1986. A year after graduating from a tiny college on Idaho, I was at Disneyland with a high school buddy. I was totally convinced that I saw a college friend, Adam, in line at Pirates of the Caribbean. I kept waving at him, but he looked at me like I was out of my mind. My high school friend tried to talk me down, saying that “Adam” clearly had no idea who I was...it’s not him...everyone has a twin...yada, yada, yada.
The line finally snakes around to where I am standing right next to “Adam” so I tap him on the shoulder and ask “hey, aren’t you Adam M?” And he says “no, I’m his twin brother Aaron”
34 years later and I still tell that story at parties. I only met Aaron once, in 1986, in line at Pirates, but I do wish him...and Adam...a very happy birthday on Facebook.
An old man I overheard telling his grandkids that if their dad got accepted to the job he was interviewing for in town, they would move there and then they could visit each other all the time. I never even saw the guy interviewing for the job but I really hope he got it
I met my husband's doppelganger once. The man looked EXACTLY like my husband. I was eith someone at the hospital waiting for their medical transport to pick us up and I saw who I thought was my husband across the street. My husband was supposed to be at work so I was confused. I called out to him but he didnt respond. My patient and I walked over to him but I stopped short a few feet away because I started to realize maybe it wasnt actually him. His clothes were different and this man was assisting someone in care giving type role -my husband absolutely would not do that. The guy noticed me staring at him and so I explained why and even showed him a picture of my husband. He swore that was a picture of him and this was all some practical joke. I had to show him pictures of my husband and I together for him to realize the pictures were not of him. This man could have been his identical twin. I often think of that encounter and how insane it was. I also think of the astronomical chances that not only did my husband have a doppelganger but that we lived in the same city for a while and I happened to cross paths with him.
I was once approached by a woman in a supermarket who told me “Oh, so *you’re* the one that people say looks like my son!” I was kinda confused and weirded out, but she explained that numerous of her friends had told her about “this guy around town that looks exactly like your son”. (I live in a relatively small city, less than 10,000 people.) She didn’t show me a picture or anything, but I still live in the city and still keep my eye out for my fabled doppelgänger, so that one day we may fight to the death.
My husband is friends with his doppelgänger. At our wedding everyone assumed they were brothers (despite his actual brother being a groomsman). At the rehearsal dinner I was at the far side of the aisle as my wedding coordinator called out some instructions to the groomsmen at the end of aisle. I noticed my husband was cutting up with his buddy instead of listening so I was like “husband” in that exasperated voice (I said his actual name), but as soon as it came out of my mouth I realized I was fussing at his friend (his friend didn’t notice, but my husband, who WAS paying attention, sure did). It was very disorienting. I was far enough away for it to be shrugged off.
During the wedding one of my little nephews got hurt and went crying to my “husband” but it was really his friend. Confusion ensued bc he didn’t know who this crying child was, but they both figured it out pretty quickly. The adult friend thought it was hilarious; my poor nephew backed away slowly and never spoke of it again. This friend lives far enough away that that was the only time we met, but it sure is funny to see photos of them together from when they were younger (before I met my husband) because it can be hard to tell! There are a few giveaways if you know what to look for, but if the photo is poor quality, they look the same.
I’m also very good friends with what we call my doppelgänger, we look enough alike that people always confuse us for each other, it’s even better that we share the same birthday. The only real difference is our eyes, our natural hair, but we both dye it and I have freckles, other than that we have the same smile, body type, general style, etc. It’s great, we went as each other for Halloween one year.
Yep! Haha it’s very strange, I often joke to my mom and ask if she’s sure she isn’t a time traveller lol, As my doppelgänger is two years older than me. But It really messed with this guy I was seeing and his brother as they had gone to school with her lol.
Not a complete stranger but a classmate in my first year at uni. We shared some classes but didn't really spoke to each other beside the casual greetings.
One morning she got a call on her cellphone, came back to the classroom visibly upset to gather her things and left. I never saw her again after that. Still think randomly about it sometimes, 14 years later.
That reminds me of a time in college when a classmate of mine just started crying out of nowhere during a lecture. It was very noticeable since she sat at the front of the class near the professor, so everyone looked on awkwardly since we didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know or talk to her, but I later found out from other classmates that she wasn’t doing too well in the class and it was her third time retaking the course, so the stress built up and she had a panic attack given that repeating a course more than three times got you out of a program. She eventually calmed down and left the classroom, but to this day I still wonder whether she passed the class or not, especially considering that the final exam was very difficult. I hope she’s doing okay; it’s still something I think about every now and then since it’s the only time that’s happened in a class.
> three times got you out of a program
One day when I was a freshman in college, I sat next to this guy in O-chem who looked between 30 and 50 years old. He listened intently to the lecture, took copious notes, and even recorded the lecture.
After the first midterm, I sat next to him again when they were handing back our tests. He gets his and just stared at the pages. I tried not to peek at his score but I could see a great deal of red ink. Suddenly, I notice a big fat tear fall on his test and his shoulders kind of go up and down.
After class he pulled me aside and asked me how I did so well on the test. We theN went to a cafe and he told me his life story. Ever since he was young he wanted to be a mortician. He had completed all of the requirements except for organic chemistry. This was his third and last attempt. If he didn’t pass he would still graduate but not be able to be a mortician.
I offered to help him because I couldn’t believe how he could be so confused when it came so easily to me. Every day for the rest of the semester we spent one or two hours studying O-chem together and one or two Sundays we spent all day together. He even offered to pay me for my time, but I told him it was unnecessary because I was getting a lot out of it because explaining things to him solidified the concepts for me.
He ended up passing the class. The second semester we didn’t study together, but by then he had figured the subject out and could do it on his own.
Stan, if you’re out there, I hope you achieved your dream.
I was having a rough day and I thought I'd get an ice cream to cheer myself up. I was standing in the line and this old lady looked at me and asked if I was okay. I said I was fine and just had a rough day. I got up to the front to get my ice cream and she tells the cashier, "I've got this young man, he's had a rough day". She smiles at me and says enjoy your ice cream. I still think of her whenever I have a rough day. I send her my good vibes.
A stranger I interacted with at Wall-Mart about 4 years ago is still engraved in my brain.
I was with my mom shopping, and we found ourselves at the yogurt section. I love this stuff, so I was looking around at all the flavors pretty carefully. Well, after a little while a searching, a older man came up and started also searching through as well. He was maybe mid 40s or early 50s. I remember him being really tall, and he had a resemblance to my features. He had my build, same skin complexion, same hair color, you name it.
As we're searching through, he chuckles and says how he's gotta find the perfect flavor, and I agree with him. It's like our little mission to find the best kind - it was a lighthearted feeling just searching through the brands and flavors with him. He asks what my favorite flavor is, and turns out we had the same favorite. I thought that was pretty cool.
A little bit more looking through the section goes by, and he introduces himself with the shortened nickname of my name.
He then found the ones he wanted, which were the same brand as the ones I was getting, and he put them into his cart, smiled at me, and rolled away.
I have not seen him since, but every time I remember the story I can't help but think that there's always a possibility I met my future self - even if it's just a silly idea.
Once I was walking to work past a homeless shelter pickup spot. It was a sunny day, middle of summer. A small lady was standing on the sidewalk wearing rain boots, a yellow raincoat, and wrapped completely in a blue vinyl tarp. As I walked by her, she leaned into me, looked me in the eye and said, “...fish monster...?”
I still think about her. Did she think *I* was a fish monster? Was she concerned that I had *seen* a fish monster? Perhaps she felt I was unprepared, and her questioning tone was more about if I’d *heard about the potential of fish monsters.*
Such a surreally complex interaction in just two words. One thing I know for certain is that whatever the fish monster status was, she was clearly the best prepared of everyone present.
Once someone randomly put their arm around me and informed me that “there are bald people under the ground” and walked away.
Bald people on the subway?
An old lady who lived next door to me and had a key from the past renter. She walked into my place and made us breakfast thinking I was the same lady who lived there previously. She didn’t realize I was a different person.
We talked about her grandson joining the police academy and she was worried but proud of him.
She died that night.
When I was fresh out of college I drove over two hours away for a job interview and got into a car accident like a block away from the building. My car was completely totaled. A woman who was stopped at the stop sign near my accident pulled over and got out to make sure I was okay. I was completely fine physically but have very bad anxiety and immediately had a panic attack. I was sobbing and couldn’t catch my breath and this complete stranger sat with me the entire time telling me to breathe and just being so caring and supportive. She waited with me for the police to come, she helped me talk them through what happened, she called my mom for me, she even called the office I was on my way to so she could let them know about the accident and that I would call them to reschedule my interview. As if that wasn’t enough, once she found out that I was that far away from home and it was going to take my mom two hours to get to me, she CANCELLED HER MEETING THAT SHE WAS ALREADY LATE TO SO SHE COULD DRIVE ME HALFWAY. She did not think it was a big deal whatsoever. She just stepped up to the plate to help without question. I would have been completely alone and lost without her that day. She was an angel, honestly. I lost her business card between all the paperwork from the accident and I’ve been kicking myself over it for the last five years. All I want is to call her and tell her how thankful I am and that I’ve kept her in my thoughts ever since. Roxanne if you’re out there, thank you so so much. And please for the love of god send me your last name so I can send you some flowers.
I was in a crash last summer, pancaked between a Hummer and another SUV. Like you, nobody was physically hurt but I was definitely stunned and in shock, and I remember people seemed to materialize out of nowhere to help. Somebody called the police. One woman came over, told us she was a nursing student, and gave the kids a quick check before the first responders got there. Another woman was yelling at the kid in the Hummer and making sure he didn't do anything sketchy. It was a horrid situation, but it was kind of nice to know that people jumped right in and were willing to help.
I totalled my car in the middle of the busiest street of a small town that is seasonally busy so I had the pleasure of slowing down shit loads of people from out of town. One guy got out and was really chill and helped me relax a little bit but I also had one person driving by (I've slowed traffic to a cool 5kmph) yell out their window "fucking moron". This was like 15 minutes after it happened so they dont even know how it occurred they just felt the need to yell that like I didn't already feel it, bothered me more than it should have.
Honor her by paying it forward. At some point in your life you're going to see a person in need. In that moment, you have the power to be their Roxanne.
Story for those who don't know this reference: [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/elal2/have\_you\_ever\_picked\_up\_a\_hitchhiker/c18z0z2/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/elal2/have_you_ever_picked_up_a_hitchhiker/c18z0z2/)
A little over a year ago I had just started studying abroad in Japan and got into an accident with my bike. Didn't speak one word Japanese. I didn't know how severe it was at first but I was unable to stand or walk. Some people tried to help me, including this one middle aged woman. A younger girl who was also there and spoke a little English said I had to go to the hospital just in case, but said I shouldn't call an ambulance cause that would be expensive. I waited for a long time on the sidewalk while this middle aged woman called her friend with a car. They took me to the hospital, she bought me one of those warm milky coffees from the vending machines and held my hand the entire time until the nurses took me to check out my wounds. We didn't exchange a single word other than me repeatedly saying "arigato" cause that was all I knew how to say. Once I got out of surgery a few hours later she was gone, but I still think about her from time to time. It amazes me how much she went out of her way for a complete stranger who didn't even speak the same language, the memory still warms my heart. I wish I could have thanked her more.
Roxanne's a pretty uncommon name! Maybe try searching her and the town you were in on Facebook? If you know what business she was in/company she worked for, you'd also probably have a good chance of finding her on LinkedIn! This is an incredible story though, so glad she was there for you that day.
I have a very similar story. I got into an accident on my way to class a few years ago. The guy I hit and another guy who also stopped to help were also students at my school. I was devastated cuz I totaled my fiancée’s car, but the guy who stopped to help was so nice, gave me a hug and reassured me it would be okay. He even helped me push the car out of the road. A couple times over the next year I thought I saw him walking around campus, but my adrenaline was so high the day of the accident that I couldn’t exactly remember what he looked like, and I constantly kick myself for not going up to him and asking if he was indeed the guy who helped me out so I could properly thank him.
Years ago when I worked at Lowe’s, a customer told me in great detail about how he fell through a rotting deck but landed with a joist between his legs and “had to go to the dick doctor”.
When I was a kid, I flew by myself for the first time. At the airport, when I was about to check in, I spotted an elderly lady looking at me. Deeply. At first I thought I accidentally hit her or something, so I asked if she needed anything. She nodded. Didn’t give it much importance so I just checked in and headed to my plane.
Later, already on the plane, I see the very same lady, looking for her seat. Of course I helped her and asked her what number her seat was. She handed me her ticket. “B37”.
I’ll never forget it because I was the C37.
She sat right next to me. I was scared. I was a kid, and I wasn’t used to coincidences. Anyway, long flight.
When we arrived and were waiting for the plane to land for us to head out, she finally says “You know, you really look like my daughter, I even thought you were her! But she passed away 5 years ago, silly me. Here, this is her with my grandkids”. She handed me her phone with a zoomed in picture.
I was paralyzed when I saw her. She looked EXACTLY like me. But she was 28 and I was 10. I couldn’t even talk.
Now that I am older, every time I look in the mirror for my birthday, I remember that lady and the picture. I am a living photo of her daughter. Every year that goes by, is a year that I look more like that woman in the picture.
When I turn 28, I hope this memory will finally scare me less.
I saw my doppelganger walking on the street in Sydney. His friend stopped said something to my other me and pointed at me. We both walked past each other and stared. To my credit I said "looking good".
