It’s easy to be discouraged about the good of humanity with all the terrible things happening around the world. But sometimes there are people who cross paths with another person in desperate need of help. It’s not always a dire emergency, but something that the person needed to get through their day. Have some more hope in humanity reading these true experiences about the kindest act a strangers have done for them.
1. Down In The Dumps
In high school, I ate at a Mexican restaurant and threw away my car keys on my tray when I was done eating. I asked a worker if he had cleared them off the table, and he said no but that he had just taken the trash out to the dumpster. I remember going outside to call my dad to ask if there was a spare, and he said no.
So, I turned back into the restaurant feeling humiliated and was about to ask if I could look through the dumpster, only to see a heartwarming sight. This man had already gone through the dumpster on my behalf and ended up finding my keys for me. He just went above and beyond expectations, and to this day, I am so grateful for his help.
2. Tearful Holidays
I missed my train to go home for Christmas from university due to a crash near the station. I was completely broke and knew I did not have enough for another ticket. Life just got on top of me knowing I'd have to spend Christmas alone in my awful student house and not see my grandad who was in rapidly declining health.
I was bawling my eyes out on the platform when someone appeared out of a hidden stock room and brought me tissues. He found out why I was upset and said leave it to me. He brought me to the customer service desk and got them to reissue me a ticket for the next train home. I was so thankful that I started bawling again.
He went on his way, and then just before I was about to get my train, he found me on the platform and gave me some snacks and a can of Coke, and it’s just the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.
3. Getting Pushy
Back in the days before cell phones were common, I was on my way home from university in a bad part of town. I was driving alone at night when my alternator and engine both failed on the freeway exit. As I was pushing my car, a guy in a truck came and offered to push my car home a good three miles away. He did, and as I was pulling in, he simply gave a wave and drove off into the night.
4. Under Help
I broke my foot and was trying to limp my way across campus with crutches in the pouring rain. Someone ran over to me with their umbrella and walked across campus with me so I wouldn't get rained on. I had been having a terrible semester and this one act of kindness made all the difference. If you're reading this, thank you!
5. Looking McMiserable
I was taking my lunch break at a job I absolutely hated. I was sitting eating alone at a McDonald's, and after about 15 minutes, this man in his 40s or 50s came up to me and said, "Hey man, you look really sad. Things will get better," then shook my hand. Honestly, it takes a lot for one adult man to offer that to another man.
6. Pizza Delivery
I was in my first year of community college at 19 years old, and I was going through the hardest time in my life. My dad had lost his job, and my mom supported my whole family. We were struggling for a while. I remember being in my night class one day starving. I figured there’d be no dinner, so I told myself I’d go straight to bed when I got home and not think about being hungry.
When I got home, I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a giant box of Costco pizza on the kitchen counter. Apparently, one of our neighbors bought it because my dad fixed a part of her fence a few months back. I think it stuck with me because one, I was so hungry and two, the chances of her bringing food that night of all nights was insane to me.
7. All Out
My motorbike ran out of gas not long after I started riding. I didn't realize I'd go through my reserve that fast. I managed to get more miles by laying my bike on its side to get a few more drops in the carb, but, eventually, it didn't work anymore. I was about to start pushing when a guy pulled up to me and asked me, “No fuel?”
I said yes, and he told me to wait. About ten minutes later, he came back holding a can of gas and poured it in, but before I could offer him anything, he said, “No worries man, it happens to the best of us," and drove away. I assumed he was a biker too and had the same happen to him once. His kindness absolutely made my day.
8. Cover Up
I was nine years old waiting for the school bus in Wisconsin winter. I had a thin coat and no hat or gloves. A woman driving past saw me and stopped. Then she gave me a blanket from the back of her car. It was a long skinny one, so she wrapped it around my head and shoulders like a big scarf. I remember thanking her, but I also remembered being confused.
I told her I didn't know how I would give the blanket back when I was done borrowing it. She hugged me and said not to worry about it. I still have that blanket.
