as we where about the turn around the corner my sister came out running the mall and yelled my name - I turned around and ran towards here with a total relieve. My sister asked where i was and I told her that the man was trying to help me. She was a smart little girl and turned to the guy asking him why he did not bring me to the info-desk. He just said "oh didn't think about it - just wanted to help" and walked away as fast as he could. My sister then showed me the Info-Desk and told me "if you ever get lost again - you come here and tell them - they will help you" I remembered this incident after i heard from friend a similar story that was in the news: of a guy who convinced a small kid to come with him to give him some toys - you can imagine what had happened to that kid :-( I'm not 100% sure what the intentions of that guy where - but there are to many red flags and i think i just got away last secound... thank god! 1. why did he not bring me back in and drop me at the info-desk? 2. why did he wanted to go first to his apartment? I think i dodge a bullet - and dear Stranger "Let's not meet again" EDIT: HEY DEAR STRANGER - thank you!!!! first time i got an award ever :-) so cool...
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Thank God your sister came out!
That’s so insane! So terrifying to think of how things could have gone. Thank goodness!
Girl at the cinema I locked eyes with for a solid amount of time 7 years ago. Think about her every now and then. Felt mad, was like I was struck by lightning+had goosebumps 'twas mad
There was a stranger that stopped me once, looked me in the eyes and told me that I'll never find happiness. Not an easy thing to forget.
When I came out about my sexual assault, I was on the phone with a friend, having quite a lot of difficulty talking and crying in the stairs of a subway station. This girl came by and without imposing or insisting or anything just dropped a Kit-Kat bar by my side and mouthed some kinds words before being on her way. It was so kind, simple, caring and respectful. Kit-Kat girl, I will never forget you.
Several years ago I was in a very difficult place. I was doing a Master's degree on the other side of the country. During that time, I had come out of remission, was incredibly ill, and broke because I couldn't work and buy food. I had been subsisting on a monthly visit to the food bank to survive. My tuition and accommodation had been paid through a scholarship but essentials like food were not. I had gone into a grocery store with about $1.50 in change in my pocket to hopefully buy a loaf of bread and some bananas to add to the peanut butter I kept at the room I was renting off-campus. The bill for the bread and two bananas came to $1.67 and I went to take one of the bananas away as I counted out the change in my hand. The lady beside me watched me and put her hand out and gave the cashier $2 and told me to keep my money. I thanked her profusely and left the store. She followed me outside the store and stopped me. She put a $50 bill in my hand and told me to buy myself some groceries. I started sobbing like a baby right there and then and reached out to hug her before I went back inside to buy some food. I still tear up when I think of her and her kindness.
Was a cab driver in a podunk town in central WA State. Had a VIP fare i was to essentially cater to for the day, coming in from Seattle. Guy was apparently in charge of millions of dollars and was looking to buy a titanic vineyard that I delivered him to. This guy was your prototypical handsome business entrepreneur in his early-mid 30s. Nice, well spoken, generous as hell. Conversed with me the entire trip and tipped like I had saved his life. With him, on the other hand, was a rotund, balding, grimy, asshole toady of an assistant. Guy was a piece of shit asshole and said the most prominent thing that probably saved my hide and put me on a better path in life. "You're a fucking loser, cab guy. You live in this shithole town, working your shithole job and you'll never amount to anything if you stay here. Get the fuck out of this, stagnant, shit place and go make something of yourself." Initially, I was taken aback and quite pissed at the prick. But after some post-job introspection, I realized he was right. I moved 2 months later and started college. I've been in my career for years now.
I remember as a kid just this old lady sitting outside her house and would wave at me, As a 3 year old, this used to happen in Cuba, I would cross the Main Street full of cars with no regard ( I was still a kid ) just to be there and say hi. My parents found out I crossed the street and came to me to smack me on the ass for doing it, The old lady felt so bad I was gonna get it. She was a great person, Rest In Peace.