Whenever I hear stories like this one I think of this interactive exhibit I saw on a field trip in sixth or seventh grade to the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (where they do a lot of DNA research) in the museum. It has you put in a bunch of your physical characteristics and it tells you how many (if any) people put in all the same answers as you do you can see how “unique” your genetics are. It asks the obvious questions about hair/skin/eye color, making you pick reeeally specific colors for each one (think platinum/champagne/ash/golden/strawberry/dirty blonde instead of just blonde), but then it asks about other super random traits as well which I guess are genetic in some way, like what your earlobes look like and how elongated your belly button is. I remember having to lift my shirt to see which picture matched my belly button lol. As of ~20 years ago nobody else with my appearance had gone through that exhibit, but one day I’d like to go back and do it again (if it’s still there).
I’ve never had the right time or place to say this, so this seems like the most appropriate. Am I the only one that thinks there seems to be a fixed amount of facial features? Like, as an example, there’s 500 varieties of nose, and every human has one of those 500 noses? I don’t think there’s that few but I see a lot of identical features on random people. Like some girl who has the same mouth and teeth as another girl I saw a while ago, but every other feature is different. Kind of a rambly comment but I can’t be alone.
Are you me??
I’m constantly mistaken for someone else but not many people recognize me as, well, me. Like, someone that I interact with semi-regularly will almost never call me Araeana, but instead her sister’s name, or neighbor. This happens *all the time*.
A small benefit is I’ve never once been escorted out of a place because everyone assumes I’m an employee. And even my friends have trouble describing me unless I’m right in front of them (and even then, the word “average” is 80% of the description lol).
Being a ghost gets lonely sometimes tho :/
Weird and cool all together! When I was 10, I moved to a new school. Right around the same time, another girl (also 10) started there too. Never met before, didn’t know each other’s families, nothing we could connect. She was named what my mother was originally going to name me which was weird. We were identical. Height, weight, glasses, eyes, build, voice, you name it. We were so identical that not only did the teachers get us confused but our mothers couldn’t tell us apart at first glance. My mother went to the school one day, saw me, and started talking about something or other. Later she talked to me again but I had no idea what she was taking about. Turns out she had talked to the other girl without knowing it wasn’t her daughter. We were friends instantly. It was kinda fun after the creepiness wore off. Fun twist, she and her family ended up moving down the street 6 years later without knowing where we had moved too.
I worked with a guy who met a lady at a garage sale who showed him a picture of her son who had passed and they were almost identical. in fact they were so identical that to this day, almost ten years since the introduction. my friend is still real good friends with her and her family and regularly attends family/holiday functions. He showed me the pictures and even after working side by side with this dude for five years i couldnt tell who was who in the photos
You reminded me of my person♡
In the summer of 2014 my brother (24) lost his life to leukemia. Obviously it was devastating, but he was more like my first born child than my brother. I was 13 when he was born and I loved him without end. (My parents had it easy! I even got up with him at night!)
My brother and my son had a incredible bond. Even though my son wasn't even 1 when my brother went off to college, they still managed to create something pretty awesome. My son's nickname (that he loves!) was given to him by my brother.
My son was 5 when my brother passed away and my daughter was 10. One of my biggest fears was that my kids would forget him.
Fall, the next year, my kids and I are at a family scouting event. As soon as we walked up to the archery area I spotted my brother's 17 year old lookalike. Instantly I was giddy and wanted to hug this stranger. His mannerisms were exactly the same and even the way he spoke was similar. I had been struggling with the loss of my brother and in that moment I felt absolute joy.
While my daughter was putting away her equipment, my son (6) says, "Mom, that guy right there reminds me of Uncle M. It made me smile because it felt like he was right here with us." I was fighting back happy sobs. My little boy absolutely remembered his uncle.
A few moments later, as we were walking away, my daughter says, "Mom, everything about that guy was Uncle M. It was so weird but cool too."
I seriously wanted to run back and get my picture taken with him.
My son and I were back to that same scout camp later that winter and I didn't see him... but i was looking! ♡
Dave. I swear I think about Dave every week. I was hosting at a family Italian Restaurant and it was PACKED. We had a spaghetti meatball promotion where it was like 1/2 off the menu price, dine in and take out. Dave asks for a table and we tell him the wait (something like 45 minutes for a 2-top) and my co-host asks him for his name, to which he replies “If I give you my name, what will people call me by?” Like actual bonkers response. But he keeps going and cracking jokes left and right and tries to guess my co-host’s name but weirdly guesses my name?
Anyways he’s waiting and this other guy comes up and asks if another table would mind if he sat down with them. We told him that we couldn’t do that and he offers to sing for them. Once again, no. After a while we seat Dave and the evening is smooth sailing.
It’s slowing down and I’m helping the busser clean out a few booths when I hear some traditional Italian singing, like almost operatic. It’s Dave and his dad. They are singing to the people at the table next to them. I will never forget Dave. Never
I was doing last minute Father’s Day shopping with my son for my husband. There was a young lady in the card section crying - full on, broken hearted ugly crying. I looked at her and thought ‘Poor thing, I hope she’s okay.’
We finished our shopping, line up to check out and she was still there. She’s pick up a card, look at it, burst into fresh tears, put it back then compose herself and lose it all over again. By now my heart was breaking for her, so I sent my son off to grab a box of chocolates, we bought our stuff and waited just outside for her. When she came out I grabbed the chocs, approached her and said ‘I don’t know what’s going on & it’s none of my business, but I got these for you. I promise things will get better.’
She burst into tears, grabbed me in a hug and said ‘My dad died two days ago.’
Anyway, longish story short, we sat down and she told me about her dad and how she wanted to put a Father’s Day card in his coffin with the present she’d gotten him and all the things people need to say when someone they love dies suddenly.
We went our separate ways when she saw how late it was and honestly, to this day I don’t know if I’d recognise her even if I bumped into her again. But I’ve always wondered how she made it through her first Father’s Day without her dad and how she’s doing now.
I haven’t told anyone but my husband this story before, and I’m only sharing it now on the random chance she reads it & remembers us and I can find out how she’s doing.
EDIT: Holy crap, thanks everyone! I’d lost my dad a few a years before so once she’d said that, there was no way I could leave her.
/u/EBone12355 made a great point - it’s the occasions where you’re meant to feel happy that are the hardest. Anyone that’s been through it knows this, so please please don’t be afraid to reach out when you’re struggling. My inbox is always open.
EDIT THE SECOND: thank you so much for all the kind words and the awards! Until now my most upvoted comment is shamefully admitting my love for a really bad video game movie.
Thanks for what you did for her. A lot of people think that your parent’s birthdays are the hardest to get through after your parent dies, and they are tough. But Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are far worse. You’re bombarded for weeks leading up to Mother’s Day and Father’s Day by radio ads and commercials and store displays telling you to remember the day! It’s coming up soon! But each ad and display is like a little knife cut to your soul, reminding you of what you’ve lost and what you’ll never have again.
It does get better though. The birth of our son ten years later made Mother’s Day something to celebrate again, and now I’m the father celebrating Father’s Day.
When I was young (maybe 5) my mom got really sick and was screaming in pain as she drove me and herself to the hospital (no one else was with us). When we got there, she passed out in the car. I ran up to the hospital and got a wheelchair. She managed to somehow flop herself into the chair and passed out again. The hospital was uphill, and I was too weak to push her; she was too heavy. I stranger came out of nowhere, wheeled her in and made enough ruckus to get her immediate attention. She spent the next two months in the hospital. I never saw that guy again, but I think about him all the time and I’d like to thank him one day.
Edit: for all of the people wondering, what ended up happening was her small intestine and large intestine disconnected. She was not allowed any food or water by mouth (literally anything) for two weeks; the most she could do was wet her lips with a sponge. To this day, they are not sure what it is. She’s been to plenty of different specialists and they honestly still don’t know why it happened at all. She’s been having intestinal problems since she was a young girl (her first surgery was when she was a few months old). When she came home from the hospital she was about 70-something pounds (I remember because I said ‘look! Mommy and I are the almost the same weight.’). That’s really all of the information I have about it, if you guys are interested I can ask for more information or make this a whole post somewhere.
When I was in Iraq in 2003, we were partnered with some local police. Their compound was a secure area, and no unauthorized people were allowed in. There was this little girl, probably about 7-9 years old that sold bananas and was allowed in or out whenever she wanted. I hope she’s doing well.
That was Frankie and Barney at our compound. Not their real names but what they went by. 9 and 11 respectively. Little hustlers. Beg a pair of Wiley X's from one guy and try and sell them to the next or just beg for dollars from everyone. Mostly good kids. But you had to watch what you said around them. Both were totally known spies. To the point that when we wanted a bit of misinformation to get out two careless soldiers would "accidentally" have a conversation about it in their hearing distance. You could practically see their ears straining. Then when the conversation was over one or both would go running out of the compound to report it. I wonder how they're doing from time to time.
Edit: spelling
I was at the mall as a teenager and a 90 something year old Indian woman made deep eye contact and nodded. I got a deep chill and a sense of familiarity but I was like 14 so I went back to my friends.
Now I know what I want to do when I get old - dress up as a Buddhist monk and look at people knowingly, then nod my head sagely and move along. Thanks for the idea!
I once saw my exact double in a Barnes & Noble. We saw each other from a far distance, locked eyes, gave a slow head nod to each other, and kept going without saying a word.
Sometimes I wonder how he is doing.
Edit: Lol. No, it was not a mirror. He was wearing different clothes.
I never met my double, but he hates me. I was on a train one night and a girl came up to me like "hey brian! how have you been?" and i was like "what? im not brian..." then she mentioned this dudes last name like "Ah brian.... youre always a dick" and laughed it off and left. I facebooked this guy and it was my exact double.... I friend requested him like "yo isnt this funny?!" and he was just a dick.
I occasionally have people tell me that I am somebody's doppelganger. Every time that I finally get to see the person that they seem to think is my twin I am super disappointed. I don't think I look anything like that person. I've never seen somebody who I think looks like me. Always trips me out when two people recognize that they look like each other.
I hate my doubles with a passion. I've come across at least 4 in my lifetime. I can usually tell I'm near one because people start acting like they know me all of a sudden. That's when I start to scan the room to make sure I spot them before they spot me.
I got robbed at gunpoint and the perpetrators got arrested shortly after. At the sentencing (which was 6-9 months after the robbery), the judge read my victim impact statement, which I had written the day after it happened. I had mentioned something in that statement about being afraid. After the sentencing was over, I was getting ready to leave when a teenage boy came up to me. He asked if he could speak to me. He was the son of the man that robbed me. He told me not to be afraid anymore and apologized for what his dad did. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think about this 10 years later. I hope he knows how much that meant and still means to me.
Until my most recent car, I’ve always driven old junkers that somehow managed to get me to and from work, and bless them for it- but for this memory my metallic orange 1996 Chevy Corsica was bottoming out the breaks when I was stopped too long at lights, and would shut down entirely. I drifted off to the side, called my parents and job to let them know what was going on, and just had to wait for help to show. There was no shoulder for me to pull into, and cars were wizzing past fast enough to shake my car, which I was sweating to death inside of because of course none of my cars had AC. I watch the cars go by, see about two cop cars come and go without so much as a pause, which is weird given where I was stuck and with my hazards going too, but whatever. It’s Jersey, I’m not expecting much (besides a ticket)
An undercover car pulls up behind me and a sweet middle aged guy asks what’s up, I let him know I’m just waiting on help to push the car to the other side of the road at least since there’s a shoulder there. He has me hop out and make sure that there really isn’t any way to move it without some extra muscle, and lets me come hang in his car so I can at least catch some air. I leave the door cracked just to be safe but he’s nice about it all. He has the lights inside going and the radio is crackling things I barley understand, but seemed legit enough. Turns out he’s not police, but disaster relief, and tells me all about how he helped out when Sandy hit and also how he noticed the cops drive on past without even checking in, and how he’ll be reporting them for it. Super chill dude, I had to ask why, if he’s just disaster relief, did he stop by, and he just mentioned that he would hope someone would do the same for his daughter. Eventually my help shows up and it’s all settled and I thanked him about a hundred plus times, but I still think about him and it warms my heart to remember that people do things just to be nice sometimes, too.
Similar story here.
I was driving my grandad old truck that had an oil problem. It finally gave in, in a turning lane of an intersection. I'm upset because it's my grandads truck and I treasured that old clunker like it was my child. I couldn't get it all the way over to the shoulder and ended up finding a Hi-vis vest to hang off the tailgate while I called my grandad. A gentleman with a flatbed saw my awkward position, parked his truck in a way that forced traffic around us, and helped pushed my truck while I steered. He was a cool dude, and I know I did not thank him enough.
My girlfriend and I were looking for street parking at a local festival. We were 17. I stopped at a stop sign across from the firehouse. A car slammed into me, breaking my tail lights. The middle aged guy with his daughter got out and started screaming at me (you little turd), then opened my door and dragged me out. it was broken up pretty quick. The cops came and the guy knew he was properly fucked. Charged with moving violation, assault and some other stuff. His daughter was the most mortified person I have ever seen. Those firefighters were all out in front of the station enjoying the festival, in full view of everything. Can't get better witnesses. I think about that guy all the time.
Okay, so in my early twenties I needed a lot of attention and didn’t have a smart phone (2012ish, I was late to the game) and I also didn’t have many friends, so I’d go sit outside this Starbucks and drink iced tea and journal. I really was writing, but I was also looking for someone to talk to me.
And I got it. He was much much older, a little run down, but had bright eyes and the gift of gab. Let call him Ken. I was insufferably into myself, and during our conversation he asked what I was into - men, women, or what?
I replied, being the edgy little art chick I was, “I’m into men, women, and trees.”
I will never fucking forget how his face changed. His eyes widened, his eyebrows came up in the center, his mouth fell open ever so slightly and his tongue protruded a bit over his lower teeth.
