People Describe The One Stranger They'll Never Forget

So who here still depends on the kindness of strangers?

1986

"I was leaving the hospital in 1986 with my husband and newborn. A lady in the elevator admired the baby and then looked at us and said, 'be good to each other.' We weren’t."

potato_bod_mom

Pay it Forward

"When I was 18 I was at McDonalds trying to get breakfast for all the guys from work, I came up like 5 bucks short and this old guy paid the difference and said 'you’ll have to help somebody out someday too.' So now whenever I get the chance to do something like that for someone that’s what I say. I hope the cycle makes it back to that guy."

hockeybag7

Thank You!!

"One day I woke up and had a headache. And that headache lasted every day for 2 years. I saw every doctor I could and tried every diet I could. No answers. My quality of life was non-existent and I was on the cusp of losing my job. I was at a restaurant with my mom, I was on one of my specialty diets that was supposed to help with headaches (spoilers, it wasn't)."

"I asked the waitress what was in the salad dressing. She asked 'I know it's none of my business, but can I ask why"' A short conversation later, she mentioned a doctor that worked specifically for people dealing with mold toxicity, otherwise known as MYCOTOXICOSIS."

"That waitress saved my life that day and I don't even remember her name. This was in Superior, Colorado at the now closed CB&Potts. If you happen to read this, you have no idea how grateful my family and I are to have run into you that day. Thank you."

thisendup76

Thanks Sweet Lady

"I had a person like this when I was a kid and I left my wallet next to a vending machine at the mall and when I came back it was gone. I lost a whole 7 dollars and I was devastated. This sweet little old lady saw me having a melt down and I was freaking out about how my parents were going to kill me and this lady legit gave me a 20."

"To an 8 year old who gets 2$ allowance per week a 20 was like getting handed 300$ as an adult. I hope it came back around for her too. Since this was in 1997 and she was probably 70 I don't think she would still be alive today."

mikee8989

Eat Up

"The Sikh man I met on a flight from god-knows-where to London who invited me to their temple to eat for free."

EbonicalHillbilly

I'm amazed. There are good people in the world. Still jaded.

Thank you stranger...

"My anxiety was at it's peak and I was walking home from school. Then someone came up to me and just started talking to be like I was a normal person."

"Social skills were @ss, but he didn't seem to care. Gave me the confidence I needed to start doing the same and helping others who were lonely. Thank you, stranger. It was because of him that I was able to help others get out of their Social awkwardness."

p1tch-dark__

Freezing

"It was around February 2016 and the city got hit with a massive snow storm, I remember waiting at the bus stop with a mother and her child in a stroller. The bus was 45 minutes delayed, it was very cold with the wind chill, when the bus arrived we both got on."

"I chose a seat of the opposite side of the bus and this mother and her now crying child was sitting near the front, I could see that the mother was trying to warm her sons hands but was having no luck while her child kept crying. I moved from my seat and sat next to her and took her child’s hands in my hands. His hands were freezing while mine were toasty from my gloves."

"After about 5 minutes, the child calmed down and the bus was quiet again. I stayed with that mother and child for almost 2 hours on the bus until we finally got to our stop. I never learned of the child’s name or the mothers. I just simple sat there with them warming her child’s freezing hands up."

Niishin

Stay for Me

"I don’t remember him, just what he did for me. I was 19, got t-boned in an intersection by someone running a red and was knocked unconscious. He was a witness, and I think someone said he was the first person to call 9-1-1. He took my phone while I was out (before the days of locking phones), called my house, no one home, called my dad’s cell, which was answered."

"He told my dad what had happened and which hospital the paramedics said they were taking me to, and somehow managed to avoid making my dad panic about me. I mostly came to before I got loaded into the ambulance, at which point he gave me back my phone and said my parents would meet me at the hospital."

"I gather he then stayed to talk to the cops to speak up for me because I didn’t remember what had happened and the other driver kept saying it was my fault. I never got to thank him for going so far out of his way to help a complete stranger."

DefunctPenguin

I think about her often...

