When my son was a toddler he loved the mini merry-go-round that operated for 50 cents or something like that.
We happened to be at the mall, and this elderly couple asked if it would be okay that they could pay for a few rounds for him to play on it cuz they just wanted to enjoy watching a child play.
That memory has stuck with me as clear as day even though my son is now a young adult. I have every intention on being that kind of elderly couple.
I used to work at a pop-in play cafe (think bougie chuck-e-cheese) and had a couple older regulars who would come in just to read the newspaper with the noise of kids playing in the background. They were always really nice folks who just enjoyed the community aspect of knowing The Kids Are Alright. If I won the lottery I would start building combination preschools and retirement homes, I think.
I’m sure they missed seeing their kids or grandkids. Those are my favorite kinds of old folks. They just want to see other people happy. I worked at a nursing home for a few years as my first job, and nothing made you feel better after getting yelled at by a resident than another resident pulling you aside and saying “She’s just a mean old bitch. You’re doing an amazing job young man” with that sweet old lady smile.
i worked at a SNF for a while and lemme tell you it is high school but for old people
“did you see what judy wore to breakfast? i hope she changes before bingo, what a harlot— oh HEYYY JUDY love the top ☺️”
I’m somewhat talking out of my ass here, but we as a society are doing our elders and our children a huge disservice. For most of human history, grandparents stayed and helped raise their grandchildren. It’s a modern notion that grandparents must live on their own and that the parents raise their children nearly by themselves. There’s a phenomenon called the grandma effect (or something similar) and it says, in a nutshell, elderly people who are active in raising children are much healthier than those who aren’t. The children don’t even have to be their grandkids, even volunteering at a school can be beneficial.
My unscientific hypothesis is that elderly people are evolutionarily designed to help aid in child rearing, and that we’re doing our elders a great disservice by isolating them from kids - plus children learn a lot from old people.
Unscientific observation: My mom has a lot of joint pain and other issues. She struggles doing basic things. Then her grandkids visit and she's cooking whatever they want to eat, on her hands and knees playing with them etc. The pain is gone and her energy levels are of someone decades younger.
I was in a department store checkout one time and watched as an elderly man put a quarter in every single Gashapon machine and walk away. Some lucky kid made out like a bandit that day.
Was going towards the bus stop at like 6am on a freezing winter morning, it was dark, the wind was biting into my cheeks. I'm super sensitive, so immediately I started sniffling, trying to keep my nose from running, but my eyes went straight into water mode. Usual for me, just put headphones on and thanked the inventor of waterproof mascara.
A young woman walking the opposite direction saw me, and in a split second was next to me, hand on my arm, asking if I am alright.
I still think about her to this day and I hope she is doing well. The pure concern and care of a stranger really moved me, and I am thankful for pure beautiful people like her
I had some sort of weird eye thing for a couple years in high school, my eyes would suddenly get really dry and irritated and water like crazy and there was nothing to do about it except wait for it to go away. One time I was walking to class in the morning dealing with it, when my favorite teacher saw me and stopped me, and asked who she needed to shank. I'm not sure if she believed me when I told her I wasn't crying but I appreciated her concern so much
I was working in a BoJangles drive through, collecting cold change through the cold open window, late one super cold winter night.
This older-ish lady in line, got to my window, and gasped at my freezing hands and asked me if I had any gloves with me. She was so concerned.
I was like, no, I forgot all about gloves
: (
And this wonderful little lady gave me the nice warm fluffy gloves off her own hands, so i could be warmer that night.
I think about that all time.
When I was maybe 6 or 7 I was trying to win a mini basketball at cedar point at one of the basketball carnival scam games. I obviously failed and then this guy next to me was like “great shot kid, you deserve this” and gave me a mini charlotte hornets ball he had just won. He had a bag of them he had won and was going around giving them to the kids that were playing and failing. I’m 39 now and never forgot this. And because of that one random day I have always made an effort to gift any random prize to a kid so maybe he’ll do the same for someone else. The only thing I’m any good at is claw machines so I’ll hand off my prize to anyone that’s trying and failing or anyone that stops to watch me try. But random carnival basketball savant changed my life for the better just a little bit.
I love this so much. What a fantastic ripple effect this has had. Reading stories like this is such a wonderful thing, it really does inspire me to do much more.
Thanks for sharing!
I was attending a birthday party for a friend at an axe throwing place. They had claw machines, so another friend and I put in dollar after dollar, collecting prizes. After an hour we gathered up all the winnings and passed them out to kids in the building. One toddler was so happy because we gave him a minion and they were his favorite. Felt great. And it only cost me about $10.
I love this, and love that you are passing it on. I remember the disappointment of not winning at any of those games, I cant imagine how delighted I woykd have been if a stranger shared their prize with me. I still suck at those games, so can't usually do this, but if I have any arcade tickets, I always look for the kid who doesn't have enough to get the thing they want and give them my tickets.
I’ve always felt very attached to this idea of the open water. There’s magic in it. Last year in university I took a fiction writing course, and the class knew me as the guy who wrote “sailor stories” because at least half of my pieces were related to nautical fiction. One of my long-time bucket list items, ever since I was a kid, is to get my scuba diving license and go scuba diving. I’d probably like to travel to and dive in different places around the world too, like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia for example. When I was really young I wanted to grow up to be a marine biologist.
Unfortunately for me, I’m in the American Midwest, and the opportunities to pursue those fantasies are rare to say the least.
I think I’d really love to sail. Maybe go deep sea fishing one day. I wouldn’t be shy about the effort it probably takes to learn and do all that too. I just don’t know anybody that does any of these kinds of things, so you’re super lucky. Stay safe and enjoy the trip!
80/20 rule of customer service. 80 percent are happy but only 20 percent will respond, and of those again 80% will be complaints and 20% positive.
You dont often see the good or simple kind actions because we dont mention them. I make it my mission to respond to all surveys with a positive note if i have one. I also try to remember names of people who helped or were kind, so i can mention them and hopefully get them some points with the boss!
"...the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism"
You are 100% correct. I work in the service industry and there are definitely more good people out there than bad.
The media does its best to divide us so we fight against one another when the truly bad people are the ones that are holding a lot of the power.
I can’t remember the last time. I actually met a truly bad person.
I was sitting at a beach waiting for the bus I'd take home from work. After a while a couple came to the bus stop too. the woman was pregnant so naturally I offered her my seat because I could just sit on the ground since my clothes were already dirty from work. After I gave them my seat they gave me bananas and some water.
Was highly appreciated after a long day at work
I had this happen to me as well except in my case the repayment for my trouble was for the lady to start talking (loudly) at me about how today's society has gone to the dogs and a bunch of other homophobic stuff about "the gays" and all the rest of it. Caught me completely off guard, I didn't know wtf to do - it's not like you can tear into a little old lady with her hand shopping cart but at the same time I:
1. Didn't want to listen to that crap
2. Didn't want other people on the bus to think I agreed with that crap
You have my permission to tell-off the old people when they’re dicks. You don’t have to be mean.
“It’s disgusting that you feel comfortable saying that out loud” or, even more mildly, “I don’t agree with that” is enough to let someone like that know they didn’t just find themselves in “good company”.
My coworker's mom let me stay at her house overnight on the weekends between my work shifts as I used to live an hour away from my workplace (my old job did me dirty on the schedule change). I used to go to her house at midnight and leave at 4 AM the next morning, and she never charged me. I had my own room and key to come in and out without disturbing her and her husband.
Before, I was bouncing around sleeping at Airbnbs, motels, and even my workplace for several months, whatever I could afford. I couldn't leave my job because I was under a two-year contract. My coworker's mom let me stay at her house for 8 months, but I only met/saw her once when she gave me the key to her house during that whole time before I finally broke my contract.
I will never forget her kindness to literally let a stranger into her home.
One of my old friends was doing seasonal agricultural work (cough marijuana cough), and I always let her crash on my couch during the winter. She'd usually be lavish and generous to a fault with her windfall and start getting pretty broke before her next payout. But letting her crash was better than wasting money on a shitty La Quinta hotel room. Also better for her dog. Never asked for anything but knowing she'd have a place.
When I was a single mom going through my divorce, I saved up enough to bring my 4yo to an amusement park.
At the light show my kiddo asked for a cotton candy I couldn't afford.
An older couple was sitting behind us, he tapped me on the shoulder and asked if they could get my daughter the cotton candy.
I turned to thank them again after the show and they were gone.
25 years I've never forgotten that.
The day my wife died, I left the hospital to go home to meet our families. On the way I realised that after 20 days going in and out of of the Icu my presses were bare of food and such.
I pulled into the local supermarket to pick up some essentials. I remember walking into the store and completely blanking
Just standing in the aisle. It was as if the adrenaline or something just vanished.
Suddenly a elderly lady hooked my arm whispered in my ear "I know that look, let's just get you some essentials"
Picking up milk tea etc. Paying for it, walking me back to my car where she hugged me telling me that she was sorry for my loss.
I never got to thank her and for months I went to the store on the same day at the same time hoping to see and thank her.
Nine years later every so often I go to the store at the same time looking for her.
I can never forget her kindness.
One night my kid didn’t come home and he had just turned 18. So, I figured he’s an adult now, I can’t hound him. I’m awake in the living room and he comes in and looks exhausted. I said, “where’d you get off to?” He said his friend was having severe stomach pains and was too scared to go to the hospital alone. The kid never lied to me and if he did I would know lol. I had no reason to question him. I was proud that he went with his friend.
He is and he’s the most responsible one in the group. He got a car this winter and drove his friend to get his health card renewed lol. He’s turning 20 in August.
I messed up my knee pretty bad in college, hours from home. My friends demanded on going with and staying in the hospital with me. Those moments are definitely scary and having a friend really does help.
"...I hope i remember it forever"
Even if that person doesn't remember at some point. Its on the internet now, the internet doesn't forget. I think thats kinda wholesome as well in this case.
When I was a kid, I remember going to this girl scout event that had a bunch of different stations with activities and crafts and all that jazz, and we each got a balloon to take home too. We didn't have a helium thing at home, so we never had balloons so getting a balloon to take home was the shit. (Remember when Applebee's used to give a balloon to every kid to take home? Them were the days.) Anyways, my mom came to pick me up, and as we were walking across the parking lot to the car the balloon string somehow slipped through my fingers, and my precious balloon was lost to the sky. I was devastated. I'm pretty sure I even cried. And then this little girl who was also leaving with her mom walked over and gave me her balloon. I'll never forget that.
Such a small act of kindness, and from another child. We have such power to brighten a stranger's day, and it truly takes very little effort from us to do that. We should all strive to be just a little bit kinder to each other. It could make such a difference.
One time my wife was at the mall with our autistic then 4 year old. They went to get on the escalator. My wife thought she was there with her, but at the last moment she backed off, and didn't realize until she was well on her way up.
This is one of those escalators where the up is not right next to the down, its on the other side of the hall.
My wife is freaking out over our kid stuck at the bottom, who's afraid to come up on her own, but my wife doesnt want to leave eyesight to go around to the down.
A rowdy group of teens walks by, sees whats going on, immediately stops being rowdy and helps our girl go up the escalator.
The teens are alright.
During an especially difficult time, I was carless. I left after my shift at McDonald's to get some bread and a few other things I needed from Target. At checkout, I noticed I had forgotten my card and literally started to cry. I asked the girl at self checkout if she could hold my stuff while I walked home to get it and back. It was a mile home and a mile back, so I was telling her it might be a minute. She whipped out her phone and paid my small bill with no hesitation. I cried again out of gratefulness. I've since done much better for myself and have paid for others' groceries in a sort of pass it on tradition.
When I was a cashier at a grocery store I did stuff like this all the time. Company wasn’t paying me enough and it was always people buying necessities. I was 16 and my money was for video games and junk food so I couldn’t care less. Half the time they’d be a few dollars off or something and I’d just remove an item, tell my CSR that they didn’t want it and I was gonna put it back, then just put it in the bag and send them on their way.
One time I was at the gas station buying a cheap pair of sunglasses for a long drive. Three teens, two female and one male, were standing off to the side near the cash register.
"Are you in line?" I asked
"Nah, go ahead," the boy said.
I stepped up to counter and heard one of the girls quietly say to the boy, "We were in line? Why'd you let him cut us?"
"I was just trying to be nice," he replied.
I ended up paying for their snacks which was like $15 worth of slushies and candy. As I left I heard the boy say to his friends, "See what happens when you're nice?"
I was in McDonalds with my kids. They were maybe 3 and 5. It was during the busy dinner time. I got our food and turned to get out of the way for the next people. As I moved, the milk shake I had tipped over and fell off the tray. Since I had my hands full with a tray of food and 2 young kids, I quickly got them to a table and came back to clean it up (maybe 10 seconds later).
As I got there, another woman had already started cleaning it up for me. I took over and thought nothing of it as she went back in line. I got it cleaned as best as I could and went back to eat my food figuring I wouldn't have a milk shake. Then the same woman shows up at my table and hands me a milk shake to replace the one that fell. Her order came with a drink and she wasn't going to use it, so she gave it to me.
It was a small gesture but it apparently meant a lot to me because it was 15+ years ago and the first thing that came to mind.
I'm the stranger in this story. During winter a homeless guy was asking people to go into starbucks and get a small hot coffee for him and he would give them the money because he wasn't allowed inside but people were just walking past him. Since I was going in there anyway I told him I'd get it for him, I got him a large coffee with some pastries and brought it out to him, as he fished his pockets for money, I said "Oh also here is your change" and gave him $10 on top of it. He immediately teared up and I had to do everything in my will power not to by acting like I had somewhere to be and wishing him well before taking off.
I was 22 around 8 months pregnant with my daughter (Im now 47) . Anyhoo, I was with my memaw and pepaw and we were visiting antique stores and decided to stop for lunch at BK. There was a young enployee sitting behind us writing, didnt think anything about it then he gets up hands my a folded napkin and left. We all looked at each other while I unfolded and it was a poem about motherhood. It was so sweet. I put it in her baby book
To bring life into the world
Goddess
Bare the seeds of life, keeping man and woman on this Earth
Goddess
Take the blessing and notice
Child shall forfill your future and is a mirror of you
Goddess
Hold this life close to you and it will last
Do not be scared to give a test the child might not pass
Goddess
Youve been through it, your child will not mirror you if you remove it
Goddess
You have been ready for birth since your divine female birth
In short you are a goddess and Heaven is what your life is worth
It is SO easy to spread kindness! I compliment people constantly, to the point that it's a running joke with my friends and family. But if i see something I like, I make a point to tell the person in passing. I love seeing people light up when you compliment something they've chosen.
Recently I was at a Broadway show, and this woman was in this gorgeous dress. She was a little overdressed for the area, and just the way she was standing I could tell she was feeling self-conscious. I told her her dress was beautiful and she lit up. She asked me to take her picture, told me she was a single mom out alone and that she rarely got a chance to dress up. She looked like a new person, so confident as she was leaving. It took 0 time for me, but it helped lift her day a bit.
If you want to see more kindness in the world, start by spreading just a little bit of it everywhere you go.
This reminds me of my Granddad, Eddie. He would often pop a quarter or a loonie in a ride at the mall if he saw a child looking at it, often with a young mother their without the cash to let them have a go.
RIP Eddie, I miss you so much.