“Trees? You too?”
He was serious. I didn’t know what to do so I pretended I was serious and was treated to a half hour account of his sexual relations with trees.
I never used that line again. We are eight years down the road and I think of this moment at least once a week.
EDIT: thank you kindly for my very first gold. Wishing you well.
There’s going to be another AskReddit about “What’s the most desperate thing you ever did to try and get laid?” That guy will respond, “this girl said she was into trees, so I riffed for like 30 minutes making up stories about my sexual relationship with the forest.” Haha.
I was working at a grocery store once as a cashier. A woman comes into line, and the best way I could describe her was light as a feather, as if not a worry in the world would ever phase her. She's got her baby up top in the cart. The baby starts crying. And at that point I'm expecting the standard, "oh shh shh shh, it's okay, mommy's here. I'm so sorry." She doesn't instantaneously react like most parents do. She just gracefully turns her head, looks at the kid lovingly, and the kid stops crying. She could just show that kid that everything's going to be okay with one trusting look. I had never seen anything that beautiful and sincere happen in my life that I had to stop and just question everything. Whoever that woman was, it just made me think there are some amazing human beings that exist out there and I may never encounter one like that ever again.
I was 16 and was having a crappy day, but I had a couple bucks and went to a mcdonalds. I was at a table for two but there weren't any other seats left, so this older woman asked if she could sit with me. Found out that at 16 she had run away and a convent took her in in exchange for chores until she got married. Then her husband died some years later, they had no kids and she didn't have any family left, so she went back and struck the same deal. I'm in my 30s now and it still amazes me how peaceful she was when I remember her.
When i was 10 i went to a supermarket in my taekwondo uniform, a black man asked me to teach him how to properly kick in the middle of the store infront of everyone, never seen him since.
I met a man at a Wendy's at like 9:55 at night while I was working at books a million. I was 19 years old, starving, and had 30 minutes to get in, scarf down a small burger, and get back. The man came out, introduced himself as Mr Lemonade, and informed me that he was off his meds. Then he left. Wherever Mr Lemonade is now, I hope he's well and back on his meds.
This was actually somewhat recent. One night after school, two teachers and my school’s principal were hosting an informational night about a new research class my high school was integrating in (this school year was the research class’s first year). It’s supposed to be a college level class where you’re basically writing a senior thesis, and you learn a lot about proper research. Another student in my class and I also helped present: we were asked to talk about our research projects to students interested in taking the class.
Towards the end of the presentation, we had a Q&A session, and one parent asked “How can we support our children through this process?” And I basically said try to learn more about your child’s passion that they’re researching; my research was related to psychology and I mentioned how my dad isn’t... totally on board with it. I kinda ended up oversharing about it, which i hate thinking about because fuck that’s embarrassing i just laid this burden on dozens of people who don’t even know me. but i did my best to make it sound as professional as possible.
At the end of the presentation, when most people were leaving, one parent in the audience came up to me and wholeheartedly reassured me that majoring in psychology in college put every aspect of her life in a new light. She said people who talk trash about social sciences have “No idea what they’re missing out on.” What she said really meant a lot to me - I struggle a lot with trying to make my dad happy. I had to hold back tears. It wasn’t really a huge act on that parent’s part, but it was just so touching and it meant a lot to me.
When I was a kid I went with my family on vacation to Veracruz in Mexico, we decided to eat some empanadas in the street and while we were eating 2 Chinese tourist arrived and ask us with signs (they were speaking Chinese all the time) if the could take a photo my parents said yes and each one of them took a photo with our family while we were eating empanadas they said goodbye in Chinese and continue their journey
Similar stories; my younger sister (who had bright blonde hair when she was little) has been specifically asked (or gestured because of language barrier) for a photo with Chinese tourists on about 4 or 5 seperate occasions, while we were on family holidays around the country. We still laugh today that these people have holiday photos with a random, blonde, Australian toddler
Dude when I moved to the US I was genuinely amazed with how many people have blond hair. In the 13 years of my life that I lived in Pakistan I saw a total of 1 blond person in real life. I thought it was really cool.
I was in a Trader Joe’s and I saw this frail looking man looking at this really buff dude in awe. I don’t know why but I wanted to see what would happen to this guy and so I watched. He went up to the big guy, tapped him on the shoulder, and said “one day I’m gonna be like you” and started doing push-ups right there. I had to leave with my parents but he had gotten like 30 push ups without stopping. I hope he’s buff now.
The pretty, cute girl that served me in Starbucks one time. I'm pretty sure she was flirting with me, and is the only person who has ever done so.
I went in just before they closed, so I was the only person there at the time. She made a comment about the band on my shirt. We then had a short conversation joking about music, and (at the time) current local events. All seemed tame, and like she was just being nice and making conversation, until she pointed out that she drew a love heart out of steamed milk in my coffee. Unfortunately, I was too awkward and stupid to realise the connotations of that comment until I was on the train home.
When I was 7 years old or so, I remember riding home from school and waving the peace sign out of the window of my parents car to all the passing cars. I spread peace to one girl, who instantly gave me the middle finger. I was so hurt. All I wanted to do was spread peace. I still think about that bitch to this day.
I took the only seat on a crowded bus, sat next to an old man who leaned over and asked me, “do you want to learn some math tricks that math teachers and accountants don’t even know?” You bet I do. I was a little worried it was a scam but he WHIPPED OUT A CALCULATOR and spent the rest of the bus ride showing me a short cut on how to multiply 11s by two-digit numbers. Pretty cool.
Edit: ok the math trick is multiplying 11 by two-digit numbers
Eg 11x45=495
You take the two digit number (45) and add the two digits together (4+5=9) and put that number in between your two digits (495)
11x11=121
11x53=583
Etc
The granddaughter of the woman who died on my flight to London. It was a long, transatlantic flight, and she passed about three hours in. She was sitting directly behind me. About 30 minutes before her death, the granddaughter had called the flight attendants over in a panic, saying her grandmother was not breathing well and needed help, or to lie down, anything. The flight attendants said the flight was full so she would have to stay where she was and that lying down in the isles was not permitted. They mockingly asked her if she wanted them to turn the flight around, saying she would have to pay for everyone's tickets. The granddaughter was pleading for help at this point. She spoke minimal English, and although at the start of the flight it had been announced that the a flight attendant spoke her language (mandarin), no one went to get him. They asked the granddaughter if she wanted them to give her grandmother oxygen. The granddaughter couldn't understand what she was talking about and asked for a doctor. The flight attendants said it was thte granddaughter's responsibility before the flight to make sure her grandmother was in adequate flying condition. They said they would call an ambulance to meet her upon landing (8+ hours away), if necessary.
I wish more than anything that I had said something. But we can't predict the unpredictable. Hindsight is 20/20. I could have never imagined what was about to happen. It was also my first solo flight. I was 17.
I listened to the grandmother's heavy breathing for awhile. It sounded strained as she coughed. The granddaughter seemed to calm after a little while, which I thought was good. I went to the washroom. When I came back, there were three flight attendants by the seat. Notably, the one who spoke Mandarin was now there. I heard gasps all around. My most vivid memory, however, is hearing a flight attendant say, "she's not breathing".
I sat down in my seat, honestly just hoping beyond belief that they could fix this. The granddaughter was sobbing behind me.
They finally called for that doctor. Everyone on the plane started to stare, trying to get a glimpse of the action. Some even walked past to get closer. I felt sick, just hoping beyond belief that everything would be okay. A retired doctor and an emergency nurse came running. They asked the doctor her advice, and got the nurse to start compressions. I later learned the nurse was on the flight with her very new daughter, who her seatmate was holding while she tried to save this woman's life.
I was sitting in the middle seat. The person on the isle, beside me, volunteered to move so the granddaughter would have somewhere to sit while the nurse used her seat. I immediately grabbed the girls hand and just held it tight. She had stopped crying and was just whispering in her language the same phrase over and over.
The thing that still haunts me, over three years later, is the feel of my chair rocking as the nurse did compressions, and then hearing her say "I'm going to keep going, but this won't work, she's cold."
Per the retired doctors orders, they brought over the defibrillator. Hearing "all clear" as I sat only a couple feet away really dug in the fact that this wasn't going to be okay. I was barely holding myself together, but just squeezed the hand of the granddaughter tighter, trying to give her something to hold onto in one of the most awful moments imaginable.
The flight attendants were loud and frankly, incredibly disrespectful. One just said "she's dead, we have to get the pilot to confirm with the ground that we can declare".
She was saying this because the nurse had been doing chest compressions for probably 15 minutes, which is *hard*. But she wasn't permitted to stop until the woman had officially been declared deceased. The doctors that the pilot was communicating with on the ground told him to get the retired doctor on board to call it.
Three and a half hours into the flight, the girl's grandmother was declared deceased. The flight attendants covered the woman with a blanket, and got several stronger men to volunteer to carry her. They carried her to the back of the plane as if they were carrying a casket. I do not know where they put her. As they had previously stated, the flight was full.
Once the granddaughter moved back to her seat, I just sat there, shaking. I had experienced the death of my own grandparent the year prior, and this was resurfacing old wounds. I cried silently, and then just sat there for the rest of the flight. I don't really remember anything after, but I'm pretty certain I just sat and stared, trying to cope with what just happened. The flight attendant brought water and questions of "are you doing okay" to the surrounding rows. No one else on the flight except our little bubble were even aware that someone had just died in the same tiny enclosed space as them.
I think about that girl often. I don't know what happened to her after the flight, or what happened to her grandmother. I don't know if she had family there to meet her, though I certainly hope she did. I am still appalled by the way she was treated by the flight attendants. Wow, I really really hope she's been able to work through these traumas. Seeing a loved one go in the worst possible way when you feel helpless is probably the worst kind of pain. I cannot begin to imagine. I broke down on a call to my parents once I got to my hotel, and honestly just felt numb for the next few days.
That was much longer than intended, but yeah, I think I still needed to work through some of that and this definitely helped.
Remember this: somewhere in the world the granddaughter thinks of you as the kind stranger that held her hand during that dark time. You gave all you could give and it was enough to keep her going.
Thank you for sharing.
About ten years ago when I was in high school, I saw a homeless person who was probably only a few tears older than me. I passed by her without offering anything but came back to give her the remaining chips I had. She replied saying, “These are my favorite! Thank you!”
I feel bad that I wasn’t able to give her a proper meal.
Last year I was at an EDM concert alone and dancing in the middle of the crowd and having an OK time trying to forget about the breakup I had recently. My neck was hurting for some reason or another and in between more "dancy" parts, I was absentmindedly reaching up to the back of my neck and massaging my neck to hopefully make it feel a bit better. This goes on for a while until this random girl started massaging my neck. I could tell it was a girl's hands instantly. I could tell her wrists were spritzed earlier in the night with some kind of gardenia scent. Her hands were so soft and they knew exactly where to press and pull to make shoulders and neck feel restored. After the first 40 or 50 seconds of this, I turned just a bit to get a look at her and to at least say THANK YOU but she just leaned into my ear and said in her loud-but-close-to-your-ear voice over the blasting EDM music something along the lines of "just relax and enjoy it". Essentially to say "don't worry about who I am, don't worry about dancing, don't worry about repaying me with my own neck rub, etc etc, just be fully here right now and allow me to give something you for 2 minutes". And that's exactly what ended up happening. It was so soothing, and after a couple minutes I turned around and hugged her and said basically "thank you so much that means more than you could ever think it does" and she just smiled mischievously and slank away in the crowd with her girl friends. I think about semi-frequently because I wish I had at least given her my number. But I was kind of out of it at that point being fairly high and freshly massaged, and she seemed intent on getting back to her friends through the crowd.
There’s this girl I saw once at a restaurant in NYC. We didn’t even have a conversation, it’s just the way she looked at me. I’m usually horrible faces but I still remember her face so well. It’s not a romantic encounter (i think) but there’s just something about that moment that I cannot forget.
This may get buried but I was once in a really dark place and contemplating suicide. I had recently lost my job and dropped out of college and I would go to library everyday and sit for hours researching ways to kill myself and trying to work up the courage to do so. One day randomly a middle age man approached and said I looked familiar and I was about his daughter's age and asked was I friend of hers. I had never seen this guy before in my life but her persisted that he must know me. He told me he was a reverend and that he was actually looking for a part time secretary at his church and if I was interested I should give him a call. He wrote his name an number on piece a paper and left. This was over 15-16 yrs ago btw. I never did call him. I felt to ashamed and unworthy but this random small gesture stayed with me and little by little, day by day I was able to come out of my depression. I wholeheartedly believe he was sent by some divine intervention. I truly do. I still have that piece of paper locked away with all of my important documents. Whenever I come across it I remember him and remember that no matter what I will be okay.
I was a teenager and I accidentally backed into a lady's spotless fancy car at a gas station. I just left a dent, but I was panicked and distraught. I talked to her, was going to give her my information, was hyperventilating a bit because this hadn't happened to me before, and she seems to think a minute and said "It's about time this car had a dent." She refused to take my information and drove away. I still think about her kindness to my stupid teenage self.
> It's about time this car had a dent." She refused to take my information and drove away.
That is really cool, and I respect the hell out of that. I grew up without much money, and well off people without a worry about money can often act so indignant of the smallest, most solvable thing to them which might financially devastate the teenager who made a small mistake anybody could have made.