"I believe I was 19 at the time. I worked at Walmart at time and was working in the back that day when a lady that worked in the meat department was walking past me crying, I hugged her and asked what was wrong. She was covered in bruises and she told me her boyfriend beat her. She opened up and told me she was leaving him so I asked if she needed a place to stay that way she's safe and she told me no."

"Turns out he was waiting outside for her during her lunch, I once again asked if she was okay and if she needed help and she said no. After that night I never saw her again. I have no idea if she is alive and safe. I hope she's okay, I think about her often."

Vampire_Bun

Crash

"This guy that helped me out after I rolled my truck, he was late for work because he stayed with me until the tow truck got there. Really restored my faith in humanity."

hockeybag7

Look me up...

"About 11 yrs ago my boyfriend unexpectedly passed away in his sleep. I had moved to his state so after his passing I was making plans to move back. I was sitting at the cemetery, in tears, basically saying one last goodbye. A really nice lady stopped and came over and asked if I was OK."

"She sat for a few minutes and talked with me. She gave me her name, which I didn't remember, and said to look her up in FB if I wanted to talk. She was on her way to church and stopped to check on a stranger, which I always thought was a nice thing."

depressed_jess

Beautiful

"I was at the 99 cent store when I was twelve with my aunt, picking up some balloons. An older lady asks her if she can touch my shoulder and my aunt said yes (she thought if she said no I would get evil eye) and then she turned to me touched me, then said 'you have a beautiful soul.'"

"'I don’t see many these days. Hopefully it will stay that way' then she walked out leaving me baffled and confused.Sometimes i still think about her and what she said. Think about if I’m still the same person and the growth I’ve had as a person was for better or worse."

notafoetoallenpoe

"Elly"

"One time when I was younger me and my family went to Washington D.C. We went to the holocaust museum, and near the end of it, there was this lady handing out books. They were called 'Elka's Growing Up in a Changing World.' She explains that she is the author of the book and she was handing copies out to children."

"It turns out she is a survivor of the holocaust and this book is just a few of her memories from WW2. This woman is named Elka 'Elly' Gross and I got to meet her before I knew it would probably be a one-in-a-lifetime experience."

Surnamesalot

Wordless

"In Hungary, I live in Budapest, it's a big city with 2 million people, but there is very few African people. I was 11 or 12 years old when I first met a black gentleman with his daughter. I couldn't speak English and I give them my seat on the tram. They were so kind and grateful. It was special to communicate without words."

osami2002

Cry...

"Walking home from school one day, a guy was audibly crying on the step in front of his house path. As I'm walking by I look at him a bit and he says something along the lines of 'It's ok boy, I'm just upset. My mum died. I'm so upset.' and I don't really know what to say so I just sorta keep walking and as I'm walking away I hear him yell what sounded like 'WAAAAHHHH' you know like how a baby cries? But not in a baby voice at all. Idk who that guy was but I hope he's doing well."

KindaAlrightPerhaps

The Collection

"I bought a stuffed animal from this fair, and this kind, elderly woman saw it and started talking about how cute it was. I told her how I had this wall covered with shelves of stuffed animals, and she told me she had a lot as well. In the end, she told me to never be ashamed of my stuffed animal collection no matter how old I got and if somebody makes fun of me I have the right to say that I met an 80+ year old woman who still has a bunch of stuffed animals at home."

thetinytiger2021

Next Time

"I was going into work and saw a homeless dude crawling out of a drenched sleeping bag. I had $5 on me, so I gave it to him so he could get a hot coffee from the donut place across the street. He thanked me and said he bets I'd have won if I bought a lottery ticket instead, but I don't buy them I replied. He says to me, 'you'll win the next time you buy one.' It's been over a decade and I still have the hobo luck he gave me that day. I've still never bought a lottery ticket."

RoadsideLuchador

Hey Bud

"This random guy, beach surfer type, pulled up on me and my boyfriend on 4/20, knew we didn’t have bud, and gave us a fat 4g nug for the holiday AND smoked us up. Wish I could return the favor."

allshewrote0131

Some people just leave a lasting impression. So better. Be kind.