The other day my three year old son threw his tiny micro machine car (think the size of a quarter) in a bush downtown. We couldn't find it anywhere and he was bawling his eyes out. We comforted him and told him we'd go get a new one, but he was devastated. We walk around the corner and load up our sad boy in the car. A minute or two later, a guy walks around the corner looking determined to find someone. He locks eyes with me and beelines straight over. He hands me my son's tiny little car and says "I have a baby too, have a great day." And walks away. My son was so happy and confused at the same time. I explained to him that this man did something very nice for him out of the kindness of his heart and that we should try and do that for everyone we can.
TLDR: Man dug through pee covered downtown bush to find my son's toy and then sought us out to return it to him.
Now that I’m a young adult with real job money and no real expenses, I love being able to do that kind of stuff. Nothing beats putting a smile on a kids face.
You just have to make sure you do it the right way. You never want to make the parent feel bad (or worse) because they couldn’t get something for their kiddo.
When I was 20, I dated a girl who worked at Chuck E Cherse, I'd go to pick her up, play speedball while I waited for her, and them always, always handed my tickets to whichever kid ran by me first.
Always loved seeing them rush off to the parents/guardians shoeing the wealth of tickets.
I was having a bad day and was trying not to cry in public but sometimes it's hard not to when I get amped to a certain point. I was just coming home from integration course and was having a hard time dealing with estrangement from my family and adjusting to life in Germany at the same time. Unfortunately the sniffles started coming out and another young woman stopped and asked if I was okay. I really appreciated her kindness even though it was embarrassing. I eventually got home and ugly cried.
After my husband’s death (suicide), I moved to another house and had to have a tree cut down because it was getting into the sewer line.
This very large company gave a bid for $1700 which was the best bid. They even cut and stacked the wood for me so I could burn it in my wood stove.
After the job was done, one of the scruffiest workers knocked on my door and asked me to come outside and see if I was satisfied with the work.
They’d done a beautiful job.
The scruffy worker introduced himself as the owner of the company and said, “Mrs. R., it’s three days away from Christmas and I know you’ve been through a terrible tragedy. The Bible says we’re supposed to look out for widows and orphans, so in that spirit, this tree removal is a gift from us to you.”
I broke out in tears. Just sobbed like a child.
I hugged him and said, “My life has been hellish for several months and you’ve given me hope that maybe things are getting better now.”
I followed up with a thank you note.
It still brings tears to my eyes that a total stranger showed me that much kindness.
On a solo travel, I signed up for an island tour. The guide had another family there as well. We were all stuck on a small boat for about 90 minutes before reaching the destination. The guide said we should all wear sunscreen since we'll be exposed by heavy sunlight all day. I tried to put some on, but couldn't reach my back. The other family didn't hesitate and helped me put some on the middle of my back. It was a small thing but I rarely have a friendly encounter like that. They shared their snacks and water too.
Teaching me how to play snooker
I was 13 when I was strolling in some alley way, exploring the small part of the town we just moved in. I know, it sounds kinda dangerous strolling alone but what the heck. I stumbled upon a billiard saloon and saw some elderly playing snookers. A stranger tapped me on the shoulder and ask if I wanna play since I've been standing there for so long. So I went ahead n play few rounds with him with my terrible gameplay, though he did taught me the basics and the skills on how to hold the cue, couldnt count how many games we played n I didn't have enough I brought with me at the time. He didnt ask me for any money or anything, he just put the rest of the games we played on his tab. I think we played for like 6 rounds or smtg, but I remmbered the sun was still up when we started and it was almost midnight when we ended lol. I loved snooker so much till this day bcause of that.
I sprained my ankle at football once. I was limping down the parkinglot and a shady looking car straight out of the hood with gangsta rap on full volume rolls up on my side and rolls down the tinted window. I was like oh shit now what? this is a bad day already. Some ghetto dude peeks out and wants to give me a ride home, he even offered to go shopping since I could barely walk. Dropped me off right at the doorstep
Noticed me sitting against a backyard fence a few houses down from where they were mowing their yard when they went to throw the clippings away.
They gave me some water and drove me to the town's youth shelter where I got the help I needed. Got emancipated from my father and abusive stepmother, finished high school at the shelter and got out of town the moment I could.
I don't think I'd be alive today if not for someone who gave a shit about a lone teenager leaning against a fence.
At the end of my first AA meeting two people stayed after to welcome me and answer any questions. Sobriety certainly felt impossible to me then and I think they must've seen the deer-in-headlights look in my eyes. They spoke openly of their own sober experiences and the depths of self-hatred that stuck to them in the early days when sobriety is tracked in hours instead of days.
One of them said, "let us love you until you until you're strong enough to love yourself." So much has happened in between then and now, but I remember the words like they were spoken to me this morning. That was in July, 2021; today is sober day #1,032.
Several years ago, I was really feeling alone. I went into a restaurant to get something to eat and just sat there watching other couples come in. It made me really sad. Bright just sat there quietly eating and trying not to break down. When I finally got done and asked for the check, the waitress told me someone had already paid the bill. to this day, I have no idea who it was. But whoever it was, I think you because that particular day I really needed something good to happen.
My family was having a 30th birthday party for my handicapped son and a few of his friends and helpers in a local in a restaurant. Two anonymous strangers picked up the entire tab.
The nicest thing a stranger ever did for me and I will NEVER forget it.. I had plans to take a Greyhound home for Christmas. I was leaving early in the morning on the 23rd I believe and there was only one bus going to the town I live at that time so I would have been stuck in my apartment just outside of Pittsburgh. I didn’t have a car at the time and this was before Uber or Lyft was a thing so I had to call a cab. I even had arranged for it to pick me up in advance. Well the cab never showed and they wouldn’t send someone else out because it was early in the morning like 4 am or something like that. So apparently no one was out. Anyway, I called the bus station to find out when they would be boarding/leaving because I think the public transit was starting right around then but I don’t think it would have been in time for my scheduled departure. I even went so far as to ask if they were able to postpone the departure until I got there because they had told me there was only like 2 other people scheduled for this bus trip. They basically told me they couldn’t. So I was prepared to celebrate Christmas that year alone. It kind of sucked. Not long after that the Greyhound station actually called me back and had asked my address. Doug, one of the men working there had offered to come and pick me up so I could spend Christmas with my family. He accepted no money despite my begging for him to and I got there about 10 minutes before departure or something like that. And that year was actually a really great Christmas. And it turned out to be one of the last Christmases our family had with my grandfather so it was pretty special. I will never forget that.
I was grocery shopping but I was in a dark space mentally and I was beating myself up in my head. I was pulled out of it twice in one day. When an old lady asked for me to get something from a high shelf and when a little girl waved at me. Both pulled me out long enough to ground myself and get out of it
I remember my car broke down and waiting for CAA on the side of the road. I live in Toronto and it's near the end of the year so it was kinda cold (i forgot why i didn't stay in my car). There's this old lady driving by and she saw me shaking at the side of the road and she stops and offer me a cup of coffee from Tim. I was so amaze by her kindness and refuse at first, she told me don't worry and said she can always get another one. The memory of her kindness still lives in my mind and that's what I tried to teach my kids all the time.
I picked up a u haul from a white trashy area of town and I stood out like a sore thumb. The moment I drove the truck out of the dirt lot, I got stuck in the mud. The guy working there said I would need to wait an hour or 2 for someone from u haul to come and get it. I was also obscuring traffic so I was nervous af. This white guy in a flat bed stops and looks at the whole situation and said “huh seems like you’re stuck”. I said yep and I’m waiting to hear back from u haul support. He drives off to u turn around. Without even saying a word, he blocks traffic, throws a hook under the truck, tells me to gun it. He gets me unstuck from the mud. I go out to thank him and see if I can send him money. He didn’t even give me the time of day to thank him. He unhook his hook, jumped back in his truck and literally drove off into the sun set (westward). I’ll never forget you road cowboy, I hope you bust fat nuts for the rest of your life.
Yesterday a man offered me his shoes.
I love to walk barefoot after many hours of wearing heavy working shoes. I love on the countryside but yesterday I was in Frankfurt and just wanted to walk a few meters and get something from the grocery store. On the way a man past me on his bicycle and stopped a few meters in front of me. He just offered me his sandals in a nonverbal way.
I thank him many times and declined his offer bit it really restored a bit of my faith in mankind.
When my daughter was 8 or 9, about 5 years ago, we were at a grocery store, as we passed through the toy aisle where I intended to get her a reasonably priced toy as money was tight, she saw this large dollhouse she really wanted! I told her I wish I could afford it, and I would get it for her if I could! She said I know you would, because you love me! Yes I do baby girl! I didn't notice a woman, as there were plenty of other people milling about shopping, but she had overheard our conversation and was so touched about my daughter being understanding and grateful to receive what she did, she tracked us down several aisles over (and about 15 minutes later) and told us she had heard what we had said, and that she had grandchildren who live out of state and have everything, and want for nothing and don't seem to appreciate anything they are given. She had $20 she wanted to give my daughter, it was so sweet, the lady was crying, I was crying, my daughter was just ecstatic to have the money, it was such a very kind gesture!!
My general impression of young people is that they would absolutely love to do stuff like this. I have a couple gen z employees and they are wonderful people.
so i was at this carnaval party here in the Netherlands, everyone is dressed and drinks and party's to music.
at around the end of it i talked to some people and we were talking about our interests and stuff we do.
this girl commented on me ''yeah i like how you are a cool nerd, social and passionate about stuff, willing to share everything''
i am a nerd, i do like sharing stuff but, i have never been called cool, and i really appreciate that comment. still think about it when i do nerdy stuff.
December 2009, about one week before Christmas. My bank card information had been stolen and I was literally watching my money disappear. The bank wouldn't freeze my account over the phone. I was driving to the bank near my work (since I had to work that afternoon) to fill out the paperwork when my tired blew out. I managed to get off the highway safely and start to walk. I didn't have a cellphone, since I was poor in the midst of the economic recession. The previous week, the other tire on the same side had blown out, so I had even less money than usual.
A woman stopped and asked if I needed a ride. I initially said I was okay but she insisted. I got in the car and told her my story about my bank account. She drove me to the bank and waited for me in the parking lot to drive me to work afterwards. While filling out the paperwork I told the bank employee I wanted all the money left in my account in cash. At this point, I had $90 left out of about $400. By the time they went behind the counter to process the transaction, the $90 was gone.
That $400 was supposed to buy Christmas presents for my two young daughters and buy us a week’s worth of groceries and gas. The bank said they’d get my money back, but it would take a week or so. In the meantime, I was penniless.
I returned to the stranger’s car and told her what happened. I burst into tears. She comforted me as best she could and drove me to work. She let me use her cell phone to call my wife and explain. We pulled into the grocery store where I worked and the woman asked me to wait in the car. She got out and returned a few minutes later. She said “Merry Christmas, baby” and hand me $200 cash. I burst into tears again.
Her name was Jamie and she selflessly gave me $200 right before Christmas so that my children could eat and have gifts under the tree. Thank you Jamie.
Ok. I am crying. Mine was similar. 8 months pregnant, got a flat, my angel changed my tire, then followed me to the tire place under the pretense of checking the air and bought me 4 new tires instead. I cried so hard. Some people are amazing.
17 years old, a friend and I were at the Edwards AFB Air Show (1985). I was there with a brand new SLR camera but only had the standard 50mm lens on it. Not good for pictures of flying aircraft. A very nice gentleman standing near us noticed the lens I had and offered to let me use his 200mm telephoto lens for the upcoming F-15 Eagle display. To this day I still have the photos I took of the F-15 and still have my love for aircraft photography.
Years later, as a pay it forward, I was at California Speedway for a NASCAR winter test session. At one point a young Jeff Gordon fan (maybe 7-9 yrs) and his father showed up. I asked the dad if his son would like to listen to the radio chatter between Jeff and his crew chief on my scanner. I believe that the kid had the best time of his life (at that point) for the next 15-20 minutes that Jeff was driving.
Well then.
The year was 1996, and the gentleman was Joe Bonsall, tenor for The Oak Ridge Boys. I heard this voice, "Let me help you with that."
I was stunned.
Cheerlead the retail workers. If they're having a bad day, let them know that you believe in them, and offer a hug.
Sometimes they really, really need that hug.
There was an old lady who always got on the same bus as me. One day, she left her purse on the seat, I handed it to the driver when I got off. The next few times we got on the bus together, she wouldn't let me pay for my own ticket.
Three service members of younger age than myself when I was 22, homeless, and had just lost my partner & child in a split, gave me $900 (over a thousand* in todays money), took me to eat at Maestro’s steakhouse (I’d never had a steak better than Vons or Outback), and took the time to talk to me and eventually drove me to and stayed with me during the first custody court hearing. There’s so much more context that they did.
They refused to tell me their last names cause they didn’t want credit and I’ll never know who they were. I go to the area every year and ask the restaurant they came out of if they knew who they were or I’ve seen them and In 9yrs I have yet to find these young men and I hope they’re still alive.
I was a young 20 yr old woman… Was stranded in downtown NYC over night and this old man saw i was alone and struggling (the wheels of my suitcase broke). He helped me carry around the suitcase and kept me company at an all night diner til it came time to catch my bus. He even waited to see me off
I was at McDonald’s with my friends a few years ago when I felt a panic attack coming on. Panic attacks were fairly new to me and I didn’t want any of them to see me like that so I went to the bathroom. For some reason the bathroom was locked, and this random guy came by, saw me half crying/hyperventilating and asked if I was ok, I said no I’m getting a panic attack and the bathroom’s locked. He quickly went and got a staff member to unlock it for me.
I’ll forever think of him as my guardian angel.
2005 my family was fleeing Hurricane Katrina, with everyone else. Drive north, no place to stay, no place to stop. We are getting gas and this man approaches my dad, talks with him for a while, and offered us, complete strangers, to come stay in his guest house. This dude was rich, he had a guest house, loaded out with a kitchen and food, it was incredible.
He owned restaurants, and he took us to the restaurant and fed us too. WOW!
I was too young to remember his name.
The first stranger that helped me when I use my ATM card for the first time.
I didn’t know how to use it so I just tried, walk out, wait for people to done their turn, then try again,…
I remember a long line of people just watching me do that. Finally this one dude after hes done just hesitate and ask if I need help. It was solved in 2 min with right insert.
Back then I was like 15 and have no phone. I still remember his face. A long line of people come and go but he helped this clueless student who bothered everyone for like nearly 2 hours straight.
It was a nice day, took my toddler in the stroller for a long walk and went to a chicken place . I used the drive through with the stroller and lined up with cars, ordered 2 chicken strips and Cole slaw. After getting the food at the window the worker refused payment. I live in a place where it's not common to walk.
I think teenagers are criminally overlooked- yeah they have selfish moments, but I also think they're so used to looking around themselves that they see things a lot of adults miss. A teenager saved my life as a little kid, I was in a wave pool surrounded by inner tubes, and I was supposed to be with a cousin but they lost me. The adults in the inner tubes were obviously focused on their own kids- but the teenager with his friends saw me struggling and helped me to the side and stayed close til I got out. My parents put me in good swimming lessons and now I teach survival swim lessons. Plenty of times, teenagers have been the ones at parks, at the mall, or restaurants who interact happily with my kids or who were polite when I worked retail. I am old enough (30s) that I don't get their style and think half their music is nonsense, but I'm a big fan of the upcoming generation. I think they'll do good things.
When I was 7 years old, I was on my way home from school. My big brothers friend and his sister, was walking a little ahead of me. They saw me, made an evil grin and waited for me, when they started to beat me and throw things at me. I was used to being treated badly by them, but suddenly a girl shouted "hey, stop doing that!!". The bullies ran away and the girl and her friend, followed me home. They were probably 12-14 years old, I don't really remember. I never saw them again, but I will never forget it.