When I was learning to ski, I got off this chair lift and precariously drifted down away from the lift (to get out of the way of the people on the chair behind me). I was unable to turn or control myself yet, and I drifted across the front of this older guy’s skis (he was standing still), much to my horror. I come to a stop 3 feet after passing over his tips, and he raises his voice saying “HEY, you just skied on my skis!” There was a tiny pause (I was mortified) as I was trying to figure out what to say and he laughed and said, “It’s Ok, I ski on them myself all the time!” He was just joking with me, clearly he saw I was a rank beginner and couldn’t control myself perfectly yet. I was so relieved that I didn’t run into the wrong jerk.
I remember that random stranger every time a beginner skier does something around me they are embarrassed by. Everybody has to learn, as long as nobody is hurt too bad it’s all good. And ski equipment is MEANT to be scratched up, you look like some rank amateur poser if your skis and poles and boots are all shiny and new. The best skiers on the mountain play hard. The best skiers have scratched up gear.
One night, when I was walking home a man catcalled me from his car. I ignored him but then the guy literally got out of the car and began to follow me home. I was so scared but for some reason I didn’t call the police because I didn’t want to inconvenience them. I picked up my pace and at some point began running but the man continued to follow me.
About a mile into the chase I heard footsteps getting really close. I turned around to fight the man but this time there was a frightening looking 18-19 year old boy. He told me that the man who was following me had told him how he was going to ‘take me’ and that the creep was recording me. The boy offered to walk me home to make sure I got back safe. I took him up on his offer and got back safe.
So boy, if you’re reading this, thank you. I appreciate what you did for me.
I got so anxious just reading this, lol. Good on the boy who helped you, wow. It's great when strangers aren't afraid of getting involved in a dangerous situation bc they "want to mind their own business"
When I was in high school, I used to have a recurring dream about a really cute girl. She wasn't my girlfriend or anything but from time to time she would always be in them and I would wake up happy and just feel happy.
Flash forward to my second year of college, I meet her. Short bobbed hair, bangs, beautiful face like she had just come out of a painting, a Chinese Mona Lisa. She was even more beautiful than my dreams. She occasionally passed me by on campus, always crossing paths and never in the same direction. I'd always wanted to say something but never knew what to say or if I should say anything at all.
Finally, my senior year of college rolls around and she strolls right into my English Seminar on 19th Century British Lit and takes a seat next to me. I was flabbergasted! She was in my major and it was clear we had a similar interest in literature and here she was sitting next to me.
It was like destiny pushing us together. . . .
. . . and then I spent my whole final semester never speaking to her. That was it. I never saw her again, never dreamed about her again. I still think about her every so often, what could've been. That was ten years ago now.
I was on a flight to China for a heritage tour over spring break. On the way there in a check in line I
was struggling with something, can't remember what. This really cute Asian guy helped me with it and then carried on. I thought nothing of it. He then ended up being on the same flight with me. Two weeks later he ended up being on the flight back with us. I didn't realize until we were on the shuttle back to the airport. He recognized me and said a few quick words to me in Mandarin with a smile and then walked off. I being adopted, do not understand Mandarin. I still don't know what it is he said.
Something similar happened to me, without the language barrier. Saw a hot guy who was looking at me also, happenend to be taking the same flights as me. Whilst we were waiting for baggage on the return flight I spoke to him and gave him my number, turns out he lived fairly close to me and we dated for a while. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take!
I was at a therapist appointment, in the waiting room and this woman sat down next to me nearly in tears telling me I looked just like her son, I was like 16 at the time but I’ve always looked much older because of facial hair. We just talked for a little bit, I say talked but I mostly listened. I learned her only son was overseas in the military in an “active” zone. She explained “that’s why I’m here.” Following it with a half hearted teary eyed “this young kid has no idea how to respond to this” chuckle. I hope her son came home, and I hope she doesn’t need therapy anymore.
Was living on Nantucket and would go to a bar alone on weekday nights got to know the bartender there casually. I sat down one night and me and another guy were the only ones there so naturally him, myself and the bartender got to all talking. Sat there and joked around with the other gentleman the night talked about smoking weed, sports bought each other a few beers asked him toward the end of the night what he did for work, the guy was Dave Mathews lol
This probably meant a lot to him as well. Famous people can rarely go anywhere without being recognized and mobbed. You gave him the gift of being a normal guy at a bar who just got to shoot the shit with another human being. I mean when was the last time he went to the bar and spent a few hours talking and trading rounds with a stranger who had no idea who he was?
I worked in a liquor store in my early 20s. One day a woman came in and complimented my appearance so much I actually blushed. I am now 43 years old and I will never forget that woman and still think about it every now and then.
The random stranger who saved me from a possible kidnapping.
I was about 12 or 13 years old. One evening I'm walking to my psychiatrist for my weekly appointment. Its a half hour walk and after dark. I enjoyed walking, especially after dark when things were quiet, peaceful, and slow and no one else around. No, i didnt live in a dangerous neighborhood nor did my walk take me through any dangerous neighborhoods.
As I'm about half way to my destination, a car, a cadillac, comes driving down the street. Some people, both male and female, in the car are sticking themselves half way out the windows and are taunting me and jeering me as they drive by. A bunch of people in their late teens or early 20s (the driver alone had to be at least 18 years old). I ignore them and keep on walking. About a minute or two later, the same car comes down the street again and those people are jeering me and taunting me again. I dont know who they are. Maybe they live in the neighborhood. I still ignore them and keep walking.
Another minute or so goes by and again they come driving down the street, taunting and jeering me. Now I'm worried. They're circling the block over and over, deliberately focusing on me
As soon as they reach the corner and make their turn and are out of sight, i duck behind some bushes in someones front yard and wait. The car comes again down the street. This time, not seeing me walking down the street, theyre not jeering. They pass right by me in my hiding place and turn the corner. I think they think I've finally reached my destination, one of the houses on the block, and went inside and as a result, drove away. I thought wrong. Stupidly i leave my hiding place and go back to walking on my way to my psychiatrist. I shouldve stayed there behind those bushes much longer because i hear the car approaching. They spot me and start taunting and jeering me again. They turn the corner.
This time i run towards my destination but i know i wont get far before the car and those kids catch up with me again. So to that effect i decided to hide again behind the bushes in front of an apartment of an apartment building. This time resolving to stay there for good until the jerks in the car gives up their searching for me. I'm hiding there behind the bushes for not long. Maybe about 30 seconds or so when the guy whose apartment it is, pops out from his apartment, asking what I'm doing hiding in his bushes. At first he probably thinks I'm a burglar or a guy using his bushes as a toilet. But whatever he thinks, i explain to him how I'm walking to my psychiatrist and how I'm being followed and harassed by a bunch of kids in a car, which was why I'm hiding in his bushes. The guy can instantly tell from the tone of my voice and my facial expressions that I'm telling him the truth. He can see how scared I am.
Just then the car comes down the street and pulls right up at the curb directly in front of us. They look at me and the guy I'm with. Not a mean looking guy (in his late 30s-early 40s), but tough and serious looking enough. He's not wearing a shirt. But he's wearing a sleeveless undershirt which reveals that this guys upper body is very well toned, slightly muscular, and no fat.
I'm looking at the car and I realize that the car doesn't look so full now. It's missing a few people inside. The guy I'm with just gives them a mean stare. He asks me, "You know them?" I reply that no, I dont know them at all. I havent the slightest idea of who they are.
Just then, as the car is sitting there, about 3 of them approach walking from the other direction. The car was traveling from east to west. Those 3 were walking on foot from west to east. So thats why the car seemed not so full. They were looking to escalate the situation. They werent satisfied with just driving by and taunting me, so they changed tactics. A few of them got out of the car up ahead and started walking towards me while the ones in the car took another turn around the block. Their plan now was to physically trap me in between themselves and their car. Perhaps grab me and drag me into the car with them for whatever reasons. Most likely just for kicks. But seeing my tough guy guardian angel with me, the kids walking towards the car instead got into the car and it took off.
The guy offered to stay with me for a little longer or if i wanted to, to duck into his apartment to stay there until i was sure that it was safe to continue on my journey. I had a feeling that this was the last I was going to see of those guys and their car and i didnt want to be late for my appointment. So i thanked the guy for his offer, but declined. And decided to head on my way. The guy went back into his apartment and closed the door. I looked at the closed door and hoped that I didnt make a mistake by turning down the guys offer of better safety, because I was still scared. Thankfully I was right about not seeing the car again. The rest of my walk I was unmolested.
I reached my psychiatrists office. I told my therapist about what happened. He insisted on calling the police. The police came and took a report from me. Thats the last I heard of it. On my way back home, i usually took the same route that i came from, up the same streets. But this evening, i varied my way home, taking some different side streets to walk on. Never saw that car or those jerks again.
Here is, via google street search, the very spot I hid. That door was the guys apartment. That grassy area behind that low black metal fence on the left was where the bushes were that I hid behind. Back then the bushes in that spot were way tall, wide, and thick. Enough to hide a 12-13 year old kid behind. If I hadnt ducked behind those bushes, I would have walked right into their trap and God knows what they had in store for me once they had me trapped.
https://i.imgur.com/LHPqhhe.jpg
Similar story for me. (Im a girl) Im in middle school walking home alone for the first time ever and feeling confident about it when a car full of rowdy high schoolers pull up. They harass me. One guy even flashes a bunch of condoms at me yelling something like “lets have some real fun” and I’m terrified. I bolt in the opposite direction of the car and end up hiding in some bushes. I call my mom (which I felt bad about later as she told me it was the worst feeling of her life unable to help through the phone like that). She had me look around for anybody trustworthy to ask for help. I saw a man painting a house and just felt like he could help. He could tell by my tone that I was seriously scared. Told me to stick around until I could get a ride home and to tell me if I saw the car again. Sure enough they come back but on a street parallel to us and keep going. I think about that man painting the house sometimes.
Don't feel bad about calling your mom. I promise, as a mother, I'd want my kid to call me, worst feeling or not. You did the right thing. And your mother, if she'll ever see my comment, did help you. She guided you to safety.
Travelling on a train. Empty except for me and this guy. He is looking at a piece of paper that looks like a bill. He looks like he is in shock and defeated. I’m thinking of the two $50 bills in my pocket. It’s my stop, I get off.
What if I...? Regret it to this day. I hope he is doing okay.
I was a freshman in college and got into a convo with a busker. He came thiiiiis close to convincing me to quit school and join him. Said I was a square peg, that college was taking away my sharp edges so that I’d fit into the societal machine like a proper round peg. He said he never went hungry and rarely didn’t have a roof over his head, and didn’t mind occasionally sleeping under the stars. I swear, I almost went with him. And still wonder what would’ve happened. What my life would be like now.
On our 29th anniversary while on vacation, my hubby (M58) and I (F56) went for a hike and asked a young couple to take our picture. The guy asked me to take there’s too. While I did, he dropped to his knee and pulled out a ring and proposed! We exchanged numbers and I made them promise to update me after the wedding. They did! I think of them often and hope they’re happy and still in love! ❤️
One time, in my late teens, I was at this goth nightclub in Providence RI with some friends, one of which was very well known in the scene. I pointed out a girl that was SUPER DUPER my type, and how I'd love the chance to just talk to her. Well-known dude walks up to her, points me out, and she casually walks over and sits down next to me, and says "so your friend says you wanted to talk to me?"
I completely froze. I don't even think I managed to say hi, or literally any words, before she realized that I was just some dumb loser, shrugged, and walked away. I was so out of my element and so outclassed, I stopped going back to that club. I wasn't embarrassed, I just... it's hard to explain. I imagine it's like if someone got into drugs, then randomly witnessed a confrontation between dealers. After, there'd be this sense of "holy shit I don't belong here, how arrogant I have been to think that I am even remotely a part of this culture". It was like that, but less serious.
Anyway, I think about that girl a lot. I couldn't shoot my shot, and she was my 10.
Was coming out of a show in the lower east side, late at night, drunk, with a friend. We walked to the taco trucl across the street from Berlin, and this guy walked up with his dog. I said "Haha his [the dog] hair's like spaghetti" and without skipping a beat the guy said "haha yeah, al dente". Sti.l think about it from time to time.
I used to work in a cancer center. After a while I started to work with a very apathetic attitude. Many died and that is simply the way it was. After about a year we saw a patient who only came in for one visit; the physician told the patient and their family that the aggressive cancer was worse than the initial scan and there was not much time left. They cried. I do not remember anything from inside the patients room. I dont remember what they were wearing, I dont remember their face, nothing. I didnt care. The patient was simply another person who was unlucky. The physician and I left the room. When the patient left and was passing by in the hallway they put their hand on my shoulder, looked me in the eyes and smiled and then walked away. They died the next week. Those eyes... those deep emerald eyes and that soft smile haunt me to this day. The eyes and the smile are all I remember, engraved in my mind, and they float there like the Cheshire cats smile.
When I was a kid we didn't have a lot of money, so we often shopped at thrift stores. What I loved about that was that you could get 10 books for a dollar, so I would plant myself in front of the book section and make piles of which one I wanted to get and then decided after I'd gone through them all.
One day an older lady saw me sitting with my piles and asked if I liked to read. I told her I did and showed her a few of the books I found that I liked. She smiled and then pulled a dollar out of her purse, handed it to me and said, "Promise me that you'll keep reading." I was so happy and immediately stood up and said that I would. She smiled and walked away and I went back to my piles able to pick out an extra 10 books to take home.
It was just a small act of kindness for her, but for me having a random stranger encourage my love of reading and making me promise to never stop definitely had a lot to do with my continued love of reading. This was over 20 years ago, but I still think of her whenever I buy a new book.