9. Taking The First Step
After I lost my dad, my depression went from manageable to dangerously bad. I went to the doctor for a prescription for anti-depressants. When I was picking it up, I started crying and apologized to the pharmacist for doing so. His words changed my life. He looked at me and said, “You don't have to apologize. You recognize you have a problem, and you are trying to fix it. That is a brave thing."
10. Weeding Out The Good Ones
Last year, my son and I went to Lowe's to buy his grandpa a weed eater and a certain attachment that goes with it. Grandpa was a little older and slower than before, but he did a lot for us, so we wanted to help make his life a little easier. When we got there, however, there was only one of the attachments left that we wanted.
Even worse, there was an employee getting it down for another customer. My son looked devastated. He knew how much his grandpa had been wanting the items, and we were going to surprise him with it. My son looked at me and quietly said, "that's the last one. What are we going to do for grandpa now?" The guy overheard and saw my son.
He saw the pained look on my son's face, and then he casually handed it to me and told us, "I think your grandpa needs this more than I do. I'll just get an IOU from the store." It was such a small moment for this guy, but it's one of those things that you witness that would literally help shape my son and his view of the world.
11. Home Run
I finally decided to get out of my bad home life. I went to my college’s financial aid office to see if I qualified for a dorm. Turns out, I was 50 dollars short. I looked at the ground trying not to cry. I had finally gotten the courage to leave but could not do it. The financial aid lady touched my shoulder and looked at me. Then she simply said, “I believe you" and I nearly burst into tears.
It was the first time anyone had flat out said they believed I was being hurt. She took out her credit card and paid the last fifty dollars. She went with me to sign the lease and to get the key to my dorm. I stood with my key in my hand and realized I was getting out. I was going to be free. I broke down. She hugged me and told me to pay it forward eventually.
I have no idea what her name is, but to the woman at Dixie college who took a chance on me, thank you. I pay it forward by speaking at therapy groups about choosing not to be a victim and sponsoring those who are in similar living situations as I was.
12. In Good Mountain Standard Time
Once, I’d taken the scenic route home through a windy mountain road. It was a beautiful 30-minute detour around traffic with a great view and my windows down smelling the earth and leaves. The place was so out of the way that there wasn’t any cell reception. Just a big beautiful mountain road. I was enjoying the view as I drove when I got a branch stuck under my car.
Because my car was small and the branch was big, I pulled over to deal with it. Unfortunately, I had no choice but to pull over in a deep ditch and feel as my car slowly rolled right to the bottom. It was so deep that my car's nose was at the bottom while the the back wheels were three feet off the ground on the other side. I easily got the branch out, but I was in big trouble: How the heck was I going to get out of this hole?
Then, this big pick-up drove up the road and saw me. There was a couple who had wanted to help me but had nothing to tow me. Then, at this random moment in time, a person was walking their dog where there are no sidewalks and said, "Hey, I live right here; I'll get chains." He went to his house, came back in ten minutes with his large pick-up and chains, hooked my car up to both trucks, and they pulled me out. I'd been there just 15 minutes.
I was in a sparsely populated area with little to no traffic with my car nose down in a ditch and no cell service. We inspected the damage, nothing major, but the couple escorted me off the mountain to ensure I could make it home. I got off that mountain between sheer luck and unbelievable kindness I will never forget.
13. Gut Feeling
Leaving a park with my son, I put a hard candy in my mouth and said something. The candy slipped down my throat. I immediately knew I was in trouble and couldn’t breathe any air. I threw the car into park and left my son confused. I started flagging down people on street. A guy and his girl stopped. It was getting bad and I was panicking.
I made universal choking sign. The guy understood. I could tell he wasn't sure what to do, so I guided his hands to the correct position. After four heaves, the candy was out. I gave him a big hug, and we went our separate ways. It was scariest moment I have ever experienced, especially having it happen in front of my son, and this complete stranger literally saved my life.