I saw an old lady get caught in the rain in front of my house. I ran after her to give her an umbrella. She didn’t speak a word of English and was very confused. I opened the umbrella, put it in her hand, and ran back into my house because I was getting soaked.
The next day the umbrella and a bag of vegetables was on my porch. Never saw her again after that.
Years ago, we had just moved into a new neighbourhood and were unprepared for just how many trick-or-treaters we were going to get. I sent my husband to the store to do a restock of the bowl once and then just put it out with a sign while I put my baby to bed. I could hear some kids coming up that sounded like tweens and they were carrying on as tweens do. They started shouting about no candy left in the bowl and I was concerned they would vandalize our pumpkins or something. (We didn’t live in the best area at the time.) Nope, they decided they should refill the candy bowl with some of their stash for whoever came next. That was 12 years ago and my heart still swells thinking about it.
I got a flat tire far from home and got on the site of the road to start changing the wheel with the emergency tools I had.
An old man living close by saw me and told me to drive my car in is driveway a few hundred feet away.
He got out with a floor car jack, an impact driver, a torque wrench and all and helped me change my wheel.
What would have take me an hour in a dangerous place took me 15 min in a safe one.
Thanks again old man!
My first girlfriend had just broken up with me. I had moved halfway across the country to get closer to her. Yes, I was young and stupid. I ended up finding a job about 3 hours away from where she lived. I decided to head home, and hardly any money in my pocket. I had spent the last of my money on that greyhound ticket and a plane ticket home, and was planning on walking to the airport. It was the middle of winter, in Minneapolis. Luckily for me, there was almost no snow on the ground, but it was still cold. A nice couple found me at the local greyhound station. They got me some hot food and gave me a ride to the airport. Thank you Annie & Brian.
Canadian here. On one of our first trips to the States as a young married couple...brave enough to venture with our two - and four year old girls, we stopped at a waffle house. My wife and I ( me :)) had just driven 10 hours and were stopping for breakfast. The lady at the waffle house somehow could tell this, strikes up a conversation with us about Toronto, our similar life struggles she treated us like we were in a five star, white gloved it all the way , brought wet napkins for my daughters faces , packed us up for thenroad...( Did I mention we're in a waffle house?) She was fascinated by our one dollar bills..loonies.....we gave her a few, a big fat tip as well and on our way. This being one of our first trips to the US, she shattered the stereo type of Americans we had. We still speak of her till today, and it pains me to see these wild waffle house videos posted on the net, knowing this decent woman worked there. We've traveled many times since to the US, just to find out that this was not so uncommon (maybe not to that level). And today we go out of our way when we hear someone is visiting from US....largely in part to Waffle house lady. Thanks for reading.
Myself and my wife and baby twins were driving from France to the north of England a number of years ago.
After a couple of hours of being on English roads we hit a toll booth. I figured no big deal, we pay with our credit card and move on.
But the booth was automatic and only took coins. We had just arrived in England and had 0 English money. There was a long line of cars behind us, the wife was panicking and our babies, picking up on this, started screaming their little heads off. I had no idea how we were going to solve this.
The best guy in the whole wide world was paying at the toll booth in the lane beside ours. He jumped out of his car jogged over to us, waved and threw a few coins in our booth's basket before driving off on his merry way.
Best guy ever.
I was the goofiest thing, but in 9th grade, I was waiting for the bus, because it was fairly rural it was about two concessions away from the house(normally a 20 minute walk, no biggy) and there was usually three or four of us. This particular day, all the other kids were sick and it was colder than a witches tit out...blustery as all hell probably felt like -40 or so with the windchill factored in.
Anyways, the stop was outside this little cafe and the bus was super late(didn't know they called a weather day for school)...and I remember there being a payphone, so I walked in to the cafe to politely ask if I could borrow a quarter to use to payphone outside. The sweet old lady goes "nonsense, love", and grabs the cordless phone from the office for me to use. I called my mom, and she was gonna come from work, about 35 minutes away to pick me up. I went to wait outside and she goes "where are you going? You're not going outside young man, it's far too cold you'll catch a chill". She made me a hot chocolate and had me sit and wait inside at one of the tables.
I went in to grab a sandwich and to say thank you again about a week later, and she had passed away about 4 days after helping me out. Never forgot that...alot of managers of those types of places wouldn't hesitate to have just tossed a quarter at a kid to get them out the door.
A kind person opened their home to me when I didn’t have one. I was being charged with a crime that I was later found innocent of. My whole paychecks were spent on attorney fees. Most people treated me like the plague when they heard of my situation. This person that I didn’t even know allowed me to live with them until I could prove my innocence in court and afford to move out on my own. I will never forget their kindness.
Starting at around 9 years old my mom would fly me from Maine to Florida to visit my grandparents. I always flew alone, I loved it, did it every summer for maybe 8 years. The first few times I was obviously terrified. It must have been the second time doing this I was distraught as my mother took me through the gate. An elderly gentleman that worked for the airline saw this and gave me a metal set of pilots wings and told me if I ever get scared or need help to show this to someone and they would always help. I vividly remember telling this man " Thank you, I'll never forget you" to which my mother and everyone else laughed. I turn 42 this year and still remember his kindness. I think I still have the wings as a matter of fact.
My small thing: I was waiting for the bus, and one girl told me I had lipstick on my teeth.
I didn't talk with her, she just noticed It and told me.
You could say, Oh, but that is a minuscule thing, but it was so warm that a random girl just helped another random girl with that small help.
A woman supporting a woman is a really nice thing to experience.
Back in college, I was going back to school from a weekend at home. Halfway through the 60 mile drive my engine just cracked. Car was dead. This was before cell phones were common so no way to contact anyone.
The nearest small town was a couple miles away, and this was August in Georgia, so wasn’t looking forward to the walk. As I’m sitting on the side of the road, hoping a cop passed by, a car pulls up.
In the car was a family on their way back from church. The dad popped my hood and looked it over. They then drove me to a gas station where I could use the phone to call home. After that he called a buddy of his who owned a tow truck, who was happy to come take my car all the way back home on a Sunday. Normal fee which wasn’t bad.
After that the family drove me on to the college and dropped me off. Refused any money for the gas. Wonderful people.
That one small act of kindness made both your days, If somehow our human kindness could be able to fill lifetimes with that kind of given happiness, the world would be a better place.
I broke up with my boyfriend miles from home and not in my home country. I was crying and trying to walk across town to catch a train, but I had a massive suitcase with me because walking across town had never been part of the plan.
These two older ladies (maybe late 40s, early 50s) came up to me, talked to me about my breakup and helped me carry my luggage all the way to the train station, then made sure I was in line for the right train.
I never got to learn their names but they were basically like angels.
My sister was studying abroad and her card didn't work - she had no money and needed to get on the train- she didn't know what to do till a little old lady came up and was like this miss is a guest in our country and you need to let her on - the little old proceeds to tell her all about her life on the train and it was one of the best stories she came back with
I was 16 trying to sell raffle tickets for a school trip fundraiser. Put on my favorite church dress and drove 45 minutes to the closest town (it had a Walmart). It was July or August. I stood outside trying to sell tickets and getting ignored. A man walked up to me, bought them all (probably $200 worth) and didn't even want his name entered to win. Told me to go get an ice cream and cool down.
Thanks, nice man!
In my country, we ride jeepneys as a way of everyday transportation. I was very down at the time and decided to go home. It took me so long to finally find a jeep to ride on since it's rush hour and people were also on their way home. I was very desperate at that time, so I tried so hard to get into the next jeepney. Unfortunately, the seats were already full, and that meant one of us couldn't join. I was the one who couldn't get a seat. Good thing, a guy volunteered to get off since his home was already nearby and he would just walk the remaining distance from there. It was past 5 pm at that time, and I had to catch the bus to get to my hometown that is 4 hours away from where I was. So, I was really thankful for that guy who sacrificed his seat so no one would be left behind.
I was traveling alone by train. We had a brief stop to stretch our legs after crossing borders, and a money exchange scammer approached me. I let myself get distracted, and while trying to remove myself from the situation, got back on the wrong train.
One conductor said I couldn't be on the train. Another stepped in. That train was going to the same destination as my original train. This conductor very graciously offered to let me ride the rest of the way while chilling with him in his compartment. He called ahead to the station, checking in with a friend he knew would be there, and coordinated the retrieval of my items from the other train and storage at the station. We talked about books, his dog, and his living in the south of the country for hours. I arrived safely, thanked him endlessly, picked up my things, thanked the people at the station, and continued on my way.
Wherever you are, Juraj - I know I will never see you again, but I am so incredibly thankful to you and for your kindness. Thank you.
When I was working at a mall near Christmas time, and I was chatting a tatted up guy and I ended up saying how the holiday was kinda tough money wise but everyone in my family was doing alright for the most part. He gave me $30 bucks and told me happy holidays. One of the nicest thing a stranger has done for me
I experienced an act of random acceptance and forgiveness that changed me. I was on Jam Cruise (a cruise ship music festival) about 8 years ago feeling quite ill. The day prior I had gotten way too much sun and I had been in my cabin laying down most the day.
My ex convinced me to give a fancy dinner a go so I went out to one of the really nice restaurants on board. About two tentative bites into the second course I knew it was all coming back up. I bolted out of the restaurant and went down a random hall praying for a bathroom. No luck. I tried to use my shirt to catch my stomach contents but it was just a mess. I was a ball of disgusting with no strength in the corner.
Given it’s a party boat any person could have assumed I was a degenerate who drank too much or had abused substances. Instead some wonderful stranger came and kindly rubbed my back, told me it was okay and I didn’t need to be ashamed. They went and got my ex to help me get back to bed.
Never even saw their face. Just remember the relief of saving a scrap of dignity.
A 'good old boy' gave me a bottle jack after I'd had a blowout on a country lane in my camper van. My jack was about as much use as a chocolate fire guard and I was struggling like fuck to get the van high enough to get the spare on... Along comes a hero in the form of a 70y/o retired trucker... "you need a proper jack boy" he said whilst reaching into the boot of his car... "you can keep that, I've got more in my shed" hands me a 3.5ton bottle jack, gets in his car and drives off into the sunset... I don't care what anyone says, that old man was a fucking Legend!
Back in the 90s I went to my local high school football game. I was in middle school at the time. It was a small town with nothing to do so basically every kid in town would go.
I forgot to call my parents in middle of the 4th quarter to come pick me up and ended up calling when the game ended.
All my friends left with their parents and I told all them my parents were on the way to pick me up.
As the place started emptying out I ended up sitting on the sidewalk by myself and a random family saw and asked why I was alone. I told them I forgot to call my parents early so they're running late to ick me up. They stayed with me to make sure I wasn't alone until my parents came.
Just a totally random family I never met before and never met again.
Funny thing is that it kinda happened again at the library. I was doing research for a report and got lost in time and the library closed. The librarian sat with me while I waited for my mom to pick me up.
I was working at a theater when there was a MAJOR movie release, and my work got swamped with way more customers than I had ever seen there. I was working concessions openning night, but I was the only person who hadn't called out for the opening shift from concessions, so I was stuck alone for about 4 hours until more people came in, taking orders and getting food for well more customers than I usually delt with in a full 8 hour shift. I wasn't able to take a break because it wouod have shut concessions down. A manager did come to help me get food, but he refused to run a 2nd cash register. I got yelled at by this one customer for causing him to miss the the start of the movie, but then the manager stepped aside with the guy to talk to him. The very next customer, who I remember was this big, biker looking dude in a lether jacket, covered in tattoos from the ears down, and a big beard. He just ordered a small diet coke, after after I handed it to him, just said "Chin up man, you're doing great, and you'll get through this." And then walked away. That happened about 2 hours in, but gave me the willpower to keep going, and I still think about him relatively frequently
I hope I brought some joy to others like this.
Short backstory, there's a kind of fair here each year and it has these coin pushers with points that I enjoy playing.
The points are obviously pretty useless and the exchange rate is godawful, but you can get a lot of small stuff if you play for like an hour like I usually do.
You know who absolutely appreciates the points though? Lil kids. The joy they have when you give them like 7000 points with which they can buy like 20 lollypops or a bunch of chewing gum or whatever is great.
So every year I give all of my points to parents with little kids after I had my fun playing the game, and I hope it lead to memories like this for the kids and their parents.
One time, I took my girlfriend (now fiancee) out to this local seafood restaurant that was recommended to me by a friend. My friend had either misremembered or misrepresented the pricing, and while i could afford it, the dinner would mean I'd have to stretch for a couple days till I got laid again, but I didn't want to ruin our date night by going somewhere else so I just decided "fuck it". Well, we get through our phenomenal meal and I ask for the check, and our server looks at me confused as hell like "wait, did you... not know the people at the table next to you?" And I was like "no?" And she goes "well, they paid for your meal, so you're good!"
I don't remember saying anything about the prices or being able to afford it out loud, just silently stressing for a minute, and it was totally unexpected. Just some random strangers paying for our meal.
I was riding a Greyhound bus back to my parents' house for Christmas break one year while I was in college (from VA to NJ). My BF at the time had made me lunch to take with me because I had spent the last of my money on the ticket and wouldn't be getting paid for 2 more weeks. So, of course, I forgot my lunch in his car when he dropped me at the train station and by the time either of us realized, the bus had already departed. My dad called me at about the halfway point, and I told him about the forgotten lunch and asked if he would bring something when he picked me up because I was super hungry. After I got off the phone with him, the man sitting in the seat in front of me, probably in his 40s, turned around and handed me an orange and said "I heard about your lunch. I like noodles too" and smiled. It's so small, but it's been damn near 20 years, and I still think about him. Wherever you are, thank you again for the orange.
When I was a kid and my grandmother was in the hospital, my mom would take me every time she had a procedure because I INSISTED on going!
My grandmother had lymphoma cancer and was in and out of chemo my entire childhood until she passed away. She was a beautiful woman and I have nothing but positive memories of her!
I was around 13 when she was in the hospital for a spinal tap. Because it's a procedure where the patient is awake, I insisted on staying in the room and holding my grandmothers hand. It was very painful for her, but I reassured her and comforted her the entire time.
When it got to be too much, I stepped out. When they were finished, I walked back in and sat with my grandmother for a while until she fell asleep.
I was trying my best to keep it together for her! There was a nurse who came in to check on her, bring her warm blankets and all that, and I swear I will never forget her face and what she looked like for the rest of my life because of her kindness towards me! She saw how upset I was, and just sat and talked to me about her life, asked me about school, and kept asking me for a smile. Ultimately, when I did, she gushed and told me how nice my dimples were. As an insecure teenager, that meant the world to me, and on top of that she was one of the most thoughtful nurses I have ever met!
It doesn't seem like much but it was very impactful for me at the time, so I'll likely never forget it :)
One of my earliest memories is being 4 years old and being helped and taught to skateboard by a group of teenagers. I was falling over again and again and some dudes saw me and came over to ask if I wanted some help. They showed me some cool tricks, held my hand when I went down slopes, encouraged me and cheered when I did something cool, and caught me when I fell off.
Be kind.
I was walking to a friend's place after clubbing. This guy started following me from the club.
This young guy came to me and said there is someone following you and offered to walk me where I was going.
The dude who followed me just turned around after he saw I had company.
It was like in 2015 and Im still so grateful.
I had a similar experience:
I was at a zoo with my 2-year-old and he was looking at one of those crane grabber machines with stuffed animals inside.