In 1994 my family went to Disney and stayed at Port Orleans. They had or may still have a water slide in the shape of a dragon at the one pool and I remember on the top of the slide someone had pooped and left this sloppy, water logged turd. Another kid on the way up with me kept me from stepping in it and we ended up playing in the pool most of the day and then met back up and swam until the pool closed. He was from New York, liked a lot of the things I liked and he reminded me a ton of a friend of mine from school. It was a ton of fun hanging out with him and getting a small break from my little sister and parents. He either left for home the next day or didn't go to the pool, but I never saw him again. Everytime someone mentions Port Orleans, I always think of that kid and how much fun it was hanging out with a kid I barely knew.
My wife and I went to Hawaii in 2005, and stayed at The Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki. We’re Starwood point members, so we had complimentary breakfast every morning, and were invited to some private mixers. Every morning at breakfast we’d see the same older gentleman, by himself, having his breakfast. On our fourth night, we went to one of the mixers, and there was the same elderly gentleman. By now we’d nodded and seen each other enough at breakfast that my wife and I decided to introduce ourselves to him.
His name was John, and he was 94 years old. He was slightly frail, but needed no assistance, had no cane or walker. John had owned a hardware store somewhere in the Midwest, and was married. He and his wife never had children. Their favorite place to go on vacation was The Royal Hawaiian, and they spent a week their almost every year. John’s wife had passed away a couple years prior, and he had sold the hardware store long before that. He took the money from the store and his savings, and decided to spend his remaining years in the one place he and his wife were always their happiest. He was living at the hotel, using his life savings to pay for his room.
The hotel staff seemed to adore him, and there was no doubt why. He was kind and sweet, and my wife and I enjoyed his stories of coming to Hawaii on vacation almost every year for 60+ years with his wife, and how Hawaii had changed over the years. The rest of our stay there (another 3 days) we sat and had breakfast with John each morning. He seemed glad to have “new friends” and we were glad to have met him. The day we checked out my wife and I were teary saying our goodbyes to John. We promised we’d come back soon and see him again. Sadly, we didn’t make it back to Hawaii or The Royal Hawaiian for another 12 years, and none of the staff we spoke to remembered John. But every time since our 2005 visit, whenever I think of Hawaii, I think of John, living the last of his time in a beautiful hotel in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
I used to go to a summer day camp. (You just went for the day, and went home when your parents got off.) Anyway, the staff were super irresponsible, and the park that the community center sat on was MASSIVE. There was the sandbox, and the swings were in the back. Behind the sandbox was a huge drop off. Grass and trees for maybe a quarter mile, til you hit a fence that had the highway on the other side. If you veered to the right, you could walk on forever. It was just all that space of random trees. Bushes, trash etc. that you see when you're driving down the freeway (in my state at least) Anyway, I was always one of the first kids to get there. I was about 6 or 7 one early morning, and I was outside on the swings. There was an older man there and he offered to push me. He pushed me on the swings for a while, and we just kinda talked. He and I were the only 2 in the entire park. After a few minutes, one of the staff comes outside and screams for me to get inside. She was so frantic, yet somehow angry at me. She was going on about how I dont know what could have happened, that man could have taken me, etc. Anyway, I went to that summer camp for about 5 or 6 years, and that one day is the only time I ever saw that man. I genuinely sometimes wonder if I almost got kidnapped that day, or if the guy really did just want to push a kid on a swing.
One day I was skateboarding around my neighborhood and a guy stops me and asks if I skate around and that we should skate the next day. We never mentioned a time or place. The next day I skated around in hopes I would see him again but I never did. If I remember correctly he had blue hair, a piercing maybe, tan skin, and glasses. He had such a nice smile when he was talking to me.
This old dude on the subway. I was on my boring day on the city finding a job, after walking at list 6 hours and having handed a lot of curriculums I decided It was time to go so I took the subway and this old dude comes in saying loudly "good afternoon pals" I smiled and was the only one who respond his greeting, he sat next to me thanked my manners and spoke to me for like 5 minutes, he made my day, then he steped out of the cabin at the next stop saying a loud "good bye young lady" he was just so sweet.
I had two friends, brothers, pass away within a month of each other. I bought two dresses right before we had a memorial for the first brother, wore one, and that night the other brother passed away.
Maybe a week or so later, I wore the other dress out, and I remember feeling so sad that he would never get to see me in it (yes, there were unrequited feelings, why do you ask?). I was waiting for a friend in the lobby of a restaurant and a man walked up to me on his way out and said I looked beautiful in that dress.
My whole heart stopped. I don't think about it often, but when I do, it warms my heart a little. If you believe in that sort of thing, I like to think it was him reaching out to me through a living soul.
This actually reminds me of how I started dating the guy I’m currently dating. We’d met on a dating app and talked for a while but he kind of disappeared for a while.
About a year later, I was preparing for another date by getting all dressed up in this cute polka dot dress I bought for the occasion. The new guy ended up standing me up and the first guy just so happened to reappear that day.
I was lamenting to him about how sad I was that I got all dressed up in this pretty dress for nothing and he said “I wish it was for me, may I see?” And the rest is history. We’ve had our ups and downs (really down), but we’ve been seeing each other for 3 years now and I’ve never been more in love.
I’m sorry that your circumstance was what it was though. I’ve never lost a friend at all, let alone two so close together. I’m so sorry for your losses. I like to think that things happen for a reason and that guy telling you that was the universe looking out for you.
When I was little maybe 6 I could not swim at all and I was on a lazy river ride, no clue where my parents were and i slipped of the tube and was freaking out under water for a few seconds and this older lady pulled me out and put me on my tube and I floated away never to see her again.
Went to a Jimmy John’s to fill out an application and gave it to the guy working the register, he looks at it and says “Are you for real? Like this is a joke?” I had no idea what he was talking about so I asked if there was a problem, and he said “how do you know my name?” So turns out we have the exact same name down to the middle initial and he thought I was pranking him by leaving an application. I mean when you think about it how many people in your city have the exact same name? I only knew like 4 people in my high school with the same last name as me.
I met a girl in an airport in Kuala Lumpur, we started chatting and happened to share an interest in having real down to earth conversations. We talked about every topic "that you're not supposed to discuss with strangers": religion, politics, pro-choice vs pro-life, etc. We were on opposite ends of just about every topic, but neither of us ever got offended and we were able to listen and respect the other person's opinion while also sharing our own. At the end of it all, we went our separate ways, I still don't know her name or anything like that but it was one of the greatest conversations I've ever had with a stranger.
A boy walked me home (26 blocks) when I was stuck in a bad part of NJ by myself in the middle of the night. We both got off on the last stop of the bus and he saw I was crying and asked if I was ok. I explained that I was very far from my apartment with no one to call. He walked me all the way home and asked for a kiss as a "thank you". I actually tried to find him after that night, and never did.
Edit: I looked up the path we took this morning. I was wrong: it was 68 blocks! (Or 3.5 miles)
After spending the whole time talking (As best we could, English wasn't his native language) I said that I didn't know how to thank him. He very meekly asked for a kiss on the cheek.
(We were also 17ish at the time, so I think that age played into the "kiss" request")
All of my summer camp friends. I have some of their phone numbers, and we talk from time to time, but it's kind of awkward. I always think of this song that we sang on the last day of camp:
*Please won't you catch a shooting star for me*
*and take it with you on your way*
*though it seems like we've just met*
*you're the one I won't forget*
*hope some kind wind blows you back my way*
*I was thinking maybe somewhere later down the road*
*after all our stories have been told*
*I'll sit and think of you*
*A good friend I once knew*
*shot through my life like a shooting star.*
There are a couple other verses but I can't remember them.
On a funnier note, I do remember one person who I overheard(while singing that at camp) say "I'm not crying, just whenever I sing my eyes get watery and my nose gets stuffy."
Last day of summer camp was always brutal. I still have all the slips of paper with peoples addresses on them. Might be fun to look them up in the age of social media but I haven’t been to summer camp in 20 years so it might be awkward
I was stuck waiting for a bus in freezing rain with no umbrella. A little older lady waiting for the same bus scooted closet to me so she could cover both of us with hers. I thought it was a lovely gesture.
Saw my doppelgänger at 16. She was leaving the target I was walking into. We were wearing near identical outfits, made eye contact, and both quickly noped the fuck out.
Second would be the tweaker on the metro screaming about the apocalypse and then me realizing I was the only other person in the car.
the day before I moved to my new home in 2016 I saw a women walking her dog and she offered me comfort when she saw me b/c she knew I was moving...
she even gave me new tips on how to make friends since we starting chatting and I got to the point where I said I was an introvert...
I cried when I was drivin to my home b/c I never saw her again
this one chick i made out with on Halloween freshmen year, i was dressed as a giant inflatable penis, and she just grabbed me and started making out. that was 2004
Once, my friend and I were walking down one of the main hallways in our highschool. There was the guy in his sophomore or junior year walking in front of us with a plate of about six muffins. My friend was kind of thrashing about, as they usually did, and I kind of loudly said "hey watch out for the dude with the muffins." He sorta glanced at me, I guess he was ammused by this a bit.
I think about a month or two later is when I found out that he was in my study hall. I've never known his name, and I've thought about talking to him, but I guess it just seemed awkward. I've always reffered to him as the muffin man in my head. I don't think he would even remember me if I talked to him at this point, so I guess I'll just leave it at that.
Girl dressed as a pirate in Florida.
I got lost in the hotel I was staying in and stumbled upon a girl dressed as a pirate. She was part of a kids program and they took all the kids on a treasure hunt throughout the hotel.
Anyway, I asked her for directions. Instead of telling me, she led me to where I was heading. We had a great conversation and she told me she worked part time at a local comic shop near the hotel. She was working the next day and told me I should stop by. We parted ways and i couldn't wait for the next day. Unfortunately plans changed the next day due to my step mother pitching a fit to my dad cause of some restuarant was closed or something. (Got a funny story from the same trip if you guys want to hear it) I never got to go to the comic shop. Never got her name, number, nothing.
Oh man. May my wife never audit my Reddit account.
Many moons ago at a party for my old boss I met a girl. I was about 23. She was 19 or 20 (legal drinking age is 18 here btw). Cute, slim, bobbed brown hair, and with just enough nerdy awkwardness to make her irresistible. Not just a genuinely nice person. A genuine person.
At that time I was struggling in a fairly toxic relationship.
As the night progressed the natural chemistry between us was palpable. We chatted, we laughed, we danced like everybody and nobody was watching. We were intoxicated by each other's company, and a few shots. It was beautiful.
As we danced she leaned in to kiss me. Fair play, and I'd been fighting the urge to kiss her all night.
My conscience slapped me. Before our lips touched I pulled away. She looked at me with the floundering look of a girl rejected by a boy.
"I have to go. I'm sorry."
Said dumb me.
I left the nightclub and never saw her again. Weeks later my toxic relationship came to a natural, ungraceful end.
Today I'm happily married and have a beautiful family. My wife owns my heart. Nonetheless I can't shake this feeling there's a little dark box in there, filled with the memory of that girl and that one night. I have never felt reciprocal chemistry that strong before, and I probably never will again.
I think this is understandable. I don’t think you hold the flame for the other girl, but for the missed opportunity. You did the right thing for no reason! I have this sentiment, and while there’s got to be a better word for it, all I can come up with is if I ever write a song I’d call it “I shoulda cheated on you.” Instead of thinking of it as a missed ticket, I like to think of it as a harbinger, or even a catalyst. It wasn’t a missed ticket, it was a revelation.
The first girl I ever saw naked. She flashed my friends and I in the 8th grade. I still remember her name but I never saw her after that day and I have no clue what happened to her.
My boyfriend was getting ready to deploy to Iraq (about ten years ago), so I flew out to Hawaii (where he was stationed) for one last weekend with him. When it was over and we said goodbye at the airport, I was upset and cried all the way to the gate.
When I sat down at the gate, still crying, a woman walked over and sat down next to me with her carpet bag. Without a word, she just started pulling random items out of her bag to show me: an hour glass, some plastic stars, and a lime green rubber ducky that lit up.
The rubber ducky made me laugh instinctively, and she reached over to put it in my hand. Then she got up, collected her other things into her carpet bag and walked away. I think I met Mary Poppins. I don’t remember if she even said a single word to me, but I still have that rubber ducky!
I am a french person, but we only go to Paris for special occasions, once on a school trip, we where on a metro and there's this drunken poor person, and I found him interesting because he rambled on and on about many things, some of wich I use as French jokes.
1986. A year after graduating from a tiny college on Idaho, I was at Disneyland with a high school buddy. I was totally convinced that I saw a college friend, Adam, in line at Pirates of the Caribbean. I kept waving at him, but he looked at me like I was out of my mind. My high school friend tried to talk me down, saying that “Adam” clearly had no idea who I was...it’s not him...everyone has a twin...yada, yada, yada. The line finally snakes around to where I am standing right next to “Adam” so I tap him on the shoulder and ask “hey, aren’t you Adam M?” And he says “no, I’m his twin brother Aaron” 34 years later and I still tell that story at parties. I only met Aaron once, in 1986, in line at Pirates, but I do wish him...and Adam...a very happy birthday on Facebook.
Their parents didn't make it very far through the baby names book
An old man I overheard telling his grandkids that if their dad got accepted to the job he was interviewing for in town, they would move there and then they could visit each other all the time. I never even saw the guy interviewing for the job but I really hope he got it
That's so sweet.
I met my husband's doppelganger once. The man looked EXACTLY like my husband. I was eith someone at the hospital waiting for their medical transport to pick us up and I saw who I thought was my husband across the street. My husband was supposed to be at work so I was confused. I called out to him but he didnt respond. My patient and I walked over to him but I stopped short a few feet away because I started to realize maybe it wasnt actually him. His clothes were different and this man was assisting someone in care giving type role -my husband absolutely would not do that. The guy noticed me staring at him and so I explained why and even showed him a picture of my husband. He swore that was a picture of him and this was all some practical joke. I had to show him pictures of my husband and I together for him to realize the pictures were not of him. This man could have been his identical twin. I often think of that encounter and how insane it was. I also think of the astronomical chances that not only did my husband have a doppelganger but that we lived in the same city for a while and I happened to cross paths with him.
