People Describe The Most Memorable Moments They Had With A Stranger Who They Never Saw Again

Chance encounters can be meaningful, even if you never see the person again.

Maybe they impart some wisdom or restore your faith in humanity or just entertain you for a little while.

Reddit user akumamatata8080 asked:

"What’s the most memorable moment you shared with a stranger who you never saw again?"

Germany

"My wife and I were doing a river cruise and we landed in Nurenberg from a bus ride from Prague with a bunch of suitcases that we had to roll across five lanes of traffic. Somebody pointed out that if we went down the stairs, we could go underneath all the traffic."

"So I told my wife to wait and I started taking two pieces of luggage downstairs, when out of the blue, people we did not know grab suitcase for me and my wife, took them down the stairs for us, and help my wife down the stairs."

"They said Have a nice day, smiled, and we never saw them again, but it made our day. That was the start of our two-week river cruise."

~ KlingonJ

Around Town

"I was out with my sister. We noticed an older guy struggling with loading a wardrobe into his truck. I wandered over and offered to give him some help."

"He thanked me, and I helped get it in the truck. Also helped get it secured. He offered to pay me for helping. Nah, just happy to help when I can."

"He understood and just wanted to shake my hand to say thanks. He slipped a twenty to me during the handshake. He just smiled and walked away."

~ OkArgument4487

Chicago

"I was having a really bad day in the Chicago O'Hare airport. It was a long travel day, and with delays and travel headaches, my brain was completely dead at 11:30 pm. January in Chicago."

"I remembered I parked in the parking lot 4C, but couldn’t figure out how to get to it. Like I’d cross the walkway, but there was a gate preventing entry. I tried finding the tunnel I took originally.. couldn’t find it."

"I was traveling from a warm destination so I didn’t have a coat (my fault) and between being outside and walking for like 45 minutes trying to figure out how to get there, i was cold, hungry and I just had a panic attack in the middle of baggage claim."

"I will never forget the hospitality that two Irish women shown me, Nancy in particular. She gently came up to me and asked me if I was okay. I explained the situation, she gave me a hug and they walked around the airport with me looking for assistance and a way there. She gave me all the power I needed to continue my journey home (2 hours home)."

"We found the entrance to the parking lot in the freezing cold, told me I’d be okay,0-p9

]\\\and sent me off. I am forever grateful for Nancy and her friend."

~ ayejaybuck

Dallas

"It was 2005 and I was in the Navy and flying home for the holidays to see my family. I would fly home in my dress blues cause I wanted to impress my dad, who was in the Navy during Nam."

"And you usually get free drinks on the plane (even when I wasn’t of age, but in this story I am barely 21). I’m at the airport bar in the Dallas airport waiting in line to order a beer since I had a couple hours layover."

"The bar is pretty full since a lot of folks were flying for the holidays. I’m about 3rd in line waiting and I hear a woman say 'hey sailor'."

"I turn and see this gorgeous older woman, about 50, sitting at the bar with a smile looking at me. For lack of better term, she was the quintessential MILF. Some grey hair, curvy in the right places, in a dress, heels and a modest amount of nice jewelry. I remember her vividly."

"I point to myself and say 'me?' 'Yea! Come sit next to me.' Yes ma’am. I sit and she asks what I’m drinking. 'Ummm I don’t see Coors Light.' She gets the bartender’s attention immediately and tells him 'he will have a Lone Star. This is Texas honey' and winks at me."

"We chat for about an hour and she bought me all my drinks. She always kept eye contact, smiling and her whole demeanor was she was totally into me. When she asked me where I was going, I told her to Denver to see my family."

"She smiled and said 'that’s too bad, I’m going to Florida' this woman wanted me. She also only had the one drink, the same one she had when I sat with her, Jack and Coke or something similar. So she wasn’t drunk and didn’t have any cues that she had anything to drink more than what she was sipping."

"I heard the announcement that my gate was going to get to boarding soon, so I had to go. She was from Texas, going to Florida for a beach Christmas. I was stationed in Cali, going back to Denver."

"When I got up to leave, told her thank you for the drinks, I really enjoyed chatting with her and hope she had a great trip. She got up, gave me a tight hug, pushing her busty chest into mine and kinda rubbed her leg on my inner thigh."

"Still holding me from the hug, looked me in my eyes, and she said to me and I quote 'it’s really too bad you’re not going to Florida. If I didn’t pay a bunch of money for my resort, I would change my ticket to Denver. Come back to Texas sometime, maybe I’ll meet you here again one day.' This was 2005 so social media and texting culture wasn’t really a thing."

"I don’t think either of us had a cellphone and neither of us offered our number. I think we both knew it was just a moment shared in time and maybe we would see each other again at the airport. I told her I hope so too, gave her a wink, hugged her once more and left."

"I have rode that high for 20 years. I have had maybe three layovers in Dallas since then, and always look for her. Honestly I’ll look for her at any airport bar now lol. I’ll never forget her face. I feel good just remembering it. If you’re out there, ma’am, thank you."