14. We All Scream
I transferred in the middle of first grade to a school that did ice cream Fridays where you'd pay like 75¢, get an ice cream, and then watch an educational video in the classroom. I was unaware of it on the first Friday, so I didn't have any change and neither did the kid next to me. Usually, there’d be a few who couldn't get ice cream.
But we were the only two that day. So, the teacher called the both of us aside and gave us each the change required to have our ice cream. I think the biggest thing was that she didn't do it in front of the other kids, so it looked like we’d brought the money all along. It was incredibly kind of her. She was the most wonderful teacher I ever had.
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15. Got You Back
While I was at school, I helped a girl out when she was having a meltdown in the bathroom. But then the story got better. A few weeks later, she pretended to be my friend who had been waiting to meet me when I was being followed home by two guys. We never saw each other outside of those two occasions, but I still think about her and hope she’s okay.
16. Participation Award
In middle school, my softball team had just lost a big match. A girl from the other team walked over to me and handed me a blue pouch. At first, I couldn't open it, so I just said, "Thank you!" and walked with my parents to the car. After examining it for a bit, I was able to open it and pull out this really cute softball necklace. It was such a sweet, classy gesture.
17. How Now Brown Cow
I’d been complaining about heartburn at my work at a restaurant. I was still pretty new to the job and didn’t really have any work friends. I felt like an outsider, and my life outside of work was pretty unbearable as well. The bartender on shift overheard me and ran to a nearby coffee shop to get me a chocolate milk. I felt much better.
It was such a needlessly kind act that I’ll never forget it. Two years later, we're still friends, and she is definitely one of the kindest people I've ever met.
18. Using Rights Right
When I was 19, I lost my wallet, and somebody used my license to rack up tickets. It was pretty obvious once the courts looked at the location, the vehicle, and the signature that it wasn't me. But that didn't matter to the system. I still had to go to around three courts clearing it up. The third judge was the only one with a problem. He said I ignored the tickets.
I explained what was happening and how I’d been dealing with this and I came in as soon as I was made aware of my issue. He wanted to put me away because he didn't trust I'd be back. He wouldn't look at my paperwork because it was an arraignment. He would only look at it during the trial date. I didn't know what to do.
I had the name of the public defender memorized. I asked if I could speak to her first. He called her in and said, "This young man seems to know you." I quickly explained what was happening and showed her my evidence. She told the judge that if he didn't release me to come back, she'd pay my bail out of her own pocket.
19. That Was Wheelie Nice
My neighbors asked to borrow my truck. I told them I couldn’t trust the truck because the tires were bad. The next day, Mr. Neighbor called and said he was getting new tires for his suburban and I could have his old ones. He told me to just show up at this certain tire shop where they would switch the tires out for me. So I go to the shop, and they had installed brand new tires on my truck.
I asked what happened to the old tires I was supposed to receive. That's when the shop owner revealed the true story. He said the “old tires” was just a story to get me in the shop. Mr. Neighbor bought me a full set of new tires instead of the old tires he said I could have. I was going through a tough time financially, and his action was incredibly kind.
20. Extra Streps
I was out of a job at a time when I had to support my mother. I finally landed one, but I had to walk back and forth, and I didn't have any shoes that would hold up on the walk or the work. I went to Facebook, and mom asked around for some hand me downs that we could buy from someone. A day later, a kind man showed up.
He had brand new pair of really nice shoes that he had just gone out and bought for me. He left before I could even get any money for him. I cried.
21. Almost Like The Musical
I recorded a homemade album with my garage band in high school and handed out a couple CDs. A few weeks later, my English teacher approached me with five pages of notes on what he enjoyed and what I could improve. He got the CD from someone at the high school and listened to it all the way through. It was over an hour long.
He didn't know I was the singer and guitar player until he asked the person who gave him the CD about who was in the band. He said that if I ever got an opportunity in a studio, I would create something amazing. His kind words broke my heart in the best way possible. Thank you to all the teachers out there who believe in their students. It makes all the difference to us.