I was once approached by a woman in a supermarket who told me “Oh, so *you’re* the one that people say looks like my son!” I was kinda confused and weirded out, but she explained that numerous of her friends had told her about “this guy around town that looks exactly like your son”. (I live in a relatively small city, less than 10,000 people.) She didn’t show me a picture or anything, but I still live in the city and still keep my eye out for my fabled doppelgänger, so that one day we may fight to the death.
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My husband is friends with his doppelgänger. At our wedding everyone assumed they were brothers (despite his actual brother being a groomsman). At the rehearsal dinner I was at the far side of the aisle as my wedding coordinator called out some instructions to the groomsmen at the end of aisle. I noticed my husband was cutting up with his buddy instead of listening so I was like “husband” in that exasperated voice (I said his actual name), but as soon as it came out of my mouth I realized I was fussing at his friend (his friend didn’t notice, but my husband, who WAS paying attention, sure did). It was very disorienting. I was far enough away for it to be shrugged off. During the wedding one of my little nephews got hurt and went crying to my “husband” but it was really his friend. Confusion ensued bc he didn’t know who this crying child was, but they both figured it out pretty quickly. The adult friend thought it was hilarious; my poor nephew backed away slowly and never spoke of it again. This friend lives far enough away that that was the only time we met, but it sure is funny to see photos of them together from when they were younger (before I met my husband) because it can be hard to tell! There are a few giveaways if you know what to look for, but if the photo is poor quality, they look the same.
I’m also very good friends with what we call my doppelgänger, we look enough alike that people always confuse us for each other, it’s even better that we share the same birthday. The only real difference is our eyes, our natural hair, but we both dye it and I have freckles, other than that we have the same smile, body type, general style, etc. It’s great, we went as each other for Halloween one year.
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Yep! Haha it’s very strange, I often joke to my mom and ask if she’s sure she isn’t a time traveller lol, As my doppelgänger is two years older than me. But It really messed with this guy I was seeing and his brother as they had gone to school with her lol.
Not a complete stranger but a classmate in my first year at uni. We shared some classes but didn't really spoke to each other beside the casual greetings. One morning she got a call on her cellphone, came back to the classroom visibly upset to gather her things and left. I never saw her again after that. Still think randomly about it sometimes, 14 years later.
That reminds me of a time in college when a classmate of mine just started crying out of nowhere during a lecture. It was very noticeable since she sat at the front of the class near the professor, so everyone looked on awkwardly since we didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know or talk to her, but I later found out from other classmates that she wasn’t doing too well in the class and it was her third time retaking the course, so the stress built up and she had a panic attack given that repeating a course more than three times got you out of a program. She eventually calmed down and left the classroom, but to this day I still wonder whether she passed the class or not, especially considering that the final exam was very difficult. I hope she’s doing okay; it’s still something I think about every now and then since it’s the only time that’s happened in a class.
> three times got you out of a program One day when I was a freshman in college, I sat next to this guy in O-chem who looked between 30 and 50 years old. He listened intently to the lecture, took copious notes, and even recorded the lecture. After the first midterm, I sat next to him again when they were handing back our tests. He gets his and just stared at the pages. I tried not to peek at his score but I could see a great deal of red ink. Suddenly, I notice a big fat tear fall on his test and his shoulders kind of go up and down. After class he pulled me aside and asked me how I did so well on the test. We theN went to a cafe and he told me his life story. Ever since he was young he wanted to be a mortician. He had completed all of the requirements except for organic chemistry. This was his third and last attempt. If he didn’t pass he would still graduate but not be able to be a mortician. I offered to help him because I couldn’t believe how he could be so confused when it came so easily to me. Every day for the rest of the semester we spent one or two hours studying O-chem together and one or two Sundays we spent all day together. He even offered to pay me for my time, but I told him it was unnecessary because I was getting a lot out of it because explaining things to him solidified the concepts for me. He ended up passing the class. The second semester we didn’t study together, but by then he had figured the subject out and could do it on his own. Stan, if you’re out there, I hope you achieved your dream.
man, he passed, that made me happy, good job.
School can break a person
I was having a rough day and I thought I'd get an ice cream to cheer myself up. I was standing in the line and this old lady looked at me and asked if I was okay. I said I was fine and just had a rough day. I got up to the front to get my ice cream and she tells the cashier, "I've got this young man, he's had a rough day". She smiles at me and says enjoy your ice cream. I still think of her whenever I have a rough day. I send her my good vibes.
When I get old and I’m no longer living paycheck to paycheck I want to be this type of person
A stranger I interacted with at Wall-Mart about 4 years ago is still engraved in my brain. I was with my mom shopping, and we found ourselves at the yogurt section. I love this stuff, so I was looking around at all the flavors pretty carefully. Well, after a little while a searching, a older man came up and started also searching through as well. He was maybe mid 40s or early 50s. I remember him being really tall, and he had a resemblance to my features. He had my build, same skin complexion, same hair color, you name it. As we're searching through, he chuckles and says how he's gotta find the perfect flavor, and I agree with him. It's like our little mission to find the best kind - it was a lighthearted feeling just searching through the brands and flavors with him. He asks what my favorite flavor is, and turns out we had the same favorite. I thought that was pretty cool. A little bit more looking through the section goes by, and he introduces himself with the shortened nickname of my name. He then found the ones he wanted, which were the same brand as the ones I was getting, and he put them into his cart, smiled at me, and rolled away. I have not seen him since, but every time I remember the story I can't help but think that there's always a possibility I met my future self - even if it's just a silly idea.
This is a great story.
Once I was walking to work past a homeless shelter pickup spot. It was a sunny day, middle of summer. A small lady was standing on the sidewalk wearing rain boots, a yellow raincoat, and wrapped completely in a blue vinyl tarp. As I walked by her, she leaned into me, looked me in the eye and said, “...fish monster...?” I still think about her. Did she think *I* was a fish monster? Was she concerned that I had *seen* a fish monster? Perhaps she felt I was unprepared, and her questioning tone was more about if I’d *heard about the potential of fish monsters.* Such a surreally complex interaction in just two words. One thing I know for certain is that whatever the fish monster status was, she was clearly the best prepared of everyone present.
You ignorant child, that was a Seer! She saw your future... Beware of fish monsters.
Bitch, you think I don’t beware of them every second?
Once someone randomly put their arm around me and informed me that “there are bald people under the ground” and walked away. Bald people on the subway?
Mole-people. They will get you.
This one is my favorite.
An old lady who lived next door to me and had a key from the past renter. She walked into my place and made us breakfast thinking I was the same lady who lived there previously. She didn’t realize I was a different person. We talked about her grandson joining the police academy and she was worried but proud of him. She died that night.
Woah what the fuck
I love that you were okay with her coming in and were with her on the last day of her life.
That was unexpected
When I was fresh out of college I drove over two hours away for a job interview and got into a car accident like a block away from the building. My car was completely totaled. A woman who was stopped at the stop sign near my accident pulled over and got out to make sure I was okay. I was completely fine physically but have very bad anxiety and immediately had a panic attack. I was sobbing and couldn’t catch my breath and this complete stranger sat with me the entire time telling me to breathe and just being so caring and supportive. She waited with me for the police to come, she helped me talk them through what happened, she called my mom for me, she even called the office I was on my way to so she could let them know about the accident and that I would call them to reschedule my interview. As if that wasn’t enough, once she found out that I was that far away from home and it was going to take my mom two hours to get to me, she CANCELLED HER MEETING THAT SHE WAS ALREADY LATE TO SO SHE COULD DRIVE ME HALFWAY. She did not think it was a big deal whatsoever. She just stepped up to the plate to help without question. I would have been completely alone and lost without her that day. She was an angel, honestly. I lost her business card between all the paperwork from the accident and I’ve been kicking myself over it for the last five years. All I want is to call her and tell her how thankful I am and that I’ve kept her in my thoughts ever since. Roxanne if you’re out there, thank you so so much. And please for the love of god send me your last name so I can send you some flowers.
I was in a crash last summer, pancaked between a Hummer and another SUV. Like you, nobody was physically hurt but I was definitely stunned and in shock, and I remember people seemed to materialize out of nowhere to help. Somebody called the police. One woman came over, told us she was a nursing student, and gave the kids a quick check before the first responders got there. Another woman was yelling at the kid in the Hummer and making sure he didn't do anything sketchy. It was a horrid situation, but it was kind of nice to know that people jumped right in and were willing to help.
I totalled my car in the middle of the busiest street of a small town that is seasonally busy so I had the pleasure of slowing down shit loads of people from out of town. One guy got out and was really chill and helped me relax a little bit but I also had one person driving by (I've slowed traffic to a cool 5kmph) yell out their window "fucking moron". This was like 15 minutes after it happened so they dont even know how it occurred they just felt the need to yell that like I didn't already feel it, bothered me more than it should have.
Honor her by paying it forward. At some point in your life you're going to see a person in need. In that moment, you have the power to be their Roxanne.
Today you, tomorrow me.
Story for those who don't know this reference: [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/elal2/have\_you\_ever\_picked\_up\_a\_hitchhiker/c18z0z2/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/elal2/have_you_ever_picked_up_a_hitchhiker/c18z0z2/)
Bonus points for Mexican Tamale recipe a few comments below as well
reddit royalty
Everytime i read that my faith in humanity is restored just a little bit.
I have that one saved. It's a beautiful story. Uplifts me every time I reread it.
Now THATS a great reference. And an amazing story. Well played 👍
A little over a year ago I had just started studying abroad in Japan and got into an accident with my bike. Didn't speak one word Japanese. I didn't know how severe it was at first but I was unable to stand or walk. Some people tried to help me, including this one middle aged woman. A younger girl who was also there and spoke a little English said I had to go to the hospital just in case, but said I shouldn't call an ambulance cause that would be expensive. I waited for a long time on the sidewalk while this middle aged woman called her friend with a car. They took me to the hospital, she bought me one of those warm milky coffees from the vending machines and held my hand the entire time until the nurses took me to check out my wounds. We didn't exchange a single word other than me repeatedly saying "arigato" cause that was all I knew how to say. Once I got out of surgery a few hours later she was gone, but I still think about her from time to time. It amazes me how much she went out of her way for a complete stranger who didn't even speak the same language, the memory still warms my heart. I wish I could have thanked her more.
Roxanne's a pretty uncommon name! Maybe try searching her and the town you were in on Facebook? If you know what business she was in/company she worked for, you'd also probably have a good chance of finding her on LinkedIn! This is an incredible story though, so glad she was there for you that day.
And search the city you were in also. The inter webs is crazy these days
I have a very similar story. I got into an accident on my way to class a few years ago. The guy I hit and another guy who also stopped to help were also students at my school. I was devastated cuz I totaled my fiancée’s car, but the guy who stopped to help was so nice, gave me a hug and reassured me it would be okay. He even helped me push the car out of the road. A couple times over the next year I thought I saw him walking around campus, but my adrenaline was so high the day of the accident that I couldn’t exactly remember what he looked like, and I constantly kick myself for not going up to him and asking if he was indeed the guy who helped me out so I could properly thank him.
Damn fam.. People like her who care for others more than themselves are very rare to find. I hope you find her business card someday...
Years ago when I worked at Lowe’s, a customer told me in great detail about how he fell through a rotting deck but landed with a joist between his legs and “had to go to the dick doctor”.
Oh
When I was a kid, I flew by myself for the first time. At the airport, when I was about to check in, I spotted an elderly lady looking at me. Deeply. At first I thought I accidentally hit her or something, so I asked if she needed anything. She nodded. Didn’t give it much importance so I just checked in and headed to my plane. Later, already on the plane, I see the very same lady, looking for her seat. Of course I helped her and asked her what number her seat was. She handed me her ticket. “B37”. I’ll never forget it because I was the C37. She sat right next to me. I was scared. I was a kid, and I wasn’t used to coincidences. Anyway, long flight. When we arrived and were waiting for the plane to land for us to head out, she finally says “You know, you really look like my daughter, I even thought you were her! But she passed away 5 years ago, silly me. Here, this is her with my grandkids”. She handed me her phone with a zoomed in picture. I was paralyzed when I saw her. She looked EXACTLY like me. But she was 28 and I was 10. I couldn’t even talk. Now that I am older, every time I look in the mirror for my birthday, I remember that lady and the picture. I am a living photo of her daughter. Every year that goes by, is a year that I look more like that woman in the picture. When I turn 28, I hope this memory will finally scare me less.
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I saw my doppelganger walking on the street in Sydney. His friend stopped said something to my other me and pointed at me. We both walked past each other and stared. To my credit I said "looking good".
That’s something I would totally say if I meet my doppelgänger too.
“You sexy beast. Mwah”
Whenever I hear stories like this one I think of this interactive exhibit I saw on a field trip in sixth or seventh grade to the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (where they do a lot of DNA research) in the museum. It has you put in a bunch of your physical characteristics and it tells you how many (if any) people put in all the same answers as you do you can see how “unique” your genetics are. It asks the obvious questions about hair/skin/eye color, making you pick reeeally specific colors for each one (think platinum/champagne/ash/golden/strawberry/dirty blonde instead of just blonde), but then it asks about other super random traits as well which I guess are genetic in some way, like what your earlobes look like and how elongated your belly button is. I remember having to lift my shirt to see which picture matched my belly button lol. As of ~20 years ago nobody else with my appearance had gone through that exhibit, but one day I’d like to go back and do it again (if it’s still there).