~ sherlock_junior86

Convenience Store

"I stopped at a local convenience store for cigarettes. The guy ahead of me was also trying to buy some, but his card declined and he had no cash. His left hand was heavily bandaged and he seemed really defeated by not being able to complete his purchase."

"As he was walking out, I asked the cashier about him and they told me he'd just lost several fingers in a work accident. I told the cashier to ring up 2 packs of the cigarettes he was trying to get and I'd be right back. Ran outside as he was getting into his car and gave him the cigs."

"He looked at me, confused, and asked, 'What's this?' I told him I'd heard about his accident and figured if anyone could use a smoke, it was him. He got out of his car and with tears starting, grabbed me in a big hug and said, 'Man, you're an angel.' I said, 'Trust me, I'm no angel. I just knew I could help you today'."

"We talked for another minute or so and I wished him a Merry Christmas (this was in early December) and told him I hope he heals quickly. He hugged me again, this time smiling from ear to ear and I went back inside to finish my purchase."

~ Become_Pneuma462

Bus

"Years ago on my way home from work I was riding the bus. It was rush hour so it was packed with commuters."

"On one of the stops an elderly Korean grandfather boarded the bus and I looked up to realize no one had gotten up to offer him a seat. I politely asked one of the passengers who was seated if he wouldn't mind standing to give this elderly man his seat, to which he kindly obliged."

"The elderly man thanked the guy and then thanked me. He asked if I was Korean, and then when I said yes, proceeded to make a bunch of small talk with me."

"I was tired from work, and I absolutely hate small talk, but I begrudgingly engaged in conversation. We didn't talk about anything of substance, really. Just small talk about what my family does, where are they from, etc..."

"When it came for him to get off the bus, he slowly stood up and as he walked away, he turned back to me, put his hand on my shoulder, and told me that when I get home I should call my mother and father and tell them that they did a good job raising me; that I was showing a lot of respect to the elderly, which, in Korean culture is extremely important."

"I got home, settled down and began to just lounge to watch TV when suddenly I broke down and cried. I had absolutely no idea what the f*ck was going on. Once I settled my emotions, I gathered that I had realized that I never had a grandfather, as both of them died before I was born."

"For whatever reason, that elderly man on the bus must have somehow triggered some deep emotional longing that I seemingly had for a grandfather. It was super strange and totally outside of my character."

"This happened 20 yrs ago and I can still see his face and hear his voice. Never saw him again, and I most likely never will, but any time I come across these kinds of posts about interactions with strangers, I always think of this man who made me cry."

~ orange_cuse

Pizza Delivery

"When I was a delivery driver for Pizza Hut, there was one woman who broke down crying after counting her cash. She said she just wanted to treat her kid to a good meal for doing good in school and thought she had enough."

"She was only a few cents short, but I told her to keep it and gave her the food. I was struggling too, but seeing her face light up as she gave me a hug was worth it to me."

~ HSIOT55

Flight

"Flying from Virginia to North Carolina, there was a maybe mid 20s guy, really tall. I'll mention he was Black to paint a picture since you brought up first impressions. He seemed like a normal dude, but what I didn't expect is what happened next."

"He had also never been on a plane and told me he had always been afraid to fly, but he was doing a surprise visit to see his girlfriend who was on a long term work trip."

"I explained that the only scary parts are take off and landing. Maybe turbulence, but that's normal and he shouldn't worry unless the flight attendants are worried."

"When we are about to take off he says, 'Dude, can you please hold my hand?' No problem my guy. We will make it together. He squeezed my hand so hard!"

"But once we reached cruising altitude he let go and thanked me. As he adjusted to flying I convinced him to look out the window. That man didn't look away until we landed."

"When we landed he thanked me again, and said he had just built it up in his head, but he was glad we sat together."

~ eatMYcookieCRUMBS

Burger King

"I was new to the state like… 12 years ago, when a stranger jump-started my car once. I stopped at Burger King after work, went in and got some food to go, and my battery was dead when I got out."

"My now fiancé was at work and couldn’t help me, so I called my dad (I don’t know why because he was like… 2000 miles away) because it was getting dark and I wasn’t sure what to do."

"A guy pulled up and also went in to get food while I was standing there, and came back out and saw I was still there with the hood open, and offered to help. Put his food in the car, gave me a jump, and then presumably went home."

~ Scrabulon

Accident

"Got into a hit and run accident early in the morning, driver who hit me saw I was alive and drove off. The car was burning and I just sat there in a complete daze, all I could think of was where my phone had gone."

"A stranger stopped and pulled me out of the car, walked me to the side of the highway and held me until the paramedics arrived. They left at some point, and I never got their name, barely remember what they looked like."

"The only thing I could remember later was a sticker for a specific animal rescue, centered around an unusual animal. I donated my entire bonus to that animal rescue. I didn’t know how else to say thank you."

~ Swiftlocalvandal

Indiana

"I used to spend summers on a lake in Indiana that was quite boring. One summer (I was going into 8th grade), a girl next door was visiting her grandma for a few days. We met each other outside, chatted each other up and I can tell you it was love at first sight."