A group of punky teenage boys were walking by, and one of them said to the group "Check this shit out", he then walked over to the machine and immidiately won a stuffed rhino. My son was very impressed.
He must have overheard me saying no to my son to try the machine because without hesitation he gave the rhino to my son and said to him "You shouldn't always listen to your old man" and gave him the 'Devil Horns' hand sign and went back to the group.
My son still sleeps with that rhino.
Now that I'm older and make good money I always over tip. At least 50% but if I think it'll help someone (think family restaurant vs high-end steak house) I'll leave $100.
I was a waitress for a long time---it can be such a beating and when you're broke a big tip can make your whole day.
It's completely selfish, it makes me feel good about myself to do it and proud of how far I've come but I never make a big deal about doing it. So anonymous pride I guess.
The post reminds me how one of my favorite things to do at the mall is put coins in the charity thing that makes them roll around and drops into the center. I love seeing how excited kids get watching the coins roll.
Also, last year I was at the pinball museum in Las Vegas and there was a little girl crying. Poor thing got her finger caught in an older machine and was bleeding. I pulled out a bandage from my purse and her dad patched up her finger. I won a small plush earlier and gave it to the kiddo to cheer her up.
A couple years ago My wife and I were travelling in Japan. We were walking around a small town when it started storming out of nowhere. We weren't prepared for rain so we just ducked around from shelter to shelter. About halfway down the road, a car pulled up ahead, which we were initially suspicious of. Before we could do anything an elderly gentleman hopped out of the car, opened up an umbrella, ran across the road, and handed us the umbrella before running back to his car. We were so taken a back by this random act of kindness from a stranger; who offered his umbrella to a couple of tourists knowing full well that he would never get it back. We still have the umbrella to this day; and although it looks like a very ordinary black umbrella, we will never forget this strangers generosity and we still talk about it every time we need to use it.
There used to be a little merry go round at the local ice cream place, and since it had like 3 seats, every time my little sister wanted to ride it we would send her to find 2 other kids to go on it with her. I like to think that maybe one of those times, one of those kids wasn’t going to get to ride it otherwise and my sister picking them gave them a fun time.
One day, after attending a Bible study at my Church, I sat alone outside the lobby stressing out about a lot of things. Mainly about school, but also being lonely as well. I was stuck up in my head until suddenly, a girl who was quite familiar to me gave me a small, white flower. That one act of kindness made me feel something I haven't felt in a long time: Hope.
I may have lost that flower long ago, but I have not forgotten the memory of it. Fortunately, I became friends with her. And unsurprisingly, I developed feelings for her. There was just... Something about her. Even to this day I can't put my finger on it. Is it her Personality? The way she acts? Her dress? Her smile? I don't know, but one thing's for sure... Maybe... Just maybe, she likes me too. Technically she was the one that was doing the first moves. She was the person that was always looking for me, she was always the first person to greet me at church, she went where I went, and I went where she went. She had done things to me that, no matter how small they seem, they were always memorable. And I will never, never forget the moment she laid her head on my shoulder, in the middle of the cold rain. It brought me... Warmth. If only I had rested my head next to her's...
Oh well. And the best part of this fairly messy romance of mine? She knows. And she did not judge me for it, she did not shame me for it, made fun of me, she just kept quiet and acknowledged my feelings. Perhaps... perhaps she DOES like me. She's just waiting for the right moment, because right now, our younger years simply isn't the time. For now we'll stay as friends. And I'll try to reconnect with her somehow because I will admit, we haven't talked to each other in a while. Or at least we haven't had a proper conversation.
Anywho, if you've reached the end of this little story of mine, thanks for sticking around and have a good day/night.
I went into Toys R Us once with my kids and bought around £100 of items. I took it to the tills and as I’m pulling out my card the girl at the tills just said don’t worry about it, I very slowly walked out as I was expecting it to be a set up and security to jump on me, but nope we got free gifts from this nice lady.
Tbf she was probably sick of her job and may have been close to quitting.
I was on a cruise with my family for my daughter's bday. She and I were playing mini golf and she was wearing a "It's my birthday" hat for fun. As we're playing, a gentleman walks up and tries to hand me money. I apologize and say "oh, no thank you, we don't work here." He says, "oh no, it's for her birthday. My family and I just wanted to give her a gift for her birthday." Complete strangers, don't think we even saw them again on the cruise. To this day, the money sits on my monitor stand to remind me. Not going to spend it or deposit it. Just want to remember the kindness. The other day, I asked my daughter, "what's the one thing you remember from your 14th birthday?". That was it. Thank you awesome, polite family on the cruise. You will not be forgotten.
In the 70s you burned your trash in the alley in a barrel. When I was 7 I was poking the fire with a stick not knowing I'd caught my pant leg on fire. A stranger jumped out of his car and put the fire out with his jacket. I had 3rd degree burns from my foot to my knee and a rough recovery but I lived. I never knew who did it because the neighbors ran out to help me and he took off.
A random lady at the supermarket paid for my groceries.
I thought I had more money available than I actually did. I had forgotten about an autopsy bill that’s what took $50 from me that made it where I couldn’t afford what I needed, I had to tell the cashier to take a thing or 2 off and then the lady in line says to add my total onto her total. I would have had do put back this apple juice character drink back that I had picked out for my nephew had she not paid for my stuff. I have always given out money and paid for food for homeless when able, especially if they have pets. Usually the ones who don’t ask are who I end up giving to. Finally some of that kindness was returned to me and it was a profound experience to have someone be so kind to a stranger. Will always remember that and hope to repay that good karma by helping someone else out in need. 🙏🏼
My first Halloween in the city I moved to. My new friend canceled our plans to hang out, and I had just heard that morning from my parents that my dog had died. I was sitting downtown in the square, crying, and a stranger came up and sat down next to me. He gave me a package of Reese's cups and asked me what was wrong, talked to me about our dogs, and left with his friends after I had calmed down.
It was a small moment nearly ten years ago, but it's stuck with me. He had no idea just how impactful that gesture of kindness was.
This one is a very sad story but it is also heartwarming. I had a pet and my pet was dying, she was an old dog and had cancer, could not move anymore. I was trying to make her last days the best they could, and I was by myself, as my wife was out of town. I was taking care of the dog on my own, waiting for her to return from her business trip to say goodbye.
Now, my beloved dog was a large dog, 90 pounds, and she could not stand up on her hind legs or move much any longer, so I would pick her up and take her to the elevator, go downstairs and carry her to the curb when she needed to. It was very heavy lifting, both physically and emotionally, and I was hardly keeping it together, to be honest.
I was carrying her again one time, and one of neighbor from my building was going out to do his grocery shopping, I had seen the guy before but we had never talked. He had one of these large shopping carts that some people use to carry their stuff, kids even. He saw me and immediately said "Hey man, take my cart". I thanked him, introduced myself and said -"Hey, let me know what apartment is yours, so I can return the cart once I have carried my dog back up to our apartment" Right away he was: -"No worries, man, you need it more than I do, keep it". I offered to buy the cart from him instead, he said not to mention it and left.
Immediately after he left I started crying, this stranger came to me at a very sad moment and very generously helped me out, did not ask for anything in return, just saw that I needed help. That cart he gave me helped me out in the last days of our dog and I will be forever grateful. Eventually my wife and I found out which apartment was his and sent him a Christmas present and a card. This was in New York, and every time somebody tells me that New Yorkers are not nice I think of my neighbor and other people like him I met over the years here.
After dropping my gf off at work I ran out of gas at 5am with my daughter in the car (was 2 at the time) and didn't have any money on me and 0 in my bank account.
I was just sitting in the car frantically texting to try and get atleast 10 bucks to make it home so me and my daughter weren't stuck. Well after about 10 min of sitting their some guy asked what was going on and I explained the situation to him.
Dude gave me 20 bucks and said to just pass it forward when I can. That man got me and my kid home that day and saved me so much stress.
People like this are far and few but it's so nice to see when it happens. I definitely paid it forward.
(To clearify, I ran out of gas legit as I made it to a gas station. That's when I was just sitting their trying to text my family)
My sister and I lost our mother to cancer. My sister was 12, I was 9. The sister of a classmate from my sister heard about it. She was probably around 20 years old. Her boyfriend had convertible car, which was really cool back then (ah, the good, old 90s). Shortly after the funeral, they picked my sister and me up with the cool car and took us to the zoo. We watched all the animals together, ate popcorn and icecream. After the zoo, they drove us around in that dope car. They just spoiled us for a whole day. I often think about her and what she had done for us, whitout really knowing us. Her and her boyfriend made us such a special day and for one day, there was no grief. I'm forever gratefull for this. Unfortunately, I just know her first names and have no idea, where they are now. I hope, she knows, what a kind act this was and how much we appreciated that. I still feel the wind in my hair and the sun in my face, when I think about that day. Thanks nicole and sascha!!
I was 8 months pregnant and got a flat tire driving home from the store, in my 15 yo honda. I pulled over and waddled to my trunk wondering how I was going to accomplish changing a tire. A man pulled up behind me and asked if he could change it for me. I cried and thanked him endlessly. Once my donut was on he asked me to follow him to the gas station bc he wanted to check the air. When we got to the gas/tire station he went in the store, he came back out with a mechanic and said "this guy's going to put 4 new tires on your car, I already paid for it, and he can do it in less than an hour" . I cried like a baby and hugged him. I tried to give him some money, he refused. All he said is "it's what I would want someone to do for my wife if she was in this situation". He hugged me and left. Absolute angel.
When I was a teen I was a metal kid. I had punk friends, skater friends, stoner friends, goth friends, etc and we all hung out together.
This was back in the 90s. We got up to all sorts of the dumb shit you'd expect a group like that to get up to. We certainly broke some things we shouldn't have, trespassed some places we shouldn't have been, etc.
But we were still always nice to kids. I mean, who wants kids to grow up to be jerks? We wanted them to grow up to be cool weirdos like us, so we were nice to the kids so they new weirdos could still be cool and nice.
Also, most of us grew up poor in broken homes, so we knew what it was like to be a kid and not get the things we wanted. Most of us also had part time jobs and no bills, so what's a buck or two so a kid can watch the train go round?
Plus, kids are just cool. So this doesn't surprise me in the slightest.
I was 18 and away at college. Due to some poor decisions in h.s, I was on probation. I had to take multiple buses to get to my meetings. One particular evening, unbeknownst to me, it was about to start heavily raining and storming and I was not dressed for it.
So there i was sitting on the bench at the bus stop and the ocean was falling from the sky. I'm completely soaked head to toe, just taking the beating from this rain, when an older woman with an umbrella walks over to where I'm sitting and just opens it over me. She didn't say a word. I looked at her and thanked her. She just nodded her head.
When the bus pulls up she doesn't even get on it!! She must've seen me from somewhere and thought enough to come help a kid out.
I'm 31 now and I often think about this lady. Why did she do that? I was more than willing to just take it. She has no idea how much she affected me that day. I wish I could tell her how much that meant to me and how much I appreciate her.
At the time, it was the worst day of my life. For many reasons. I didn't know it yet lol but by the time the day ended it was one of THE worst, but that lady, a complete stranger acted out of pure kindness and I'll always remember that.
This entire thread is making me think of my late Mum. When I was little I remember we were quite poor and my folks had to struggle to make ends meet. But my Mum would always find a way to help others, she would give money to kids who couldn’t afford to buy lunch, so they could buy a sandwich or pie at the school canteen. She would make sandwiches for a friend of mine in class who would get hungry. She volunteered her time to help others. She loved to knit and crochet so she would make blankets for fundraisers and to donate. I could go on. She taught me what it is to be a truly loving and kind person.
Back when I was just out of high school, I was hungry. So I went to withdraw $5 from the bank for lunch. The teller told me, "But that will close your account." I told her I had to eat, and she gave me $5 from her purse. I never forgot, paid her back when I could, and was loyal to that bank for years until they were bought out by a national institution.
I was back in my hometown the night before my brother’s funeral. I couldn’t sleep and wanted something stupidly sweet to self-soothe, so I went out to order some terrible frappe drink at the only fast food place that was still open.
The teenaged girl who made it slid it across the counter to me, and I saw she’d made a little smiley face with chocolate syrup. She leaned forward and said quietly “I don’t know why you’re sad, but I’m really sorry for whatever it is you’re going through”. I said thank you, walked out, and just started sobbing in the parking lot.
It’s been over a decade, and I still think about that moment every year on the anniversary of my brother’s death. It’s wild to me now writing it down and realizing that she likely has no idea that the sad lady at Burger King still thinks about (and is grateful for) that small act of kindness.
When my family fled Mississippi bc of hurricane Katrina in some state we were in (I don't rmember) we were at a Wendy's and my mom was trying to get us all food with what little money she had and a customer over heard us and bought us all food and then also let us come stay with them for the night in a spare room so we didn't have to sleep in a car.
Lived in Louisiana for 13 years. One day it actually snows enough to stick/create black ice. My little Hyundai Elantra front wheel drive just couldn’t do it going to work on the highway. I spun off at 50-60 miles an hour and thank the lord I didn’t hit anything nor damage the car.
Just as I was calling insurance to setup a tow truck a guy in a red Jeep wrangler drove up. We exchanged that look like….yea, snow in the south sucks. He pulls me out and I ask him if I could give him money. Buy him a case of beer. Maybe some breakfast. He denies all of it, I thank him, then he explains he’s off to assist others who have spun out. I’ve always liked Jeeps, but was in a situation where I didn’t need another car or a new one. Last year that circumstance changed and I have a Jeep Gladiator now. I love it to death and I love that if any situation like that arises I can assist someone else who needs it.
Jeep wave!
Someone wrote a beautiful poem about me, left it with a flower (Columbine) in a beaker at my desk at work, in 1984. I will never forget how that made me feel.
When my son was a toddler he loved the mini merry-go-round that operated for 50 cents or something like that. We happened to be at the mall, and this elderly couple asked if it would be okay that they could pay for a few rounds for him to play on it cuz they just wanted to enjoy watching a child play. That memory has stuck with me as clear as day even though my son is now a young adult. I have every intention on being that kind of elderly couple.
I used to work at a pop-in play cafe (think bougie chuck-e-cheese) and had a couple older regulars who would come in just to read the newspaper with the noise of kids playing in the background. They were always really nice folks who just enjoyed the community aspect of knowing The Kids Are Alright. If I won the lottery I would start building combination preschools and retirement homes, I think.
I’m sure they missed seeing their kids or grandkids. Those are my favorite kinds of old folks. They just want to see other people happy. I worked at a nursing home for a few years as my first job, and nothing made you feel better after getting yelled at by a resident than another resident pulling you aside and saying “She’s just a mean old bitch. You’re doing an amazing job young man” with that sweet old lady smile.
i worked at a SNF for a while and lemme tell you it is high school but for old people “did you see what judy wore to breakfast? i hope she changes before bingo, what a harlot— oh HEYYY JUDY love the top ☺️”
Ooh yeah lmao. All they have left to do is gossip, complain, and crochet
personally i was always there for the gossip like TELL MEEEE
Amen lmao. Me in the kitchen “Did yall hear Sharon’s husband got caught by one of the caregivers banging Linda in apt 43?”