22. Keeping Warm
When I was 17, I was going through a really terrible time in my life. One day, I was already exhausted and depressed when I had a really bad shift at work. Then my train home was over an hour late. I just started crying at the train station and was really wondering if it was all worth it. This woman must have seen me, because she came up to me and just held me for bit while I cried.
She was a complete stranger and I've never seen her since, but I needed her and I'll never forget her.
23. Good City Folk
I moved from a city to the country. I bought a large metal rack without thinking of how I would get it home. As I stood outside my car measuring, an older man came up to me. He asked if I needed help getting it home and offered to follow me in his truck. I thought, okay, I’d only lose $40 if he had some bad intentions.
Plus, I couldn't get it home anyways. The older man followed me home and helped me bring it into the house. We talked for five minutes, and when he was about to leave, I asked him, "I just have to ask. What made you do this today?" The man extended his hand to shake mine and said, "Just doing my good deed for the day."
24. Avocadont Have To Do That
Once in high school, I was ordering a burrito at Chipotle. The woman assembling my burrito asked if I wanted guacamole. I asked how much it cost. She said $1. I hesitated for a while trying to decide if guacamole was worth $1 to me and then said no. When she thought I wasn't looking, I saw her add a scoop of guacamole.
25. Long Lost Family
I had been in the medical field, and over the course of a few days, I met and worked with an entire amazing family. First, I met the dad when he came in for his appointment. He was just an awesome human. Then, the next day, he came in with his son. Later that afternoon, he came back in with his son again for his daughter’s appointment. I genuinely fell in love with this family more and more.
The father, son, and daughter went to the mother’s appointment with her the next day. At that point, I was considering proposing to the son as I wanted to be a part of this awesome, hilarious, loving family. I informed them I wouldn’t be there when they came back in two weeks as I had just gotten my dream job and decided to move to a new city for a fresh start.
They came back an hour later with a bundt cake with the sweetest card. They'd also written a little inside joke written on the cake box. It made me cry. My family life has always sucked and meeting them was just so beautiful and healing.
26. Cool Treat
If my little league team won a game, everybody would go to the Dairy Barn for an ice cream cone to celebrate. I had a “strict” coach one year who said that if you didn't play in the game, you didn't get an ice cream. I didn't play once when we won, but I went to the Dairy Barn with my friends. Others usually went home.
The lady asked me what I wanted, and I told her that I couldn't have one because I didn't play. She looked at me funny and went onto the next customer. Then, while we were outside, I saw the lady came out with this big smile on her face. She gave me a huge ice cream cone and said "You're still a winner." I still choke up a little when I think about it.
27. Continue The Cycle
I was riding my bike on a long trip through Canada. With about 50 miles to go, I had a major mechanical failure. I was stuck on the side of the road in a foreign country. Within just five minutes, ten cars had stopped to check on me. One guy loaded my bike in the back of his truck and brought me 30 miles to the border.
I caught a ferry back to the US. It was an amazing kindness and generosity toward a stranger. He just asked that I pay it forward and to date, I've helped five cyclists who were broken down in honor of that promise.
28. Car Fables
I was helping my brother move from a teaching job after college in the 1990s. This was in the middle of nowhere in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He was driving his little pickup truck pulling a trailer, and I was driving my beat-up little Ford station wagon packed to the gills with all of his stuff. It was a Sunday.
I was driving along, and my car just stopped. No warning, nothing. I coasted to a stop on the side of a rural highway and waited for my brother to realize I wasn't behind him anymore and turn around. After waiting about 20 minutes, he found me with my hood up with neither one of us knowing not all that much about cars.
Soon, a man from the house in front of where we had broken down came, took one look at the engine, and stated, "timing belt." We inquired about getting the car towed the 30 miles to the closest large town, and then we realized that it was going to be quite an expensive repair even if the engine was okay and not ruined. And then it all started to change in the best way possible.
This man took one look at the situation, two broke kids in their early 20s just trying to get by in life, and he said, "well, it's Sunday. Nothing's gonna be open. I tell ya what. My next-door neighbor is a mechanic. Let's push the car down to my driveway and we'll see what we can do." So, that was exactly what we did.