"She was the most beautiful thing I had ever set my eyes on. She was nice, my age, great smile, hot, laughed a lot and just so much energy and fun. I was absolutely enamored and in love. Best part, she was into me too."

"We spent the next two days just flirting, hanging out, watching movies, swimming.... just normal teenage stuff. The last night there we were outside after dark and just goofing around and sitting in the front lawn."

"We had one of those moments you see in movies where we both looked at each other in silence and we knew what was about to happen. We made out. It was magical."

"She explained that she was leaving the next day, but was sad and wanted to see me again. She said we'd see each other again the next summer, and she was going to be there the whole summer. We lived in different states."

"We hugged, made out again, and went into our houses. The next morning, she was just gone. I spent the whole next school year thinking about her, all the time. When summer time was approaching again, I was so excited to go back up to the lake house."

"When we got there, I learned her grandma died during the school year, and there was a for-sale sign on the lawn. I was absolutely crushed. Worst summer ever. I didn't even remember her name. We never saw each other again."

~ MurphyBacon

Gas Station

"I was pulling into a gas station, and a man was standing next to his truck with jumper cables."

"We made eye contact and he raised the cables, like asking a question. So I pulled up and popped the hood, he connects the cables, and then starts his truck up, takes them off, closes the hood and I drive away."

"We never spoke a word to each other. It was the most successful nonverbal communication I've ever experienced."

~ AtlantikSender

Iowa

"My brother and I traveled to Davenport, Iowa, to watch Pearl Jam. It was a bit of a drive from Indiana."

"Anyways, my brother had the tickets in will call. We get in line after hours of driving and finally get to the ticket booth and give them the name the tickets were under."

"They looked for 5 minutes trying to find our tickets and nothing. We finally decided to let the couple behind us go ahead and get their tickets."

"That's when they found our tickets, mixed in with theirs (the couple behind us). I haven't thought about that in awhile."

"Leaving at the perfect time driving the perfect speed arriving at the perfect time just ahead of that couple. It was a great show too!"

~ Mrben13

First Flight

"The best one I had? I was flying from Birmingham, Alabama, to Los Angeles once. My seatmate was an elderly woman from Mississippi. She was flying out to LA to visit her granddaughter, and it was the very first time she'd ever been on a plane. She was nervous and had a few questions."

"I could have retreated into my shell and buried myself in a book. But instead, I chose to engage her. I even let her switch seats so she could look out the window."

"While we flew, I learned her life story. Her father was an officer in the Army, so she and her mother sailed to Japan as part of the occupation. There, she learned a little Japanese and told me stories about the Japanese people trying to rebuild their country."

"She told me about moving home, getting married, and starting a farm in Mississippi. She told me about smuggling Civil Rights activists in the trunk of her car through roadblocks manned by unsuspecting law enforcement officers. And so on."

"And, as we were flying, she took note of the dappled clouds below us and said, "We call that a 'buttermilk sky'."

"When we changed planes in Dallas, I helped her get through that nightmare of an airport. And, as luck would have it, she was also my seatmate on the flight to Los Angeles. The conversation continued as she took in the scenery of the West."

"Upon arrival at the airport, I helped her with her suitcase at the baggage carousel and waited for her granddaughter to pick her up. I met the granddaughter, too, who had been worried about her grandmother navigating air travel for the first time. The woman expressed her thanks for the friendship and rode away."

"I've thought a great deal of that conversation ever since. How we don't realize how rich and textured the lives of perfect strangers might be. How, if we're willing to look past our stereotypes and first impressions and our own self-absorption, the surprises that are waiting in the discovery of others."

"And to this day, 15 years later, whenever I look up to see small puffs of cloud dotting the sky, the term 'buttermilk sky' always comes to mind."

~ AnybodySeeMyKeys

Hockey Game

"Last night at a hockey game."

"As we were going to our seats before the game started, he and his girlfriend were coming the opposite way. His car key fob dropped out of his stuff onto the floor and neither of them noticed. I grabbed it and ran after them."

"He either was deaf or didn't speak English. I got his attention and showed him his fob, and the look of relief and thanks on his face was profound. We nodded at each other and parted ways."

"After the game, I was standing in line to catch the train back to my car. I'd purchased some stuff at the team shop and they put it in a paper bag with handles. It was flimsy and had already started to rip, when one more jostle made it give out. I put my phone down on the railing and picked up my stuff."

"I inadvertently left my phone on the railing (with my digital train tickets!) but didn't realize it until about 2 minutes later when I padded my pockets."

"Right then, a hand from behind tapped me."

"It was the same guy whose fob I'd saved 3 hours earlier. Now it was my turn to experience panic then immediate relief. But when we recognized each other we had a 'record scratch' moment, then we both burst out laughing. Fist bumped each other and went on our way."

"Debt repaid."

~ peppersteak_headshot

What's your most interesting interaction with a stranger.