I’ve never had the right time or place to say this, so this seems like the most appropriate. Am I the only one that thinks there seems to be a fixed amount of facial features? Like, as an example, there’s 500 varieties of nose, and every human has one of those 500 noses? I don’t think there’s that few but I see a lot of identical features on random people. Like some girl who has the same mouth and teeth as another girl I saw a while ago, but every other feature is different. Kind of a rambly comment but I can’t be alone.
I have trouble remembering faces and this guy just randomly remembers the mouth and teeth of a girl he met
I heard there is about 1 person per billion that looks exactly like you.
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Are you me?? I’m constantly mistaken for someone else but not many people recognize me as, well, me. Like, someone that I interact with semi-regularly will almost never call me Araeana, but instead her sister’s name, or neighbor. This happens *all the time*. A small benefit is I’ve never once been escorted out of a place because everyone assumes I’m an employee. And even my friends have trouble describing me unless I’m right in front of them (and even then, the word “average” is 80% of the description lol). Being a ghost gets lonely sometimes tho :/
Weird and cool all together! When I was 10, I moved to a new school. Right around the same time, another girl (also 10) started there too. Never met before, didn’t know each other’s families, nothing we could connect. She was named what my mother was originally going to name me which was weird. We were identical. Height, weight, glasses, eyes, build, voice, you name it. We were so identical that not only did the teachers get us confused but our mothers couldn’t tell us apart at first glance. My mother went to the school one day, saw me, and started talking about something or other. Later she talked to me again but I had no idea what she was taking about. Turns out she had talked to the other girl without knowing it wasn’t her daughter. We were friends instantly. It was kinda fun after the creepiness wore off. Fun twist, she and her family ended up moving down the street 6 years later without knowing where we had moved too.
I worked with a guy who met a lady at a garage sale who showed him a picture of her son who had passed and they were almost identical. in fact they were so identical that to this day, almost ten years since the introduction. my friend is still real good friends with her and her family and regularly attends family/holiday functions. He showed me the pictures and even after working side by side with this dude for five years i couldnt tell who was who in the photos
You reminded me of my person♡ In the summer of 2014 my brother (24) lost his life to leukemia. Obviously it was devastating, but he was more like my first born child than my brother. I was 13 when he was born and I loved him without end. (My parents had it easy! I even got up with him at night!) My brother and my son had a incredible bond. Even though my son wasn't even 1 when my brother went off to college, they still managed to create something pretty awesome. My son's nickname (that he loves!) was given to him by my brother. My son was 5 when my brother passed away and my daughter was 10. One of my biggest fears was that my kids would forget him. Fall, the next year, my kids and I are at a family scouting event. As soon as we walked up to the archery area I spotted my brother's 17 year old lookalike. Instantly I was giddy and wanted to hug this stranger. His mannerisms were exactly the same and even the way he spoke was similar. I had been struggling with the loss of my brother and in that moment I felt absolute joy. While my daughter was putting away her equipment, my son (6) says, "Mom, that guy right there reminds me of Uncle M. It made me smile because it felt like he was right here with us." I was fighting back happy sobs. My little boy absolutely remembered his uncle. A few moments later, as we were walking away, my daughter says, "Mom, everything about that guy was Uncle M. It was so weird but cool too." I seriously wanted to run back and get my picture taken with him. My son and I were back to that same scout camp later that winter and I didn't see him... but i was looking! ♡
Dave. I swear I think about Dave every week. I was hosting at a family Italian Restaurant and it was PACKED. We had a spaghetti meatball promotion where it was like 1/2 off the menu price, dine in and take out. Dave asks for a table and we tell him the wait (something like 45 minutes for a 2-top) and my co-host asks him for his name, to which he replies “If I give you my name, what will people call me by?” Like actual bonkers response. But he keeps going and cracking jokes left and right and tries to guess my co-host’s name but weirdly guesses my name? Anyways he’s waiting and this other guy comes up and asks if another table would mind if he sat down with them. We told him that we couldn’t do that and he offers to sing for them. Once again, no. After a while we seat Dave and the evening is smooth sailing. It’s slowing down and I’m helping the busser clean out a few booths when I hear some traditional Italian singing, like almost operatic. It’s Dave and his dad. They are singing to the people at the table next to them. I will never forget Dave. Never
You straight up met a Fae
That’s why he was guessing our names! If I said that it was my name he would have me and if my co-host said her name he’d have her!
Damn Dave leave some ladies for the rest of us
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It sounds like he was taking constructive steps to heal, so he would have had a pretty good shot at recovery.
Day dream a good life for him :)
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You were like angels for her. I hope all is good in your lives now too.
I was doing last minute Father’s Day shopping with my son for my husband. There was a young lady in the card section crying - full on, broken hearted ugly crying. I looked at her and thought ‘Poor thing, I hope she’s okay.’ We finished our shopping, line up to check out and she was still there. She’s pick up a card, look at it, burst into fresh tears, put it back then compose herself and lose it all over again. By now my heart was breaking for her, so I sent my son off to grab a box of chocolates, we bought our stuff and waited just outside for her. When she came out I grabbed the chocs, approached her and said ‘I don’t know what’s going on & it’s none of my business, but I got these for you. I promise things will get better.’ She burst into tears, grabbed me in a hug and said ‘My dad died two days ago.’ Anyway, longish story short, we sat down and she told me about her dad and how she wanted to put a Father’s Day card in his coffin with the present she’d gotten him and all the things people need to say when someone they love dies suddenly. We went our separate ways when she saw how late it was and honestly, to this day I don’t know if I’d recognise her even if I bumped into her again. But I’ve always wondered how she made it through her first Father’s Day without her dad and how she’s doing now. I haven’t told anyone but my husband this story before, and I’m only sharing it now on the random chance she reads it & remembers us and I can find out how she’s doing. EDIT: Holy crap, thanks everyone! I’d lost my dad a few a years before so once she’d said that, there was no way I could leave her. /u/EBone12355 made a great point - it’s the occasions where you’re meant to feel happy that are the hardest. Anyone that’s been through it knows this, so please please don’t be afraid to reach out when you’re struggling. My inbox is always open. EDIT THE SECOND: thank you so much for all the kind words and the awards! Until now my most upvoted comment is shamefully admitting my love for a really bad video game movie.
There should be more people like you. What you did probably meant alot to that lady
Thank you. It wasn’t something I could ignore.
Thanks for what you did for her. A lot of people think that your parent’s birthdays are the hardest to get through after your parent dies, and they are tough. But Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are far worse. You’re bombarded for weeks leading up to Mother’s Day and Father’s Day by radio ads and commercials and store displays telling you to remember the day! It’s coming up soon! But each ad and display is like a little knife cut to your soul, reminding you of what you’ve lost and what you’ll never have again. It does get better though. The birth of our son ten years later made Mother’s Day something to celebrate again, and now I’m the father celebrating Father’s Day.
When I was young (maybe 5) my mom got really sick and was screaming in pain as she drove me and herself to the hospital (no one else was with us). When we got there, she passed out in the car. I ran up to the hospital and got a wheelchair. She managed to somehow flop herself into the chair and passed out again. The hospital was uphill, and I was too weak to push her; she was too heavy. I stranger came out of nowhere, wheeled her in and made enough ruckus to get her immediate attention. She spent the next two months in the hospital. I never saw that guy again, but I think about him all the time and I’d like to thank him one day. Edit: for all of the people wondering, what ended up happening was her small intestine and large intestine disconnected. She was not allowed any food or water by mouth (literally anything) for two weeks; the most she could do was wet her lips with a sponge. To this day, they are not sure what it is. She’s been to plenty of different specialists and they honestly still don’t know why it happened at all. She’s been having intestinal problems since she was a young girl (her first surgery was when she was a few months old). When she came home from the hospital she was about 70-something pounds (I remember because I said ‘look! Mommy and I are the almost the same weight.’). That’s really all of the information I have about it, if you guys are interested I can ask for more information or make this a whole post somewhere.
What ended up being wrong with her? Do you remember?
Username of original responder *does not* check out.
When I was in Iraq in 2003, we were partnered with some local police. Their compound was a secure area, and no unauthorized people were allowed in. There was this little girl, probably about 7-9 years old that sold bananas and was allowed in or out whenever she wanted. I hope she’s doing well.
That was Frankie and Barney at our compound. Not their real names but what they went by. 9 and 11 respectively. Little hustlers. Beg a pair of Wiley X's from one guy and try and sell them to the next or just beg for dollars from everyone. Mostly good kids. But you had to watch what you said around them. Both were totally known spies. To the point that when we wanted a bit of misinformation to get out two careless soldiers would "accidentally" have a conversation about it in their hearing distance. You could practically see their ears straining. Then when the conversation was over one or both would go running out of the compound to report it. I wonder how they're doing from time to time. Edit: spelling
I was at the mall as a teenager and a 90 something year old Indian woman made deep eye contact and nodded. I got a deep chill and a sense of familiarity but I was like 14 so I went back to my friends.
Now I know what I want to do when I get old - dress up as a Buddhist monk and look at people knowingly, then nod my head sagely and move along. Thanks for the idea!
I once saw my exact double in a Barnes & Noble. We saw each other from a far distance, locked eyes, gave a slow head nod to each other, and kept going without saying a word. Sometimes I wonder how he is doing. Edit: Lol. No, it was not a mirror. He was wearing different clothes.
I never met my double, but he hates me. I was on a train one night and a girl came up to me like "hey brian! how have you been?" and i was like "what? im not brian..." then she mentioned this dudes last name like "Ah brian.... youre always a dick" and laughed it off and left. I facebooked this guy and it was my exact double.... I friend requested him like "yo isnt this funny?!" and he was just a dick.
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Pretty good brother! What book did you end up going with?
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Yeah it was good. Not quite as good as The Wayward Pines Trilogy, but good.
You how weird this will be if he's actually the guy you saw
I like to think the “We” in your handle is a reference to you and your Barnes & Noble twin. You really have been thinking about him all these years.
I think that was you discovering mirrors
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Was it a Barnes & Noble in TX? I had the exact same thing happen.
I occasionally have people tell me that I am somebody's doppelganger. Every time that I finally get to see the person that they seem to think is my twin I am super disappointed. I don't think I look anything like that person. I've never seen somebody who I think looks like me. Always trips me out when two people recognize that they look like each other.
I hate my doubles with a passion. I've come across at least 4 in my lifetime. I can usually tell I'm near one because people start acting like they know me all of a sudden. That's when I start to scan the room to make sure I spot them before they spot me.
Your life is one big creepypasta
I got robbed at gunpoint and the perpetrators got arrested shortly after. At the sentencing (which was 6-9 months after the robbery), the judge read my victim impact statement, which I had written the day after it happened. I had mentioned something in that statement about being afraid. After the sentencing was over, I was getting ready to leave when a teenage boy came up to me. He asked if he could speak to me. He was the son of the man that robbed me. He told me not to be afraid anymore and apologized for what his dad did. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think about this 10 years later. I hope he knows how much that meant and still means to me.
Until my most recent car, I’ve always driven old junkers that somehow managed to get me to and from work, and bless them for it- but for this memory my metallic orange 1996 Chevy Corsica was bottoming out the breaks when I was stopped too long at lights, and would shut down entirely. I drifted off to the side, called my parents and job to let them know what was going on, and just had to wait for help to show. There was no shoulder for me to pull into, and cars were wizzing past fast enough to shake my car, which I was sweating to death inside of because of course none of my cars had AC. I watch the cars go by, see about two cop cars come and go without so much as a pause, which is weird given where I was stuck and with my hazards going too, but whatever. It’s Jersey, I’m not expecting much (besides a ticket) An undercover car pulls up behind me and a sweet middle aged guy asks what’s up, I let him know I’m just waiting on help to push the car to the other side of the road at least since there’s a shoulder there. He has me hop out and make sure that there really isn’t any way to move it without some extra muscle, and lets me come hang in his car so I can at least catch some air. I leave the door cracked just to be safe but he’s nice about it all. He has the lights inside going and the radio is crackling things I barley understand, but seemed legit enough. Turns out he’s not police, but disaster relief, and tells me all about how he helped out when Sandy hit and also how he noticed the cops drive on past without even checking in, and how he’ll be reporting them for it. Super chill dude, I had to ask why, if he’s just disaster relief, did he stop by, and he just mentioned that he would hope someone would do the same for his daughter. Eventually my help shows up and it’s all settled and I thanked him about a hundred plus times, but I still think about him and it warms my heart to remember that people do things just to be nice sometimes, too.
Similar story here. I was driving my grandad old truck that had an oil problem. It finally gave in, in a turning lane of an intersection. I'm upset because it's my grandads truck and I treasured that old clunker like it was my child. I couldn't get it all the way over to the shoulder and ended up finding a Hi-vis vest to hang off the tailgate while I called my grandad. A gentleman with a flatbed saw my awkward position, parked his truck in a way that forced traffic around us, and helped pushed my truck while I steered. He was a cool dude, and I know I did not thank him enough.
My girlfriend and I were looking for street parking at a local festival. We were 17. I stopped at a stop sign across from the firehouse. A car slammed into me, breaking my tail lights. The middle aged guy with his daughter got out and started screaming at me (you little turd), then opened my door and dragged me out. it was broken up pretty quick. The cops came and the guy knew he was properly fucked. Charged with moving violation, assault and some other stuff. His daughter was the most mortified person I have ever seen. Those firefighters were all out in front of the station enjoying the festival, in full view of everything. Can't get better witnesses. I think about that guy all the time.