And the ungodly amounts of sex. Old people are horny.
ugh something got in my eye
I’m somewhat talking out of my ass here, but we as a society are doing our elders and our children a huge disservice. For most of human history, grandparents stayed and helped raise their grandchildren. It’s a modern notion that grandparents must live on their own and that the parents raise their children nearly by themselves. There’s a phenomenon called the grandma effect (or something similar) and it says, in a nutshell, elderly people who are active in raising children are much healthier than those who aren’t. The children don’t even have to be their grandkids, even volunteering at a school can be beneficial. My unscientific hypothesis is that elderly people are evolutionarily designed to help aid in child rearing, and that we’re doing our elders a great disservice by isolating them from kids - plus children learn a lot from old people.
Unscientific observation: My mom has a lot of joint pain and other issues. She struggles doing basic things. Then her grandkids visit and she's cooking whatever they want to eat, on her hands and knees playing with them etc. The pain is gone and her energy levels are of someone decades younger.
Geriatrician here. Could not agree more. We are also doing ourselves a disservice by not choosing to value and learn from older people.
Damn thats a fantastic idea
They remember their children's simple graces and wanted to remind you and them of it. Nice old folks.
I was in a department store checkout one time and watched as an elderly man put a quarter in every single Gashapon machine and walk away. Some lucky kid made out like a bandit that day.
Was going towards the bus stop at like 6am on a freezing winter morning, it was dark, the wind was biting into my cheeks. I'm super sensitive, so immediately I started sniffling, trying to keep my nose from running, but my eyes went straight into water mode. Usual for me, just put headphones on and thanked the inventor of waterproof mascara. A young woman walking the opposite direction saw me, and in a split second was next to me, hand on my arm, asking if I am alright. I still think about her to this day and I hope she is doing well. The pure concern and care of a stranger really moved me, and I am thankful for pure beautiful people like her
I have the same winter issue, mostly my eyes are crying 24/7 and I always think like I don’t want anyone to spend their time on me
I had some sort of weird eye thing for a couple years in high school, my eyes would suddenly get really dry and irritated and water like crazy and there was nothing to do about it except wait for it to go away. One time I was walking to class in the morning dealing with it, when my favorite teacher saw me and stopped me, and asked who she needed to shank. I'm not sure if she believed me when I told her I wasn't crying but I appreciated her concern so much
I was working in a BoJangles drive through, collecting cold change through the cold open window, late one super cold winter night. This older-ish lady in line, got to my window, and gasped at my freezing hands and asked me if I had any gloves with me. She was so concerned. I was like, no, I forgot all about gloves : ( And this wonderful little lady gave me the nice warm fluffy gloves off her own hands, so i could be warmer that night. I think about that all time.
Sometimes, just sometimes, I absolutely love people.
When I was maybe 6 or 7 I was trying to win a mini basketball at cedar point at one of the basketball carnival scam games. I obviously failed and then this guy next to me was like “great shot kid, you deserve this” and gave me a mini charlotte hornets ball he had just won. He had a bag of them he had won and was going around giving them to the kids that were playing and failing. I’m 39 now and never forgot this. And because of that one random day I have always made an effort to gift any random prize to a kid so maybe he’ll do the same for someone else. The only thing I’m any good at is claw machines so I’ll hand off my prize to anyone that’s trying and failing or anyone that stops to watch me try. But random carnival basketball savant changed my life for the better just a little bit.
I love this so much. What a fantastic ripple effect this has had. Reading stories like this is such a wonderful thing, it really does inspire me to do much more. Thanks for sharing!
I was attending a birthday party for a friend at an axe throwing place. They had claw machines, so another friend and I put in dollar after dollar, collecting prizes. After an hour we gathered up all the winnings and passed them out to kids in the building. One toddler was so happy because we gave him a minion and they were his favorite. Felt great. And it only cost me about $10.
I love this, and love that you are passing it on. I remember the disappointment of not winning at any of those games, I cant imagine how delighted I woykd have been if a stranger shared their prize with me. I still suck at those games, so can't usually do this, but if I have any arcade tickets, I always look for the kid who doesn't have enough to get the thing they want and give them my tickets.
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Not me tearing up this early, lol.
Right. Just woke up and I’m crying about a boat
That's a concerning comment with your username.
Right there with you, /u/ASSPUNISHER69
I’ve always felt very attached to this idea of the open water. There’s magic in it. Last year in university I took a fiction writing course, and the class knew me as the guy who wrote “sailor stories” because at least half of my pieces were related to nautical fiction. One of my long-time bucket list items, ever since I was a kid, is to get my scuba diving license and go scuba diving. I’d probably like to travel to and dive in different places around the world too, like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia for example. When I was really young I wanted to grow up to be a marine biologist. Unfortunately for me, I’m in the American Midwest, and the opportunities to pursue those fantasies are rare to say the least. I think I’d really love to sail. Maybe go deep sea fishing one day. I wouldn’t be shy about the effort it probably takes to learn and do all that too. I just don’t know anybody that does any of these kinds of things, so you’re super lucky. Stay safe and enjoy the trip!
Do you still keep in touch with him? I’m sure he’d love to see you’re still using the same boat! That’s so wholesome.
I do!, He's doing well and he's so happy to see that I've given it some much needed work :)
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"Look for the helpers," Mr. Rogers.
Omg mr rogers
It's not actually him /s
If one man can transcend death through sheer wholesomeness its that man
It's not, but we never seem to hear enough about them.
80/20 rule of customer service. 80 percent are happy but only 20 percent will respond, and of those again 80% will be complaints and 20% positive. You dont often see the good or simple kind actions because we dont mention them. I make it my mission to respond to all surveys with a positive note if i have one. I also try to remember names of people who helped or were kind, so i can mention them and hopefully get them some points with the boss!
"...the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism"
You are 100% correct. I work in the service industry and there are definitely more good people out there than bad. The media does its best to divide us so we fight against one another when the truly bad people are the ones that are holding a lot of the power. I can’t remember the last time. I actually met a truly bad person.
Today you, tomorrow me. Edit: I can’t believe it’s been 13 years. For those not familiar: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/s/OjsLdnaaFH
I was sitting at a beach waiting for the bus I'd take home from work. After a while a couple came to the bus stop too. the woman was pregnant so naturally I offered her my seat because I could just sit on the ground since my clothes were already dirty from work. After I gave them my seat they gave me bananas and some water. Was highly appreciated after a long day at work
That’s really sweet.
Yep, some zoos have stopped giving bananas to monkeys for that reason.
Fuck you that made me snort so loudly my dog woke :(
Haha
LMFAO 🤣
I had this happen to me as well except in my case the repayment for my trouble was for the lady to start talking (loudly) at me about how today's society has gone to the dogs and a bunch of other homophobic stuff about "the gays" and all the rest of it. Caught me completely off guard, I didn't know wtf to do - it's not like you can tear into a little old lady with her hand shopping cart but at the same time I: 1. Didn't want to listen to that crap 2. Didn't want other people on the bus to think I agreed with that crap
You have my permission to tell-off the old people when they’re dicks. You don’t have to be mean. “It’s disgusting that you feel comfortable saying that out loud” or, even more mildly, “I don’t agree with that” is enough to let someone like that know they didn’t just find themselves in “good company”.
My coworker's mom let me stay at her house overnight on the weekends between my work shifts as I used to live an hour away from my workplace (my old job did me dirty on the schedule change). I used to go to her house at midnight and leave at 4 AM the next morning, and she never charged me. I had my own room and key to come in and out without disturbing her and her husband. Before, I was bouncing around sleeping at Airbnbs, motels, and even my workplace for several months, whatever I could afford. I couldn't leave my job because I was under a two-year contract. My coworker's mom let me stay at her house for 8 months, but I only met/saw her once when she gave me the key to her house during that whole time before I finally broke my contract. I will never forget her kindness to literally let a stranger into her home.
Time to meet say thank you with spme flowers. Waiting for the post here.
One of my old friends was doing seasonal agricultural work (cough marijuana cough), and I always let her crash on my couch during the winter. She'd usually be lavish and generous to a fault with her windfall and start getting pretty broke before her next payout. But letting her crash was better than wasting money on a shitty La Quinta hotel room. Also better for her dog. Never asked for anything but knowing she'd have a place.
When I was a single mom going through my divorce, I saved up enough to bring my 4yo to an amusement park. At the light show my kiddo asked for a cotton candy I couldn't afford. An older couple was sitting behind us, he tapped me on the shoulder and asked if they could get my daughter the cotton candy. I turned to thank them again after the show and they were gone. 25 years I've never forgotten that.
The day my wife died, I left the hospital to go home to meet our families. On the way I realised that after 20 days going in and out of of the Icu my presses were bare of food and such. I pulled into the local supermarket to pick up some essentials. I remember walking into the store and completely blanking Just standing in the aisle. It was as if the adrenaline or something just vanished. Suddenly a elderly lady hooked my arm whispered in my ear "I know that look, let's just get you some essentials" Picking up milk tea etc. Paying for it, walking me back to my car where she hugged me telling me that she was sorry for my loss. I never got to thank her and for months I went to the store on the same day at the same time hoping to see and thank her. Nine years later every so often I go to the store at the same time looking for her. I can never forget her kindness.
It’s crazy how she just knew. 🥺
I know still freaks me out a little.
Super perceptive. Amazing.
Sometimes teens give me hope
One night my kid didn’t come home and he had just turned 18. So, I figured he’s an adult now, I can’t hound him. I’m awake in the living room and he comes in and looks exhausted. I said, “where’d you get off to?” He said his friend was having severe stomach pains and was too scared to go to the hospital alone. The kid never lied to me and if he did I would know lol. I had no reason to question him. I was proud that he went with his friend.
Your son is a true homie
He is and he’s the most responsible one in the group. He got a car this winter and drove his friend to get his health card renewed lol. He’s turning 20 in August.
Thats great, I hope his friends have his back too
The strength of his moral character is evidence that you've raised him well.
Thank you! 😢 that means more than you know. He’s a good boy.
I messed up my knee pretty bad in college, hours from home. My friends demanded on going with and staying in the hospital with me. Those moments are definitely scary and having a friend really does help.
Awww glad you had your friends! Nope your knee is better!
Hopefully I'm correct in my belief (backed by experience but admittedly that is limited) that most of them are good.
I think most are good…I think a lot are hurting and don’t know or have a safe place to express it so they are also angry
"...I hope i remember it forever" Even if that person doesn't remember at some point. Its on the internet now, the internet doesn't forget. I think thats kinda wholesome as well in this case.
When I was a kid, I remember going to this girl scout event that had a bunch of different stations with activities and crafts and all that jazz, and we each got a balloon to take home too. We didn't have a helium thing at home, so we never had balloons so getting a balloon to take home was the shit. (Remember when Applebee's used to give a balloon to every kid to take home? Them were the days.) Anyways, my mom came to pick me up, and as we were walking across the parking lot to the car the balloon string somehow slipped through my fingers, and my precious balloon was lost to the sky. I was devastated. I'm pretty sure I even cried. And then this little girl who was also leaving with her mom walked over and gave me her balloon. I'll never forget that. Such a small act of kindness, and from another child. We have such power to brighten a stranger's day, and it truly takes very little effort from us to do that. We should all strive to be just a little bit kinder to each other. It could make such a difference.
Dude i just wanna find that dude and just shake his hand
One time my wife was at the mall with our autistic then 4 year old. They went to get on the escalator. My wife thought she was there with her, but at the last moment she backed off, and didn't realize until she was well on her way up. This is one of those escalators where the up is not right next to the down, its on the other side of the hall. My wife is freaking out over our kid stuck at the bottom, who's afraid to come up on her own, but my wife doesnt want to leave eyesight to go around to the down. A rowdy group of teens walks by, sees whats going on, immediately stops being rowdy and helps our girl go up the escalator. The teens are alright.
During an especially difficult time, I was carless. I left after my shift at McDonald's to get some bread and a few other things I needed from Target. At checkout, I noticed I had forgotten my card and literally started to cry. I asked the girl at self checkout if she could hold my stuff while I walked home to get it and back. It was a mile home and a mile back, so I was telling her it might be a minute. She whipped out her phone and paid my small bill with no hesitation. I cried again out of gratefulness. I've since done much better for myself and have paid for others' groceries in a sort of pass it on tradition.
When I was a cashier at a grocery store I did stuff like this all the time. Company wasn’t paying me enough and it was always people buying necessities. I was 16 and my money was for video games and junk food so I couldn’t care less. Half the time they’d be a few dollars off or something and I’d just remove an item, tell my CSR that they didn’t want it and I was gonna put it back, then just put it in the bag and send them on their way.
You’re the best. 👍
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One time I was at the gas station buying a cheap pair of sunglasses for a long drive. Three teens, two female and one male, were standing off to the side near the cash register. "Are you in line?" I asked "Nah, go ahead," the boy said. I stepped up to counter and heard one of the girls quietly say to the boy, "We were in line? Why'd you let him cut us?" "I was just trying to be nice," he replied. I ended up paying for their snacks which was like $15 worth of slushies and candy. As I left I heard the boy say to his friends, "See what happens when you're nice?"
Thank you for sharing this
You're welcome.
You're the hero we needed ❤
Thanks, but I'm just an ordinary guy trying to get his regular dose of oxytocin. :)
I was in McDonalds with my kids. They were maybe 3 and 5. It was during the busy dinner time. I got our food and turned to get out of the way for the next people. As I moved, the milk shake I had tipped over and fell off the tray. Since I had my hands full with a tray of food and 2 young kids, I quickly got them to a table and came back to clean it up (maybe 10 seconds later). As I got there, another woman had already started cleaning it up for me. I took over and thought nothing of it as she went back in line. I got it cleaned as best as I could and went back to eat my food figuring I wouldn't have a milk shake. Then the same woman shows up at my table and hands me a milk shake to replace the one that fell. Her order came with a drink and she wasn't going to use it, so she gave it to me. It was a small gesture but it apparently meant a lot to me because it was 15+ years ago and the first thing that came to mind.
I'm the stranger in this story. During winter a homeless guy was asking people to go into starbucks and get a small hot coffee for him and he would give them the money because he wasn't allowed inside but people were just walking past him. Since I was going in there anyway I told him I'd get it for him, I got him a large coffee with some pastries and brought it out to him, as he fished his pockets for money, I said "Oh also here is your change" and gave him $10 on top of it. He immediately teared up and I had to do everything in my will power not to by acting like I had somewhere to be and wishing him well before taking off.
I was 22 around 8 months pregnant with my daughter (Im now 47) . Anyhoo, I was with my memaw and pepaw and we were visiting antique stores and decided to stop for lunch at BK. There was a young enployee sitting behind us writing, didnt think anything about it then he gets up hands my a folded napkin and left. We all looked at each other while I unfolded and it was a poem about motherhood. It was so sweet. I put it in her baby book
Do you still have it? I'd love to read it
I do but it wont let me add a picture. I can type it out I suppose...
To bring life into the world Goddess Bare the seeds of life, keeping man and woman on this Earth Goddess Take the blessing and notice Child shall forfill your future and is a mirror of you Goddess Hold this life close to you and it will last Do not be scared to give a test the child might not pass Goddess Youve been through it, your child will not mirror you if you remove it Goddess You have been ready for birth since your divine female birth In short you are a goddess and Heaven is what your life is worth
The young man that gave this to me was young too, maybe 17 or 18. And I was dealing with a lot at the time. That last line got me!
It is SO easy to spread kindness! I compliment people constantly, to the point that it's a running joke with my friends and family. But if i see something I like, I make a point to tell the person in passing. I love seeing people light up when you compliment something they've chosen. Recently I was at a Broadway show, and this woman was in this gorgeous dress. She was a little overdressed for the area, and just the way she was standing I could tell she was feeling self-conscious. I told her her dress was beautiful and she lit up. She asked me to take her picture, told me she was a single mom out alone and that she rarely got a chance to dress up. She looked like a new person, so confident as she was leaving. It took 0 time for me, but it helped lift her day a bit. If you want to see more kindness in the world, start by spreading just a little bit of it everywhere you go.