His neighbor called his buddy at the auto parts store, which was closed on a Sunday, who did a favor and got the parts needed, drove them 30 miles out, and sat around telling stories while he was fixing the car. This man's son, a kid around nine or ten years old, was hanging around. He was extremely bored with no one his age around.
He seemed like he was craving for any kind of interaction even if it was with two guys in their 20s. He asked, "want to see my treehouse?" and pointed to the woods out back. My brother and I looked at each other, shrugged, and we said, "sure." We ended up spending two hours with the kid helping him build his treehouse.
We were done and went back. the car was fixed. My brother and I had maybe $60 on us combined and tried to pay the man who did the work, but he refused. He said, "No, you boys were in need of help and I wanted to help. You don't need to pay me. Plus, you kept my son occupied for several hours, which I truly appreciate."
He then said, "I want you to do something for me, though. The next time you see someone in need of help and you have the means, I want you to repay this favor." And that is one of the rules of life I live by that a kind and generous man once taught me in the middle of nowhere and helped me when I was in a time of need.
29. Just What I Needed
During the single most difficult time of my life, a stranger on Reddit gifted me $500. To me, it was a fortune. I received it while at work and immediately broke down. It kickstarted a change in my life, and a few months later, I was able to move, met my now-fiancé, had our son, and found my job. I still occasionally message that user.
30. Feeding Into The Fantasy
When I was little, I was waiting for my aunt in a supermarket. Whenever someone exited the supermarket, the doors were automatic. Every time someone left, I stood by the doors and pretended to magically open the doors. I was just being a normal little kid, but the reason I remember this is because one person turned around and said, "Thank you" like I'd actually magically opened the doors. It was sweet of them.
31. Fairy Grandparents
I was trying to fly internationally for the first time and visit a friend in the United Kingdom in spring of 2010. But stuff got complicated when a major volcano erupted and there were no flights in or out of Europe. I wasn't sure what would happen, if my flight would get cancelled, so I rode to Chicago on the train and thought I'd figure it out when I arrived at the airport.
It was just all kinds of extra stress on top of the stress of travelling alone and ultimately, I didn't even get to go. The flight was cancelled, and the airline gave me my money back, so I just hopped on the train back home. Before it was cancelled, I’d gotten to O'Hare, checked in, and went to sit at the gate. I was quietly crying, and most people were ignoring me, except for two angels who changed everything.
An older couple came and sat right next to me at a time when the waiting area was pretty much empty and simply began a conversation. They were a husband and wife trying to get home to Amsterdam who’d been stranded in the US for days and came to speak to me. They didn't acknowledge the state my face was in, but they knew.
32. Got Me Going
I had a troubled home life as a young man. I was basically alone the summer before grade 9. I needed school supplies, and the closest Walmart wasn’t for miles. I tried hitchhiking in the Florida sun. It sucked. Yuppies in SUVs with Jesus fish kept passing me. Then there was an old Latino dude in an old busted up sedan. He offered me a lift, and though he didn't speak much English, he did know "Walmart."
He got me there and tried to give me a couple bucks, which I was too proud to take. Good dude.
33. Four Words
My first semester in college was horrible. I was in a deep depression. One time, I was walking home from school, and a guy running by said, "I like your shirt." It was that simple. I didn't know him, and I didn't care at that moment. It made me feel happy because he gave me a genuine compliment when he did not have to.
34. Mixed iPod
I had a co-worker about ten years ago. We became work friends, but he was moving to another state. On his last day, he brought and gave me an iPod nano completely filled with different music that we had talked about or listened to together. No one had ever done something that thoughtful for me before. I could’ve cried.
35. Made From Scratch
I told my co-worker I really missed home and most of all, a home cooked meal. I was 19 and moved away from home for the first time to a big city for a job opportunity. I’d never been away from my mom before or even been alone for longer than two weeks. I couldn’t cook anything, and anything I did was missing something.
I mostly lived off takeout and microwave meals, which I was really, really sick of. I just wanted a nice meal made with love and fresh ingredients. I told my co-worker that, and the next day, she came in with a container, and its contents made me bawl. It was five homemade meals in containers for me to eat for the next week. The day before she’d ask me about allergies.
I didn’t even think that was anything more than a usual conversation until that next day. It made me cry, and she didn’t understand why I was so overwhelmed since it was just something that she did everyday for her own kids. I don’t think I’ll forget it. It was truly just so, so sweet, and the meals were so comforting.
36. Handling The Situation
When I was a boy, about 14 or 15, I was rushing home to make curfew. My bike wheel slipped sideways, and I crashed my bike quite badly and messed myself up a bit. My body got the full crossbar treatment, and I gashed my elbow and took a blow to the head. These were the days before helmets. A couple passed by and saw the mess of me.
They ran over, got me and my bike up, and called a taxi from a phone box. They paid for me to go the remaining five miles home. My parents went from “what times do you call this” to “you're going to hospital” in a heartbeat. It wasn’t too bad, but without the strangers, I've no idea how long I'd have been at the side of the road.
37. Lighten Your Load
I was on holiday in Europe and extremely late for the train to the airport. My suitcase was almost my size and just as heavy. I was struggling. My train was coming, and I was by the stairs out of breath and exhausted. I put my stuff down, paused, and took a deep breath trying to gather myself a little for my trip down. A man, maybe late 30s, had walked a few steps down the stairs, stopped, turned around, looked at me and then at my luggage.
Then he kindly nodded his head at me, took a few steps up towards me, picked up my suitcase, and slowly walked ahead of me. I followed him. At the very bottom of the stairs, he put my suitcase on the ground. And it was just as my train was arriving! Then he kindly nodded his head at me once again. I thanked him. What a lovely man, I'll never forget him!
38. Good Health Care
When I was 26, broke, and living alone, I’d developed a reaction to latex and non-latex condoms. I decided to get the implant birth control and went to the family planning clinic. I was filling out the forms where you input your salary and insurance info. I didn't have insurance, and the medical assistant took my form. That's when I saw a change come over her face.
She realized my income was just $200 over the limit where would they provide full coverage assistance, meaning that I wasn't eligible for their financial assistance and was going to have to pay about $1,e000 out of pocket just for the birth control and not including an exam I needed. She very quietly explained this to me. Then, in her normal voice, she said, "Oh, let me get you a new one," wink, wink.
She gave me a blank one, so I could fill it out to list my income at what was considered to be the limit for assistance. Because of this, I was able to get the physical exam including medication and a three-year birth control implant for free. I was living paycheck to paycheck, barely scraping by working full time and over time, wearing worn out clothes and shoes with holes. That woman was a freaking life saver for me!
39. Got You Something
I had just ended a three-year relationship in a city where I knew nobody, started a new job, and worked on my birthday. When the HR manager stopped to wish me a happy birthday, she seemed surprised I’d never mentioned it. I explained to her that I was in a bad place mentally and told her I didn’t feel like celebrating.
On her lunch break, she went and got me a single fancy cupcake from the grocery store up the street. She barely knew me. I just clutched that cupcake in the breakroom and sobbed. The best part was that her son ended up working with us a couple months later. We dated, got pregnant, and I, in return, gave her a grandson.
40. Cause For Celebration
Paying for groceries at a Trader Joe’s, the cashier, an old lady in her 60s, asked me what I was doing that weekend. I told her I was actually graduating with my Master’s degree on Saturday. Her eyes lit up, and she had a beaming smile. She congratulated me and told me to wait for a moment. She came back a minute or two later. When I saw what she brought with her, I nearly cried.
She had a small bouquet of roses and told me to celebrate my accomplishment. It was particularly meaningful to me since my parents could not make the ceremony. I thanked her, gave her a smile and a hug, and never saw her again.
41. At The Ready
My brother and I spent our summers at day camp. My brother was about five-years-old and had a tendency to hold his pee all day until we got home. One day, our mom was running late picking us up, and then he wet himself. I was really embarrassed and unsure what to do. Luckily, one of the camp monitors was quick to help.