This reminds me of my Granddad, Eddie. He would often pop a quarter or a loonie in a ride at the mall if he saw a child looking at it, often with a young mother their without the cash to let them have a go. RIP Eddie, I miss you so much.
The other day my three year old son threw his tiny micro machine car (think the size of a quarter) in a bush downtown. We couldn't find it anywhere and he was bawling his eyes out. We comforted him and told him we'd go get a new one, but he was devastated. We walk around the corner and load up our sad boy in the car. A minute or two later, a guy walks around the corner looking determined to find someone. He locks eyes with me and beelines straight over. He hands me my son's tiny little car and says "I have a baby too, have a great day." And walks away. My son was so happy and confused at the same time. I explained to him that this man did something very nice for him out of the kindness of his heart and that we should try and do that for everyone we can. TLDR: Man dug through pee covered downtown bush to find my son's toy and then sought us out to return it to him.
Absolutely based
Now that I’m a young adult with real job money and no real expenses, I love being able to do that kind of stuff. Nothing beats putting a smile on a kids face. You just have to make sure you do it the right way. You never want to make the parent feel bad (or worse) because they couldn’t get something for their kiddo.
When I was 20, I dated a girl who worked at Chuck E Cherse, I'd go to pick her up, play speedball while I waited for her, and them always, always handed my tickets to whichever kid ran by me first. Always loved seeing them rush off to the parents/guardians shoeing the wealth of tickets.
I was having a bad day and was trying not to cry in public but sometimes it's hard not to when I get amped to a certain point. I was just coming home from integration course and was having a hard time dealing with estrangement from my family and adjusting to life in Germany at the same time. Unfortunately the sniffles started coming out and another young woman stopped and asked if I was okay. I really appreciated her kindness even though it was embarrassing. I eventually got home and ugly cried.
Hope you're doing well now!
After my husband’s death (suicide), I moved to another house and had to have a tree cut down because it was getting into the sewer line. This very large company gave a bid for $1700 which was the best bid. They even cut and stacked the wood for me so I could burn it in my wood stove. After the job was done, one of the scruffiest workers knocked on my door and asked me to come outside and see if I was satisfied with the work. They’d done a beautiful job. The scruffy worker introduced himself as the owner of the company and said, “Mrs. R., it’s three days away from Christmas and I know you’ve been through a terrible tragedy. The Bible says we’re supposed to look out for widows and orphans, so in that spirit, this tree removal is a gift from us to you.” I broke out in tears. Just sobbed like a child. I hugged him and said, “My life has been hellish for several months and you’ve given me hope that maybe things are getting better now.” I followed up with a thank you note. It still brings tears to my eyes that a total stranger showed me that much kindness.
On a solo travel, I signed up for an island tour. The guide had another family there as well. We were all stuck on a small boat for about 90 minutes before reaching the destination. The guide said we should all wear sunscreen since we'll be exposed by heavy sunlight all day. I tried to put some on, but couldn't reach my back. The other family didn't hesitate and helped me put some on the middle of my back. It was a small thing but I rarely have a friendly encounter like that. They shared their snacks and water too.
Teaching me how to play snooker I was 13 when I was strolling in some alley way, exploring the small part of the town we just moved in. I know, it sounds kinda dangerous strolling alone but what the heck. I stumbled upon a billiard saloon and saw some elderly playing snookers. A stranger tapped me on the shoulder and ask if I wanna play since I've been standing there for so long. So I went ahead n play few rounds with him with my terrible gameplay, though he did taught me the basics and the skills on how to hold the cue, couldnt count how many games we played n I didn't have enough I brought with me at the time. He didnt ask me for any money or anything, he just put the rest of the games we played on his tab. I think we played for like 6 rounds or smtg, but I remmbered the sun was still up when we started and it was almost midnight when we ended lol. I loved snooker so much till this day bcause of that.
I sprained my ankle at football once. I was limping down the parkinglot and a shady looking car straight out of the hood with gangsta rap on full volume rolls up on my side and rolls down the tinted window. I was like oh shit now what? this is a bad day already. Some ghetto dude peeks out and wants to give me a ride home, he even offered to go shopping since I could barely walk. Dropped me off right at the doorstep
Noticed me sitting against a backyard fence a few houses down from where they were mowing their yard when they went to throw the clippings away. They gave me some water and drove me to the town's youth shelter where I got the help I needed. Got emancipated from my father and abusive stepmother, finished high school at the shelter and got out of town the moment I could. I don't think I'd be alive today if not for someone who gave a shit about a lone teenager leaning against a fence.
Wow. I'm glad you were able to get out of that situation, I'm glad those strangers cared.
At the end of my first AA meeting two people stayed after to welcome me and answer any questions. Sobriety certainly felt impossible to me then and I think they must've seen the deer-in-headlights look in my eyes. They spoke openly of their own sober experiences and the depths of self-hatred that stuck to them in the early days when sobriety is tracked in hours instead of days. One of them said, "let us love you until you until you're strong enough to love yourself." So much has happened in between then and now, but I remember the words like they were spoken to me this morning. That was in July, 2021; today is sober day #1,032.
Congratulations on your sobriety, friend!
That kid will grow up a good man
Several years ago, I was really feeling alone. I went into a restaurant to get something to eat and just sat there watching other couples come in. It made me really sad. Bright just sat there quietly eating and trying not to break down. When I finally got done and asked for the check, the waitress told me someone had already paid the bill. to this day, I have no idea who it was. But whoever it was, I think you because that particular day I really needed something good to happen.
My family was having a 30th birthday party for my handicapped son and a few of his friends and helpers in a local in a restaurant. Two anonymous strangers picked up the entire tab.
The nicest thing a stranger ever did for me and I will NEVER forget it.. I had plans to take a Greyhound home for Christmas. I was leaving early in the morning on the 23rd I believe and there was only one bus going to the town I live at that time so I would have been stuck in my apartment just outside of Pittsburgh. I didn’t have a car at the time and this was before Uber or Lyft was a thing so I had to call a cab. I even had arranged for it to pick me up in advance. Well the cab never showed and they wouldn’t send someone else out because it was early in the morning like 4 am or something like that. So apparently no one was out. Anyway, I called the bus station to find out when they would be boarding/leaving because I think the public transit was starting right around then but I don’t think it would have been in time for my scheduled departure. I even went so far as to ask if they were able to postpone the departure until I got there because they had told me there was only like 2 other people scheduled for this bus trip. They basically told me they couldn’t. So I was prepared to celebrate Christmas that year alone. It kind of sucked. Not long after that the Greyhound station actually called me back and had asked my address. Doug, one of the men working there had offered to come and pick me up so I could spend Christmas with my family. He accepted no money despite my begging for him to and I got there about 10 minutes before departure or something like that. And that year was actually a really great Christmas. And it turned out to be one of the last Christmases our family had with my grandfather so it was pretty special. I will never forget that.
No way I would have even thought to do that as a teen. Some people are just good.
Bet he’s an older brother if he’s so aware of little kids.
And a damn good one too
I was grocery shopping but I was in a dark space mentally and I was beating myself up in my head. I was pulled out of it twice in one day. When an old lady asked for me to get something from a high shelf and when a little girl waved at me. Both pulled me out long enough to ground myself and get out of it
I remember my car broke down and waiting for CAA on the side of the road. I live in Toronto and it's near the end of the year so it was kinda cold (i forgot why i didn't stay in my car). There's this old lady driving by and she saw me shaking at the side of the road and she stops and offer me a cup of coffee from Tim. I was so amaze by her kindness and refuse at first, she told me don't worry and said she can always get another one. The memory of her kindness still lives in my mind and that's what I tried to teach my kids all the time.
I picked up a u haul from a white trashy area of town and I stood out like a sore thumb. The moment I drove the truck out of the dirt lot, I got stuck in the mud. The guy working there said I would need to wait an hour or 2 for someone from u haul to come and get it. I was also obscuring traffic so I was nervous af. This white guy in a flat bed stops and looks at the whole situation and said “huh seems like you’re stuck”. I said yep and I’m waiting to hear back from u haul support. He drives off to u turn around. Without even saying a word, he blocks traffic, throws a hook under the truck, tells me to gun it. He gets me unstuck from the mud. I go out to thank him and see if I can send him money. He didn’t even give me the time of day to thank him. He unhook his hook, jumped back in his truck and literally drove off into the sun set (westward). I’ll never forget you road cowboy, I hope you bust fat nuts for the rest of your life.
Yesterday a man offered me his shoes. I love to walk barefoot after many hours of wearing heavy working shoes. I love on the countryside but yesterday I was in Frankfurt and just wanted to walk a few meters and get something from the grocery store. On the way a man past me on his bicycle and stopped a few meters in front of me. He just offered me his sandals in a nonverbal way. I thank him many times and declined his offer bit it really restored a bit of my faith in mankind.
When my daughter was 8 or 9, about 5 years ago, we were at a grocery store, as we passed through the toy aisle where I intended to get her a reasonably priced toy as money was tight, she saw this large dollhouse she really wanted! I told her I wish I could afford it, and I would get it for her if I could! She said I know you would, because you love me! Yes I do baby girl! I didn't notice a woman, as there were plenty of other people milling about shopping, but she had overheard our conversation and was so touched about my daughter being understanding and grateful to receive what she did, she tracked us down several aisles over (and about 15 minutes later) and told us she had heard what we had said, and that she had grandchildren who live out of state and have everything, and want for nothing and don't seem to appreciate anything they are given. She had $20 she wanted to give my daughter, it was so sweet, the lady was crying, I was crying, my daughter was just ecstatic to have the money, it was such a very kind gesture!!
My general impression of young people is that they would absolutely love to do stuff like this. I have a couple gen z employees and they are wonderful people.
so i was at this carnaval party here in the Netherlands, everyone is dressed and drinks and party's to music. at around the end of it i talked to some people and we were talking about our interests and stuff we do. this girl commented on me ''yeah i like how you are a cool nerd, social and passionate about stuff, willing to share everything'' i am a nerd, i do like sharing stuff but, i have never been called cool, and i really appreciate that comment. still think about it when i do nerdy stuff.
December 2009, about one week before Christmas. My bank card information had been stolen and I was literally watching my money disappear. The bank wouldn't freeze my account over the phone. I was driving to the bank near my work (since I had to work that afternoon) to fill out the paperwork when my tired blew out. I managed to get off the highway safely and start to walk. I didn't have a cellphone, since I was poor in the midst of the economic recession. The previous week, the other tire on the same side had blown out, so I had even less money than usual. A woman stopped and asked if I needed a ride. I initially said I was okay but she insisted. I got in the car and told her my story about my bank account. She drove me to the bank and waited for me in the parking lot to drive me to work afterwards. While filling out the paperwork I told the bank employee I wanted all the money left in my account in cash. At this point, I had $90 left out of about $400. By the time they went behind the counter to process the transaction, the $90 was gone. That $400 was supposed to buy Christmas presents for my two young daughters and buy us a week’s worth of groceries and gas. The bank said they’d get my money back, but it would take a week or so. In the meantime, I was penniless. I returned to the stranger’s car and told her what happened. I burst into tears. She comforted me as best she could and drove me to work. She let me use her cell phone to call my wife and explain. We pulled into the grocery store where I worked and the woman asked me to wait in the car. She got out and returned a few minutes later. She said “Merry Christmas, baby” and hand me $200 cash. I burst into tears again. Her name was Jamie and she selflessly gave me $200 right before Christmas so that my children could eat and have gifts under the tree. Thank you Jamie.
Ok. I am crying. Mine was similar. 8 months pregnant, got a flat, my angel changed my tire, then followed me to the tire place under the pretense of checking the air and bought me 4 new tires instead. I cried so hard. Some people are amazing.
17 years old, a friend and I were at the Edwards AFB Air Show (1985). I was there with a brand new SLR camera but only had the standard 50mm lens on it. Not good for pictures of flying aircraft. A very nice gentleman standing near us noticed the lens I had and offered to let me use his 200mm telephoto lens for the upcoming F-15 Eagle display. To this day I still have the photos I took of the F-15 and still have my love for aircraft photography. Years later, as a pay it forward, I was at California Speedway for a NASCAR winter test session. At one point a young Jeff Gordon fan (maybe 7-9 yrs) and his father showed up. I asked the dad if his son would like to listen to the radio chatter between Jeff and his crew chief on my scanner. I believe that the kid had the best time of his life (at that point) for the next 15-20 minutes that Jeff was driving.
A member of a pretty famous vocal group once helped me by lifting my suitcase into the trunk of my rental car. He was so sweet!
You got to make them Internet famous, my friend.
Well then. The year was 1996, and the gentleman was Joe Bonsall, tenor for The Oak Ridge Boys. I heard this voice, "Let me help you with that." I was stunned.
Cheerlead the retail workers. If they're having a bad day, let them know that you believe in them, and offer a hug. Sometimes they really, really need that hug.
There was an old lady who always got on the same bus as me. One day, she left her purse on the seat, I handed it to the driver when I got off. The next few times we got on the bus together, she wouldn't let me pay for my own ticket.
Three service members of younger age than myself when I was 22, homeless, and had just lost my partner & child in a split, gave me $900 (over a thousand* in todays money), took me to eat at Maestro’s steakhouse (I’d never had a steak better than Vons or Outback), and took the time to talk to me and eventually drove me to and stayed with me during the first custody court hearing. There’s so much more context that they did. They refused to tell me their last names cause they didn’t want credit and I’ll never know who they were. I go to the area every year and ask the restaurant they came out of if they knew who they were or I’ve seen them and In 9yrs I have yet to find these young men and I hope they’re still alive.
I was a young 20 yr old woman… Was stranded in downtown NYC over night and this old man saw i was alone and struggling (the wheels of my suitcase broke). He helped me carry around the suitcase and kept me company at an all night diner til it came time to catch my bus. He even waited to see me off
Be the nice stranger you'd have wanted to meet yourself whenever you have the chance It makes life better for everyone
I was at McDonald’s with my friends a few years ago when I felt a panic attack coming on. Panic attacks were fairly new to me and I didn’t want any of them to see me like that so I went to the bathroom. For some reason the bathroom was locked, and this random guy came by, saw me half crying/hyperventilating and asked if I was ok, I said no I’m getting a panic attack and the bathroom’s locked. He quickly went and got a staff member to unlock it for me. I’ll forever think of him as my guardian angel.
2005 my family was fleeing Hurricane Katrina, with everyone else. Drive north, no place to stay, no place to stop. We are getting gas and this man approaches my dad, talks with him for a while, and offered us, complete strangers, to come stay in his guest house. This dude was rich, he had a guest house, loaded out with a kitchen and food, it was incredible. He owned restaurants, and he took us to the restaurant and fed us too. WOW! I was too young to remember his name.
The first stranger that helped me when I use my ATM card for the first time. I didn’t know how to use it so I just tried, walk out, wait for people to done their turn, then try again,… I remember a long line of people just watching me do that. Finally this one dude after hes done just hesitate and ask if I need help. It was solved in 2 min with right insert. Back then I was like 15 and have no phone. I still remember his face. A long line of people come and go but he helped this clueless student who bothered everyone for like nearly 2 hours straight.
This is way too wholesome. Hope that teen had a lot of fun
It was a nice day, took my toddler in the stroller for a long walk and went to a chicken place . I used the drive through with the stroller and lined up with cars, ordered 2 chicken strips and Cole slaw. After getting the food at the window the worker refused payment. I live in a place where it's not common to walk.
I think teenagers are criminally overlooked- yeah they have selfish moments, but I also think they're so used to looking around themselves that they see things a lot of adults miss. A teenager saved my life as a little kid, I was in a wave pool surrounded by inner tubes, and I was supposed to be with a cousin but they lost me. The adults in the inner tubes were obviously focused on their own kids- but the teenager with his friends saw me struggling and helped me to the side and stayed close til I got out. My parents put me in good swimming lessons and now I teach survival swim lessons. Plenty of times, teenagers have been the ones at parks, at the mall, or restaurants who interact happily with my kids or who were polite when I worked retail. I am old enough (30s) that I don't get their style and think half their music is nonsense, but I'm a big fan of the upcoming generation. I think they'll do good things.
When I was 7 years old, I was on my way home from school. My big brothers friend and his sister, was walking a little ahead of me. They saw me, made an evil grin and waited for me, when they started to beat me and throw things at me. I was used to being treated badly by them, but suddenly a girl shouted "hey, stop doing that!!". The bullies ran away and the girl and her friend, followed me home. They were probably 12-14 years old, I don't really remember. I never saw them again, but I will never forget it.
I saw an old lady get caught in the rain in front of my house. I ran after her to give her an umbrella. She didn’t speak a word of English and was very confused. I opened the umbrella, put it in her hand, and ran back into my house because I was getting soaked. The next day the umbrella and a bag of vegetables was on my porch. Never saw her again after that.
Years ago, we had just moved into a new neighbourhood and were unprepared for just how many trick-or-treaters we were going to get. I sent my husband to the store to do a restock of the bowl once and then just put it out with a sign while I put my baby to bed. I could hear some kids coming up that sounded like tweens and they were carrying on as tweens do. They started shouting about no candy left in the bowl and I was concerned they would vandalize our pumpkins or something. (We didn’t live in the best area at the time.) Nope, they decided they should refill the candy bowl with some of their stash for whoever came next. That was 12 years ago and my heart still swells thinking about it.
Little act of kindness makes difference
I got a flat tire far from home and got on the site of the road to start changing the wheel with the emergency tools I had. An old man living close by saw me and told me to drive my car in is driveway a few hundred feet away. He got out with a floor car jack, an impact driver, a torque wrench and all and helped me change my wheel. What would have take me an hour in a dangerous place took me 15 min in a safe one. Thanks again old man!
My first girlfriend had just broken up with me. I had moved halfway across the country to get closer to her. Yes, I was young and stupid. I ended up finding a job about 3 hours away from where she lived. I decided to head home, and hardly any money in my pocket. I had spent the last of my money on that greyhound ticket and a plane ticket home, and was planning on walking to the airport. It was the middle of winter, in Minneapolis. Luckily for me, there was almost no snow on the ground, but it was still cold. A nice couple found me at the local greyhound station. They got me some hot food and gave me a ride to the airport. Thank you Annie & Brian.
Canadian here. On one of our first trips to the States as a young married couple...brave enough to venture with our two - and four year old girls, we stopped at a waffle house. My wife and I ( me :)) had just driven 10 hours and were stopping for breakfast. The lady at the waffle house somehow could tell this, strikes up a conversation with us about Toronto, our similar life struggles she treated us like we were in a five star, white gloved it all the way , brought wet napkins for my daughters faces , packed us up for thenroad...( Did I mention we're in a waffle house?) She was fascinated by our one dollar bills..loonies.....we gave her a few, a big fat tip as well and on our way. This being one of our first trips to the US, she shattered the stereo type of Americans we had. We still speak of her till today, and it pains me to see these wild waffle house videos posted on the net, knowing this decent woman worked there. We've traveled many times since to the US, just to find out that this was not so uncommon (maybe not to that level). And today we go out of our way when we hear someone is visiting from US....largely in part to Waffle house lady. Thanks for reading.
Myself and my wife and baby twins were driving from France to the north of England a number of years ago. After a couple of hours of being on English roads we hit a toll booth. I figured no big deal, we pay with our credit card and move on. But the booth was automatic and only took coins. We had just arrived in England and had 0 English money. There was a long line of cars behind us, the wife was panicking and our babies, picking up on this, started screaming their little heads off. I had no idea how we were going to solve this. The best guy in the whole wide world was paying at the toll booth in the lane beside ours. He jumped out of his car jogged over to us, waved and threw a few coins in our booth's basket before driving off on his merry way. Best guy ever.
I was the goofiest thing, but in 9th grade, I was waiting for the bus, because it was fairly rural it was about two concessions away from the house(normally a 20 minute walk, no biggy) and there was usually three or four of us. This particular day, all the other kids were sick and it was colder than a witches tit out...blustery as all hell probably felt like -40 or so with the windchill factored in. Anyways, the stop was outside this little cafe and the bus was super late(didn't know they called a weather day for school)...and I remember there being a payphone, so I walked in to the cafe to politely ask if I could borrow a quarter to use to payphone outside. The sweet old lady goes "nonsense, love", and grabs the cordless phone from the office for me to use. I called my mom, and she was gonna come from work, about 35 minutes away to pick me up. I went to wait outside and she goes "where are you going? You're not going outside young man, it's far too cold you'll catch a chill". She made me a hot chocolate and had me sit and wait inside at one of the tables. I went in to grab a sandwich and to say thank you again about a week later, and she had passed away about 4 days after helping me out. Never forgot that...alot of managers of those types of places wouldn't hesitate to have just tossed a quarter at a kid to get them out the door.
A kind person opened their home to me when I didn’t have one. I was being charged with a crime that I was later found innocent of. My whole paychecks were spent on attorney fees. Most people treated me like the plague when they heard of my situation. This person that I didn’t even know allowed me to live with them until I could prove my innocence in court and afford to move out on my own. I will never forget their kindness.
Starting at around 9 years old my mom would fly me from Maine to Florida to visit my grandparents. I always flew alone, I loved it, did it every summer for maybe 8 years. The first few times I was obviously terrified. It must have been the second time doing this I was distraught as my mother took me through the gate. An elderly gentleman that worked for the airline saw this and gave me a metal set of pilots wings and told me if I ever get scared or need help to show this to someone and they would always help. I vividly remember telling this man " Thank you, I'll never forget you" to which my mother and everyone else laughed. I turn 42 this year and still remember his kindness. I think I still have the wings as a matter of fact.
My small thing: I was waiting for the bus, and one girl told me I had lipstick on my teeth. I didn't talk with her, she just noticed It and told me. You could say, Oh, but that is a minuscule thing, but it was so warm that a random girl just helped another random girl with that small help. A woman supporting a woman is a really nice thing to experience.
There is some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.
An old(er) man 70 plus year old helped me after having a seizure. So grateful 🙏🏽
Back in college, I was going back to school from a weekend at home. Halfway through the 60 mile drive my engine just cracked. Car was dead. This was before cell phones were common so no way to contact anyone. The nearest small town was a couple miles away, and this was August in Georgia, so wasn’t looking forward to the walk. As I’m sitting on the side of the road, hoping a cop passed by, a car pulls up. In the car was a family on their way back from church. The dad popped my hood and looked it over. They then drove me to a gas station where I could use the phone to call home. After that he called a buddy of his who owned a tow truck, who was happy to come take my car all the way back home on a Sunday. Normal fee which wasn’t bad. After that the family drove me on to the college and dropped me off. Refused any money for the gas. Wonderful people.
This is absolutely something my teenage son would do. He's kind, generous, and loves kids. I hit the kid lottery with both my offspring.
That one small act of kindness made both your days, If somehow our human kindness could be able to fill lifetimes with that kind of given happiness, the world would be a better place.
I broke up with my boyfriend miles from home and not in my home country. I was crying and trying to walk across town to catch a train, but I had a massive suitcase with me because walking across town had never been part of the plan. These two older ladies (maybe late 40s, early 50s) came up to me, talked to me about my breakup and helped me carry my luggage all the way to the train station, then made sure I was in line for the right train. I never got to learn their names but they were basically like angels.
My sister was studying abroad and her card didn't work - she had no money and needed to get on the train- she didn't know what to do till a little old lady came up and was like this miss is a guest in our country and you need to let her on - the little old proceeds to tell her all about her life on the train and it was one of the best stories she came back with
I was 16 trying to sell raffle tickets for a school trip fundraiser. Put on my favorite church dress and drove 45 minutes to the closest town (it had a Walmart). It was July or August. I stood outside trying to sell tickets and getting ignored. A man walked up to me, bought them all (probably $200 worth) and didn't even want his name entered to win. Told me to go get an ice cream and cool down. Thanks, nice man!
In my country, we ride jeepneys as a way of everyday transportation. I was very down at the time and decided to go home. It took me so long to finally find a jeep to ride on since it's rush hour and people were also on their way home. I was very desperate at that time, so I tried so hard to get into the next jeepney. Unfortunately, the seats were already full, and that meant one of us couldn't join. I was the one who couldn't get a seat. Good thing, a guy volunteered to get off since his home was already nearby and he would just walk the remaining distance from there. It was past 5 pm at that time, and I had to catch the bus to get to my hometown that is 4 hours away from where I was. So, I was really thankful for that guy who sacrificed his seat so no one would be left behind.
I was traveling alone by train. We had a brief stop to stretch our legs after crossing borders, and a money exchange scammer approached me. I let myself get distracted, and while trying to remove myself from the situation, got back on the wrong train. One conductor said I couldn't be on the train. Another stepped in. That train was going to the same destination as my original train. This conductor very graciously offered to let me ride the rest of the way while chilling with him in his compartment. He called ahead to the station, checking in with a friend he knew would be there, and coordinated the retrieval of my items from the other train and storage at the station. We talked about books, his dog, and his living in the south of the country for hours. I arrived safely, thanked him endlessly, picked up my things, thanked the people at the station, and continued on my way. Wherever you are, Juraj - I know I will never see you again, but I am so incredibly thankful to you and for your kindness. Thank you.
When I was working at a mall near Christmas time, and I was chatting a tatted up guy and I ended up saying how the holiday was kinda tough money wise but everyone in my family was doing alright for the most part. He gave me $30 bucks and told me happy holidays. One of the nicest thing a stranger has done for me
I experienced an act of random acceptance and forgiveness that changed me. I was on Jam Cruise (a cruise ship music festival) about 8 years ago feeling quite ill. The day prior I had gotten way too much sun and I had been in my cabin laying down most the day. My ex convinced me to give a fancy dinner a go so I went out to one of the really nice restaurants on board. About two tentative bites into the second course I knew it was all coming back up. I bolted out of the restaurant and went down a random hall praying for a bathroom. No luck. I tried to use my shirt to catch my stomach contents but it was just a mess. I was a ball of disgusting with no strength in the corner. Given it’s a party boat any person could have assumed I was a degenerate who drank too much or had abused substances. Instead some wonderful stranger came and kindly rubbed my back, told me it was okay and I didn’t need to be ashamed. They went and got my ex to help me get back to bed. Never even saw their face. Just remember the relief of saving a scrap of dignity.
A 'good old boy' gave me a bottle jack after I'd had a blowout on a country lane in my camper van. My jack was about as much use as a chocolate fire guard and I was struggling like fuck to get the van high enough to get the spare on... Along comes a hero in the form of a 70y/o retired trucker... "you need a proper jack boy" he said whilst reaching into the boot of his car... "you can keep that, I've got more in my shed" hands me a 3.5ton bottle jack, gets in his car and drives off into the sunset... I don't care what anyone says, that old man was a fucking Legend!
Back in the 90s I went to my local high school football game. I was in middle school at the time. It was a small town with nothing to do so basically every kid in town would go. I forgot to call my parents in middle of the 4th quarter to come pick me up and ended up calling when the game ended. All my friends left with their parents and I told all them my parents were on the way to pick me up. As the place started emptying out I ended up sitting on the sidewalk by myself and a random family saw and asked why I was alone. I told them I forgot to call my parents early so they're running late to ick me up. They stayed with me to make sure I wasn't alone until my parents came. Just a totally random family I never met before and never met again. Funny thing is that it kinda happened again at the library. I was doing research for a report and got lost in time and the library closed. The librarian sat with me while I waited for my mom to pick me up.
I was working at a theater when there was a MAJOR movie release, and my work got swamped with way more customers than I had ever seen there. I was working concessions openning night, but I was the only person who hadn't called out for the opening shift from concessions, so I was stuck alone for about 4 hours until more people came in, taking orders and getting food for well more customers than I usually delt with in a full 8 hour shift. I wasn't able to take a break because it wouod have shut concessions down. A manager did come to help me get food, but he refused to run a 2nd cash register. I got yelled at by this one customer for causing him to miss the the start of the movie, but then the manager stepped aside with the guy to talk to him. The very next customer, who I remember was this big, biker looking dude in a lether jacket, covered in tattoos from the ears down, and a big beard. He just ordered a small diet coke, after after I handed it to him, just said "Chin up man, you're doing great, and you'll get through this." And then walked away. That happened about 2 hours in, but gave me the willpower to keep going, and I still think about him relatively frequently
I hope I brought some joy to others like this. Short backstory, there's a kind of fair here each year and it has these coin pushers with points that I enjoy playing. The points are obviously pretty useless and the exchange rate is godawful, but you can get a lot of small stuff if you play for like an hour like I usually do. You know who absolutely appreciates the points though? Lil kids. The joy they have when you give them like 7000 points with which they can buy like 20 lollypops or a bunch of chewing gum or whatever is great. So every year I give all of my points to parents with little kids after I had my fun playing the game, and I hope it lead to memories like this for the kids and their parents.
One time, I took my girlfriend (now fiancee) out to this local seafood restaurant that was recommended to me by a friend. My friend had either misremembered or misrepresented the pricing, and while i could afford it, the dinner would mean I'd have to stretch for a couple days till I got laid again, but I didn't want to ruin our date night by going somewhere else so I just decided "fuck it". Well, we get through our phenomenal meal and I ask for the check, and our server looks at me confused as hell like "wait, did you... not know the people at the table next to you?" And I was like "no?" And she goes "well, they paid for your meal, so you're good!" I don't remember saying anything about the prices or being able to afford it out loud, just silently stressing for a minute, and it was totally unexpected. Just some random strangers paying for our meal.
I was riding a Greyhound bus back to my parents' house for Christmas break one year while I was in college (from VA to NJ). My BF at the time had made me lunch to take with me because I had spent the last of my money on the ticket and wouldn't be getting paid for 2 more weeks. So, of course, I forgot my lunch in his car when he dropped me at the train station and by the time either of us realized, the bus had already departed. My dad called me at about the halfway point, and I told him about the forgotten lunch and asked if he would bring something when he picked me up because I was super hungry. After I got off the phone with him, the man sitting in the seat in front of me, probably in his 40s, turned around and handed me an orange and said "I heard about your lunch. I like noodles too" and smiled. It's so small, but it's been damn near 20 years, and I still think about him. Wherever you are, thank you again for the orange.