He helped clean him up and then lent him his shorts so he could change. The monitor was a big dude, and he took a shoelace out of his own shoe to tie his large basketball shorts around my brother's tiny 5-year-old waist. I still remember how nice and reassuring even to me, the embarrassed older sister, he was that day.
42. Facing Reality
I've always struggled with my appearance, but it peaked when I saw myself up close on video for the first time in about a year. I thought I looked awful and lost all self-confidence. I stopped putting any effort into my appearance and went out only in sweatpants and t-shirts. Then my best friend had her birthday party.
I thought it'd be rude to her to show up looking like a slob, so I curled my hair, put on a dress, and did my make-up. As I was going home, I passed a couple and their daughters, one was probably four years old and the other must have been six or seven. As we passed each other, I saw the younger girl staring at me, and then she exclaimed, "Wow, look! Wasn't she beautiful?"
I walked around a corner and actually cried a little. Children are so brutally honest, and knowing that somebody’s first reaction to me was that I was "beautiful" was a type of encouragement I had have never felt before. That comment still sticks with me to this day, and I think about it when I start doubting my appearance again.
43. Lending A Hand
I burnt my hand badly at work, and I was dropped off at an urgent care by a co-worker. I was sobbing and barely able to talk because of the pain. The receptionist was extremely rude to me, so an older man who was waiting on his wife came to help me with things like taking out my wallet of my purse for me. Then, I had to wait.
He sat next to me and told me little funny stories about his grandkids. He even had me hold his hand to squeeze it tight to try to take my mind away from the pain. When I was finally called back, he wished me well. I think about him sometimes. He didn’t have to do that, but he saw that I was in pain and wanted to help.
44. Simple Transaction
Someone gave me a car once after I’d lost my dad. I lived across the country from my mom and was really struggling to get to and from her. When they were done with their car, instead of selling the parts, they just rang me up and gave it to me. No relation, no words spoken for about seven years prior to it, and none after.
45. Out Of Cards
I was having an awful day. My kid was really riled up, I was getting groceries, and our financial situation was not the best. Then came the kicker: As I get up to pay for our food, I realize that the ATM ate my bank card. I didn't notice it when it happened because my kid was distracting me and I had a lot on my mind that day.
So I'm standing at the cash and panicking when a guy I used to serve in a cafe walked up. He paid for my groceries and I cried so hard. I was so thankful.
46. Rules Of The Road
I was driving the 12-hour trip home from college and was almost there. I had a few duffle bags on my roof, and at a stop sign, one bag slid off the top of my car and got caught underneath the car behind me. It happened at a busy intersection with tons of different roads, and I couldn't pull over and lost the other car.
I gave up and accepted the loss. Ten miles later, everything changed. I saw my bag in the middle of the busy and large three lane highway as cars were avoiding it. I pulled over quickly and was devising a plan to run in the middle of the highway and retrieve it. I was about to run, and a big black truck came to an abrupt halt to the side.
The man got out and sprinted, and I mean sprinted, to the bag and grabbed it. He wasn't in close danger, but cars were definitely closing in quickly. He ran back to me and said, "Here ya go, my man," and then peaced out.
47. Brand New
My wife and I were pretty much living at the hospital after my son was born six weeks early and needed to stay in the NICU. Someone had left a gift basket with some snacks and a few gift cards for gas and baby clothes. It just showed up in his room one random day. It said "In your time of need" on it. It cheered us up.
48. Quick Exit Strategy
One time, I was very unprepared for a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation. I wasn't prepared because I lost my grandfather the week before, so I had not been at school, and the presentation was the day I came back. My teacher was mean and told me I had to do the presentation anyways. I was so nervous that I almost cried.
Then a girl in my class pulled the fire alarm and got a hefty suspension just for me.