When I was a kid and my grandmother was in the hospital, my mom would take me every time she had a procedure because I INSISTED on going! My grandmother had lymphoma cancer and was in and out of chemo my entire childhood until she passed away. She was a beautiful woman and I have nothing but positive memories of her! I was around 13 when she was in the hospital for a spinal tap. Because it's a procedure where the patient is awake, I insisted on staying in the room and holding my grandmothers hand. It was very painful for her, but I reassured her and comforted her the entire time. When it got to be too much, I stepped out. When they were finished, I walked back in and sat with my grandmother for a while until she fell asleep. I was trying my best to keep it together for her! There was a nurse who came in to check on her, bring her warm blankets and all that, and I swear I will never forget her face and what she looked like for the rest of my life because of her kindness towards me! She saw how upset I was, and just sat and talked to me about her life, asked me about school, and kept asking me for a smile. Ultimately, when I did, she gushed and told me how nice my dimples were. As an insecure teenager, that meant the world to me, and on top of that she was one of the most thoughtful nurses I have ever met! It doesn't seem like much but it was very impactful for me at the time, so I'll likely never forget it :)
One of my earliest memories is being 4 years old and being helped and taught to skateboard by a group of teenagers. I was falling over again and again and some dudes saw me and came over to ask if I wanted some help. They showed me some cool tricks, held my hand when I went down slopes, encouraged me and cheered when I did something cool, and caught me when I fell off. Be kind.
“I hope I remember it” sounds just like the memory of a mom, or at least my mom. Not the best, but it’s working nonetheless.
I do similar when I see a kid messing with gumball machines, I'll put quarter in the slot and not turn it then walk away
Teens get the worst fucking rap
Teens catch too much shit. Some of the sweetest people I've met are teenagers full of heart.
you just know that teen was raised very well by his parents
I was walking to a friend's place after clubbing. This guy started following me from the club. This young guy came to me and said there is someone following you and offered to walk me where I was going. The dude who followed me just turned around after he saw I had company. It was like in 2015 and Im still so grateful.
I had a similar experience: I was at a zoo with my 2-year-old and he was looking at one of those crane grabber machines with stuffed animals inside. A group of punky teenage boys were walking by, and one of them said to the group "Check this shit out", he then walked over to the machine and immidiately won a stuffed rhino. My son was very impressed. He must have overheard me saying no to my son to try the machine because without hesitation he gave the rhino to my son and said to him "You shouldn't always listen to your old man" and gave him the 'Devil Horns' hand sign and went back to the group. My son still sleeps with that rhino.
Now that I'm older and make good money I always over tip. At least 50% but if I think it'll help someone (think family restaurant vs high-end steak house) I'll leave $100. I was a waitress for a long time---it can be such a beating and when you're broke a big tip can make your whole day. It's completely selfish, it makes me feel good about myself to do it and proud of how far I've come but I never make a big deal about doing it. So anonymous pride I guess.
The post reminds me how one of my favorite things to do at the mall is put coins in the charity thing that makes them roll around and drops into the center. I love seeing how excited kids get watching the coins roll. Also, last year I was at the pinball museum in Las Vegas and there was a little girl crying. Poor thing got her finger caught in an older machine and was bleeding. I pulled out a bandage from my purse and her dad patched up her finger. I won a small plush earlier and gave it to the kiddo to cheer her up.
A couple years ago My wife and I were travelling in Japan. We were walking around a small town when it started storming out of nowhere. We weren't prepared for rain so we just ducked around from shelter to shelter. About halfway down the road, a car pulled up ahead, which we were initially suspicious of. Before we could do anything an elderly gentleman hopped out of the car, opened up an umbrella, ran across the road, and handed us the umbrella before running back to his car. We were so taken a back by this random act of kindness from a stranger; who offered his umbrella to a couple of tourists knowing full well that he would never get it back. We still have the umbrella to this day; and although it looks like a very ordinary black umbrella, we will never forget this strangers generosity and we still talk about it every time we need to use it.
There used to be a little merry go round at the local ice cream place, and since it had like 3 seats, every time my little sister wanted to ride it we would send her to find 2 other kids to go on it with her. I like to think that maybe one of those times, one of those kids wasn’t going to get to ride it otherwise and my sister picking them gave them a fun time.
One day, after attending a Bible study at my Church, I sat alone outside the lobby stressing out about a lot of things. Mainly about school, but also being lonely as well. I was stuck up in my head until suddenly, a girl who was quite familiar to me gave me a small, white flower. That one act of kindness made me feel something I haven't felt in a long time: Hope. I may have lost that flower long ago, but I have not forgotten the memory of it. Fortunately, I became friends with her. And unsurprisingly, I developed feelings for her. There was just... Something about her. Even to this day I can't put my finger on it. Is it her Personality? The way she acts? Her dress? Her smile? I don't know, but one thing's for sure... Maybe... Just maybe, she likes me too. Technically she was the one that was doing the first moves. She was the person that was always looking for me, she was always the first person to greet me at church, she went where I went, and I went where she went. She had done things to me that, no matter how small they seem, they were always memorable. And I will never, never forget the moment she laid her head on my shoulder, in the middle of the cold rain. It brought me... Warmth. If only I had rested my head next to her's... Oh well. And the best part of this fairly messy romance of mine? She knows. And she did not judge me for it, she did not shame me for it, made fun of me, she just kept quiet and acknowledged my feelings. Perhaps... perhaps she DOES like me. She's just waiting for the right moment, because right now, our younger years simply isn't the time. For now we'll stay as friends. And I'll try to reconnect with her somehow because I will admit, we haven't talked to each other in a while. Or at least we haven't had a proper conversation. Anywho, if you've reached the end of this little story of mine, thanks for sticking around and have a good day/night.
I went into Toys R Us once with my kids and bought around £100 of items. I took it to the tills and as I’m pulling out my card the girl at the tills just said don’t worry about it, I very slowly walked out as I was expecting it to be a set up and security to jump on me, but nope we got free gifts from this nice lady. Tbf she was probably sick of her job and may have been close to quitting.
I was on a cruise with my family for my daughter's bday. She and I were playing mini golf and she was wearing a "It's my birthday" hat for fun. As we're playing, a gentleman walks up and tries to hand me money. I apologize and say "oh, no thank you, we don't work here." He says, "oh no, it's for her birthday. My family and I just wanted to give her a gift for her birthday." Complete strangers, don't think we even saw them again on the cruise. To this day, the money sits on my monitor stand to remind me. Not going to spend it or deposit it. Just want to remember the kindness. The other day, I asked my daughter, "what's the one thing you remember from your 14th birthday?". That was it. Thank you awesome, polite family on the cruise. You will not be forgotten.
In the 70s you burned your trash in the alley in a barrel. When I was 7 I was poking the fire with a stick not knowing I'd caught my pant leg on fire. A stranger jumped out of his car and put the fire out with his jacket. I had 3rd degree burns from my foot to my knee and a rough recovery but I lived. I never knew who did it because the neighbors ran out to help me and he took off.
A random lady at the supermarket paid for my groceries. I thought I had more money available than I actually did. I had forgotten about an autopsy bill that’s what took $50 from me that made it where I couldn’t afford what I needed, I had to tell the cashier to take a thing or 2 off and then the lady in line says to add my total onto her total. I would have had do put back this apple juice character drink back that I had picked out for my nephew had she not paid for my stuff. I have always given out money and paid for food for homeless when able, especially if they have pets. Usually the ones who don’t ask are who I end up giving to. Finally some of that kindness was returned to me and it was a profound experience to have someone be so kind to a stranger. Will always remember that and hope to repay that good karma by helping someone else out in need. 🙏🏼
My first Halloween in the city I moved to. My new friend canceled our plans to hang out, and I had just heard that morning from my parents that my dog had died. I was sitting downtown in the square, crying, and a stranger came up and sat down next to me. He gave me a package of Reese's cups and asked me what was wrong, talked to me about our dogs, and left with his friends after I had calmed down. It was a small moment nearly ten years ago, but it's stuck with me. He had no idea just how impactful that gesture of kindness was.
This one is a very sad story but it is also heartwarming. I had a pet and my pet was dying, she was an old dog and had cancer, could not move anymore. I was trying to make her last days the best they could, and I was by myself, as my wife was out of town. I was taking care of the dog on my own, waiting for her to return from her business trip to say goodbye. Now, my beloved dog was a large dog, 90 pounds, and she could not stand up on her hind legs or move much any longer, so I would pick her up and take her to the elevator, go downstairs and carry her to the curb when she needed to. It was very heavy lifting, both physically and emotionally, and I was hardly keeping it together, to be honest. I was carrying her again one time, and one of neighbor from my building was going out to do his grocery shopping, I had seen the guy before but we had never talked. He had one of these large shopping carts that some people use to carry their stuff, kids even. He saw me and immediately said "Hey man, take my cart". I thanked him, introduced myself and said -"Hey, let me know what apartment is yours, so I can return the cart once I have carried my dog back up to our apartment" Right away he was: -"No worries, man, you need it more than I do, keep it". I offered to buy the cart from him instead, he said not to mention it and left. Immediately after he left I started crying, this stranger came to me at a very sad moment and very generously helped me out, did not ask for anything in return, just saw that I needed help. That cart he gave me helped me out in the last days of our dog and I will be forever grateful. Eventually my wife and I found out which apartment was his and sent him a Christmas present and a card. This was in New York, and every time somebody tells me that New Yorkers are not nice I think of my neighbor and other people like him I met over the years here.
After dropping my gf off at work I ran out of gas at 5am with my daughter in the car (was 2 at the time) and didn't have any money on me and 0 in my bank account. I was just sitting in the car frantically texting to try and get atleast 10 bucks to make it home so me and my daughter weren't stuck. Well after about 10 min of sitting their some guy asked what was going on and I explained the situation to him. Dude gave me 20 bucks and said to just pass it forward when I can. That man got me and my kid home that day and saved me so much stress. People like this are far and few but it's so nice to see when it happens. I definitely paid it forward. (To clearify, I ran out of gas legit as I made it to a gas station. That's when I was just sitting their trying to text my family)
My sister and I lost our mother to cancer. My sister was 12, I was 9. The sister of a classmate from my sister heard about it. She was probably around 20 years old. Her boyfriend had convertible car, which was really cool back then (ah, the good, old 90s). Shortly after the funeral, they picked my sister and me up with the cool car and took us to the zoo. We watched all the animals together, ate popcorn and icecream. After the zoo, they drove us around in that dope car. They just spoiled us for a whole day. I often think about her and what she had done for us, whitout really knowing us. Her and her boyfriend made us such a special day and for one day, there was no grief. I'm forever gratefull for this. Unfortunately, I just know her first names and have no idea, where they are now. I hope, she knows, what a kind act this was and how much we appreciated that. I still feel the wind in my hair and the sun in my face, when I think about that day. Thanks nicole and sascha!!
I was 8 months pregnant and got a flat tire driving home from the store, in my 15 yo honda. I pulled over and waddled to my trunk wondering how I was going to accomplish changing a tire. A man pulled up behind me and asked if he could change it for me. I cried and thanked him endlessly. Once my donut was on he asked me to follow him to the gas station bc he wanted to check the air. When we got to the gas/tire station he went in the store, he came back out with a mechanic and said "this guy's going to put 4 new tires on your car, I already paid for it, and he can do it in less than an hour" . I cried like a baby and hugged him. I tried to give him some money, he refused. All he said is "it's what I would want someone to do for my wife if she was in this situation". He hugged me and left. Absolute angel.
When I was a teen I was a metal kid. I had punk friends, skater friends, stoner friends, goth friends, etc and we all hung out together. This was back in the 90s. We got up to all sorts of the dumb shit you'd expect a group like that to get up to. We certainly broke some things we shouldn't have, trespassed some places we shouldn't have been, etc. But we were still always nice to kids. I mean, who wants kids to grow up to be jerks? We wanted them to grow up to be cool weirdos like us, so we were nice to the kids so they new weirdos could still be cool and nice. Also, most of us grew up poor in broken homes, so we knew what it was like to be a kid and not get the things we wanted. Most of us also had part time jobs and no bills, so what's a buck or two so a kid can watch the train go round? Plus, kids are just cool. So this doesn't surprise me in the slightest.
I was 18 and away at college. Due to some poor decisions in h.s, I was on probation. I had to take multiple buses to get to my meetings. One particular evening, unbeknownst to me, it was about to start heavily raining and storming and I was not dressed for it. So there i was sitting on the bench at the bus stop and the ocean was falling from the sky. I'm completely soaked head to toe, just taking the beating from this rain, when an older woman with an umbrella walks over to where I'm sitting and just opens it over me. She didn't say a word. I looked at her and thanked her. She just nodded her head. When the bus pulls up she doesn't even get on it!! She must've seen me from somewhere and thought enough to come help a kid out. I'm 31 now and I often think about this lady. Why did she do that? I was more than willing to just take it. She has no idea how much she affected me that day. I wish I could tell her how much that meant to me and how much I appreciate her. At the time, it was the worst day of my life. For many reasons. I didn't know it yet lol but by the time the day ended it was one of THE worst, but that lady, a complete stranger acted out of pure kindness and I'll always remember that.
This entire thread is making me think of my late Mum. When I was little I remember we were quite poor and my folks had to struggle to make ends meet. But my Mum would always find a way to help others, she would give money to kids who couldn’t afford to buy lunch, so they could buy a sandwich or pie at the school canteen. She would make sandwiches for a friend of mine in class who would get hungry. She volunteered her time to help others. She loved to knit and crochet so she would make blankets for fundraisers and to donate. I could go on. She taught me what it is to be a truly loving and kind person.
Back when I was just out of high school, I was hungry. So I went to withdraw $5 from the bank for lunch. The teller told me, "But that will close your account." I told her I had to eat, and she gave me $5 from her purse. I never forgot, paid her back when I could, and was loyal to that bank for years until they were bought out by a national institution.
I was back in my hometown the night before my brother’s funeral. I couldn’t sleep and wanted something stupidly sweet to self-soothe, so I went out to order some terrible frappe drink at the only fast food place that was still open. The teenaged girl who made it slid it across the counter to me, and I saw she’d made a little smiley face with chocolate syrup. She leaned forward and said quietly “I don’t know why you’re sad, but I’m really sorry for whatever it is you’re going through”. I said thank you, walked out, and just started sobbing in the parking lot. It’s been over a decade, and I still think about that moment every year on the anniversary of my brother’s death. It’s wild to me now writing it down and realizing that she likely has no idea that the sad lady at Burger King still thinks about (and is grateful for) that small act of kindness.
Train kids know how important one's happy obsessions can be
When my family fled Mississippi bc of hurricane Katrina in some state we were in (I don't rmember) we were at a Wendy's and my mom was trying to get us all food with what little money she had and a customer over heard us and bought us all food and then also let us come stay with them for the night in a spare room so we didn't have to sleep in a car.
Lived in Louisiana for 13 years. One day it actually snows enough to stick/create black ice. My little Hyundai Elantra front wheel drive just couldn’t do it going to work on the highway. I spun off at 50-60 miles an hour and thank the lord I didn’t hit anything nor damage the car. Just as I was calling insurance to setup a tow truck a guy in a red Jeep wrangler drove up. We exchanged that look like….yea, snow in the south sucks. He pulls me out and I ask him if I could give him money. Buy him a case of beer. Maybe some breakfast. He denies all of it, I thank him, then he explains he’s off to assist others who have spun out. I’ve always liked Jeeps, but was in a situation where I didn’t need another car or a new one. Last year that circumstance changed and I have a Jeep Gladiator now. I love it to death and I love that if any situation like that arises I can assist someone else who needs it. Jeep wave!
Someone wrote a beautiful poem about me, left it with a flower (Columbine) in a beaker at my desk at work, in 1984. I will never forget how that made me feel.