49. Friend Ship Rescue
This girl in my high school class found out I made art, and despite me trying to keep her distant, she gradually got me out of my shell. It's because of her that I had met the love of my life years later. Her reaching out to become friends pulled me out of a dark void that surely would've been my end after high school.
50. Really Meaning It
It was almost the end of my shift one night when I was still serving. I had been there around 12 hours by then drained and exhausted. I had a super rude table that spoke to my manager before leaving to just absolutely berate my appearance. It was just a tangent about how my green hair, piercings, and tattoos were completely hideous.
They said I was ugly and even said that I was fat. They were so, so cruel. I went into the freezer and had a big cry. I decided to take one more table for the night half an hour later. The second I greeted the patrons, one of them just immediately started gushing, "Oh my god I love your hair so much!" It was exactly what I needed.
51. Big Baby Problems
I had just had my first baby and did some shopping. My daughter needed feeding and had to have a medicated formula, so I went to the cafe area of the supermarket and juggled the crying baby, powdered milk, boiling water, cooled down water, and I just could not do it. An older lady came over and asked if she could help.
I remember being so incredibly grateful because I really, really needed help. I cried. I said yes please. She held the baby while I made the milk and then help me start to feed her the bottle so I could go grab some cake from the cafe since I hadn't eaten at all. It’s just something about that moment I'll never forget.
52. Peanut Butter To My Jam
I took my sister, who needs a wheelchair, to the movies for the first time alone. At the end, I realized I couldn't undo the brakes and was blocking everyone. I felt like crying because I thought everyone else was getting impatient. Just as I was started to panic, a nice lady came up to me, smiled, figured out the mechanism, and took us out. She said she also had a son who used a wheelchair. I'll never forget her.
53. Taste The Feeling
The day that I lost my significant other while he was in the ICU, I was sitting alone in the ICU waiting room at about 7:30 after staying up all night out of worry. I'm sure I looked like a complete mess to the hospital staff and other visitors with my eyes puffy from crying and looking a lot younger than 19 years old.
A woman I had never met or seen before passed by the ICU waiting room and glanced in. Then she came back a couple minutes later holding a Coke and gave it to me. I'll never forget her giving me the Coke while looking like she was going to cry and just telling me that I looked like I needed a little kindness in my life.
54. Tale As Old As Time
The summer after my ex-wife planned to literally end my life (she has issues), I was on vacation with my family and my kids. My dad went with me to one of those old-time photo places because I wanted some shots of me and the kids. The photographer was cute, and after the photos were taken, I flirted with her a bit but was interrupted.
My dad jumped in, shut me down, and told me I had no need for another woman after what my ex did to me. He then proceeded to tell her, in detail, what I had survived. I immediately left with the kids and left my card on the counter. I was too humiliated to go back to the photo place, but my mother went to pick them up.
The photographer had framed them without charge, and around a month later, I was hanging them when I noticed something through the back of the frame. It was a sticky note on the back of the picture. I'll never forget what it said. The photographer lady had written, “We aren’t all bad. Keep your head up.” It’s my favorite picture of me, despite it being Victorian style.
55. Mommy Will Do It
I was in a very bad relationship at 19 but wasn’t fully aware of it at the time and living with the guy. I was at work and realized I didn't have any money for food, and management had just asked me to stay late, so I called my boyfriend and told him I had an unopened check at home and asked if he would bring it to me.
He was unemployed, and it didn't seem like a big deal, but he said he was out with friends and wouldn't leave, so I’d have to figure it out. I was so frustrated and complaining to co-worker about what a jerk he was, and a woman overheard my story and offered to buy my lunch. I pleaded with her not to give me any money. I was afraid that she'd think I was scamming her. But she just had a good heart and she insisted on helping me out.
I was already emotional, but that wasn't even the most heartbreaking part. You see, this all happened on Mother’s Day, and she insisted that as a mother she wouldn't want her kids to go hungry so she couldn't bear to see another kid in that position with no one to help. It was only $10, but I hid in the bathroom and cried. I don't have a mom, so it was pretty overwhelming.
Sources: Reddit,
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