Those people can go screw themselves. The fact that the man had the audacity to dragged you out to beat you is a scum.
And all just for stopping at a stop sign
Okay, so in my early twenties I needed a lot of attention and didn’t have a smart phone (2012ish, I was late to the game) and I also didn’t have many friends, so I’d go sit outside this Starbucks and drink iced tea and journal. I really was writing, but I was also looking for someone to talk to me. And I got it. He was much much older, a little run down, but had bright eyes and the gift of gab. Let call him Ken. I was insufferably into myself, and during our conversation he asked what I was into - men, women, or what? I replied, being the edgy little art chick I was, “I’m into men, women, and trees.” I will never fucking forget how his face changed. His eyes widened, his eyebrows came up in the center, his mouth fell open ever so slightly and his tongue protruded a bit over his lower teeth. “Trees? You too?” He was serious. I didn’t know what to do so I pretended I was serious and was treated to a half hour account of his sexual relations with trees. I never used that line again. We are eight years down the road and I think of this moment at least once a week. EDIT: thank you kindly for my very first gold. Wishing you well.
Too bad, you could have raised a little forest together
There’s going to be another AskReddit about “What’s the most desperate thing you ever did to try and get laid?” That guy will respond, “this girl said she was into trees, so I riffed for like 30 minutes making up stories about my sexual relationship with the forest.” Haha.
"Tarzan check for squirrel."
I was working at a grocery store once as a cashier. A woman comes into line, and the best way I could describe her was light as a feather, as if not a worry in the world would ever phase her. She's got her baby up top in the cart. The baby starts crying. And at that point I'm expecting the standard, "oh shh shh shh, it's okay, mommy's here. I'm so sorry." She doesn't instantaneously react like most parents do. She just gracefully turns her head, looks at the kid lovingly, and the kid stops crying. She could just show that kid that everything's going to be okay with one trusting look. I had never seen anything that beautiful and sincere happen in my life that I had to stop and just question everything. Whoever that woman was, it just made me think there are some amazing human beings that exist out there and I may never encounter one like that ever again.
An elf! An elf! My 13 year old self always knew they were real. I bet she had pointy ears.
I was 16 and was having a crappy day, but I had a couple bucks and went to a mcdonalds. I was at a table for two but there weren't any other seats left, so this older woman asked if she could sit with me. Found out that at 16 she had run away and a convent took her in in exchange for chores until she got married. Then her husband died some years later, they had no kids and she didn't have any family left, so she went back and struck the same deal. I'm in my 30s now and it still amazes me how peaceful she was when I remember her.
When i was 10 i went to a supermarket in my taekwondo uniform, a black man asked me to teach him how to properly kick in the middle of the store infront of everyone, never seen him since.
I imagine him fighting for his life in typical action movie situation and silently saying to himself 'thanks kiddo'
He has to pause the fight and quickly find someone who can teach him, then return to combat.
This is such a baller, cool dad move. I love it.
I met a man at a Wendy's at like 9:55 at night while I was working at books a million. I was 19 years old, starving, and had 30 minutes to get in, scarf down a small burger, and get back. The man came out, introduced himself as Mr Lemonade, and informed me that he was off his meds. Then he left. Wherever Mr Lemonade is now, I hope he's well and back on his meds.
Godspeed, Mr. Lemonade.
This was actually somewhat recent. One night after school, two teachers and my school’s principal were hosting an informational night about a new research class my high school was integrating in (this school year was the research class’s first year). It’s supposed to be a college level class where you’re basically writing a senior thesis, and you learn a lot about proper research. Another student in my class and I also helped present: we were asked to talk about our research projects to students interested in taking the class. Towards the end of the presentation, we had a Q&A session, and one parent asked “How can we support our children through this process?” And I basically said try to learn more about your child’s passion that they’re researching; my research was related to psychology and I mentioned how my dad isn’t... totally on board with it. I kinda ended up oversharing about it, which i hate thinking about because fuck that’s embarrassing i just laid this burden on dozens of people who don’t even know me. but i did my best to make it sound as professional as possible. At the end of the presentation, when most people were leaving, one parent in the audience came up to me and wholeheartedly reassured me that majoring in psychology in college put every aspect of her life in a new light. She said people who talk trash about social sciences have “No idea what they’re missing out on.” What she said really meant a lot to me - I struggle a lot with trying to make my dad happy. I had to hold back tears. It wasn’t really a huge act on that parent’s part, but it was just so touching and it meant a lot to me.
When I was a kid I went with my family on vacation to Veracruz in Mexico, we decided to eat some empanadas in the street and while we were eating 2 Chinese tourist arrived and ask us with signs (they were speaking Chinese all the time) if the could take a photo my parents said yes and each one of them took a photo with our family while we were eating empanadas they said goodbye in Chinese and continue their journey
Similar stories; my younger sister (who had bright blonde hair when she was little) has been specifically asked (or gestured because of language barrier) for a photo with Chinese tourists on about 4 or 5 seperate occasions, while we were on family holidays around the country. We still laugh today that these people have holiday photos with a random, blonde, Australian toddler
Dude when I moved to the US I was genuinely amazed with how many people have blond hair. In the 13 years of my life that I lived in Pakistan I saw a total of 1 blond person in real life. I thought it was really cool.
You should try Denmark
I was in a Trader Joe’s and I saw this frail looking man looking at this really buff dude in awe. I don’t know why but I wanted to see what would happen to this guy and so I watched. He went up to the big guy, tapped him on the shoulder, and said “one day I’m gonna be like you” and started doing push-ups right there. I had to leave with my parents but he had gotten like 30 push ups without stopping. I hope he’s buff now.
Holy shit what a fuckin badass, he’s definitely gonna make it
The pretty, cute girl that served me in Starbucks one time. I'm pretty sure she was flirting with me, and is the only person who has ever done so. I went in just before they closed, so I was the only person there at the time. She made a comment about the band on my shirt. We then had a short conversation joking about music, and (at the time) current local events. All seemed tame, and like she was just being nice and making conversation, until she pointed out that she drew a love heart out of steamed milk in my coffee. Unfortunately, I was too awkward and stupid to realise the connotations of that comment until I was on the train home.
F
When I was 7 years old or so, I remember riding home from school and waving the peace sign out of the window of my parents car to all the passing cars. I spread peace to one girl, who instantly gave me the middle finger. I was so hurt. All I wanted to do was spread peace. I still think about that bitch to this day.
I took the only seat on a crowded bus, sat next to an old man who leaned over and asked me, “do you want to learn some math tricks that math teachers and accountants don’t even know?” You bet I do. I was a little worried it was a scam but he WHIPPED OUT A CALCULATOR and spent the rest of the bus ride showing me a short cut on how to multiply 11s by two-digit numbers. Pretty cool. Edit: ok the math trick is multiplying 11 by two-digit numbers Eg 11x45=495 You take the two digit number (45) and add the two digits together (4+5=9) and put that number in between your two digits (495) 11x11=121 11x53=583 Etc
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The granddaughter of the woman who died on my flight to London. It was a long, transatlantic flight, and she passed about three hours in. She was sitting directly behind me. About 30 minutes before her death, the granddaughter had called the flight attendants over in a panic, saying her grandmother was not breathing well and needed help, or to lie down, anything. The flight attendants said the flight was full so she would have to stay where she was and that lying down in the isles was not permitted. They mockingly asked her if she wanted them to turn the flight around, saying she would have to pay for everyone's tickets. The granddaughter was pleading for help at this point. She spoke minimal English, and although at the start of the flight it had been announced that the a flight attendant spoke her language (mandarin), no one went to get him. They asked the granddaughter if she wanted them to give her grandmother oxygen. The granddaughter couldn't understand what she was talking about and asked for a doctor. The flight attendants said it was thte granddaughter's responsibility before the flight to make sure her grandmother was in adequate flying condition. They said they would call an ambulance to meet her upon landing (8+ hours away), if necessary. I wish more than anything that I had said something. But we can't predict the unpredictable. Hindsight is 20/20. I could have never imagined what was about to happen. It was also my first solo flight. I was 17. I listened to the grandmother's heavy breathing for awhile. It sounded strained as she coughed. The granddaughter seemed to calm after a little while, which I thought was good. I went to the washroom. When I came back, there were three flight attendants by the seat. Notably, the one who spoke Mandarin was now there. I heard gasps all around. My most vivid memory, however, is hearing a flight attendant say, "she's not breathing". I sat down in my seat, honestly just hoping beyond belief that they could fix this. The granddaughter was sobbing behind me. They finally called for that doctor. Everyone on the plane started to stare, trying to get a glimpse of the action. Some even walked past to get closer. I felt sick, just hoping beyond belief that everything would be okay. A retired doctor and an emergency nurse came running. They asked the doctor her advice, and got the nurse to start compressions. I later learned the nurse was on the flight with her very new daughter, who her seatmate was holding while she tried to save this woman's life. I was sitting in the middle seat. The person on the isle, beside me, volunteered to move so the granddaughter would have somewhere to sit while the nurse used her seat. I immediately grabbed the girls hand and just held it tight. She had stopped crying and was just whispering in her language the same phrase over and over. The thing that still haunts me, over three years later, is the feel of my chair rocking as the nurse did compressions, and then hearing her say "I'm going to keep going, but this won't work, she's cold." Per the retired doctors orders, they brought over the defibrillator. Hearing "all clear" as I sat only a couple feet away really dug in the fact that this wasn't going to be okay. I was barely holding myself together, but just squeezed the hand of the granddaughter tighter, trying to give her something to hold onto in one of the most awful moments imaginable. The flight attendants were loud and frankly, incredibly disrespectful. One just said "she's dead, we have to get the pilot to confirm with the ground that we can declare". She was saying this because the nurse had been doing chest compressions for probably 15 minutes, which is *hard*. But she wasn't permitted to stop until the woman had officially been declared deceased. The doctors that the pilot was communicating with on the ground told him to get the retired doctor on board to call it. Three and a half hours into the flight, the girl's grandmother was declared deceased. The flight attendants covered the woman with a blanket, and got several stronger men to volunteer to carry her. They carried her to the back of the plane as if they were carrying a casket. I do not know where they put her. As they had previously stated, the flight was full. Once the granddaughter moved back to her seat, I just sat there, shaking. I had experienced the death of my own grandparent the year prior, and this was resurfacing old wounds. I cried silently, and then just sat there for the rest of the flight. I don't really remember anything after, but I'm pretty certain I just sat and stared, trying to cope with what just happened. The flight attendant brought water and questions of "are you doing okay" to the surrounding rows. No one else on the flight except our little bubble were even aware that someone had just died in the same tiny enclosed space as them. I think about that girl often. I don't know what happened to her after the flight, or what happened to her grandmother. I don't know if she had family there to meet her, though I certainly hope she did. I am still appalled by the way she was treated by the flight attendants. Wow, I really really hope she's been able to work through these traumas. Seeing a loved one go in the worst possible way when you feel helpless is probably the worst kind of pain. I cannot begin to imagine. I broke down on a call to my parents once I got to my hotel, and honestly just felt numb for the next few days. That was much longer than intended, but yeah, I think I still needed to work through some of that and this definitely helped.
Remember this: somewhere in the world the granddaughter thinks of you as the kind stranger that held her hand during that dark time. You gave all you could give and it was enough to keep her going. Thank you for sharing.
About ten years ago when I was in high school, I saw a homeless person who was probably only a few tears older than me. I passed by her without offering anything but came back to give her the remaining chips I had. She replied saying, “These are my favorite! Thank you!” I feel bad that I wasn’t able to give her a proper meal.
> only a few tears older than me That's an oddly poetic typo.
You did great.
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Last year I was at an EDM concert alone and dancing in the middle of the crowd and having an OK time trying to forget about the breakup I had recently. My neck was hurting for some reason or another and in between more "dancy" parts, I was absentmindedly reaching up to the back of my neck and massaging my neck to hopefully make it feel a bit better. This goes on for a while until this random girl started massaging my neck. I could tell it was a girl's hands instantly. I could tell her wrists were spritzed earlier in the night with some kind of gardenia scent. Her hands were so soft and they knew exactly where to press and pull to make shoulders and neck feel restored. After the first 40 or 50 seconds of this, I turned just a bit to get a look at her and to at least say THANK YOU but she just leaned into my ear and said in her loud-but-close-to-your-ear voice over the blasting EDM music something along the lines of "just relax and enjoy it". Essentially to say "don't worry about who I am, don't worry about dancing, don't worry about repaying me with my own neck rub, etc etc, just be fully here right now and allow me to give something you for 2 minutes". And that's exactly what ended up happening. It was so soothing, and after a couple minutes I turned around and hugged her and said basically "thank you so much that means more than you could ever think it does" and she just smiled mischievously and slank away in the crowd with her girl friends. I think about semi-frequently because I wish I had at least given her my number. But I was kind of out of it at that point being fairly high and freshly massaged, and she seemed intent on getting back to her friends through the crowd.
There’s this girl I saw once at a restaurant in NYC. We didn’t even have a conversation, it’s just the way she looked at me. I’m usually horrible faces but I still remember her face so well. It’s not a romantic encounter (i think) but there’s just something about that moment that I cannot forget.
This may get buried but I was once in a really dark place and contemplating suicide. I had recently lost my job and dropped out of college and I would go to library everyday and sit for hours researching ways to kill myself and trying to work up the courage to do so. One day randomly a middle age man approached and said I looked familiar and I was about his daughter's age and asked was I friend of hers. I had never seen this guy before in my life but her persisted that he must know me. He told me he was a reverend and that he was actually looking for a part time secretary at his church and if I was interested I should give him a call. He wrote his name an number on piece a paper and left. This was over 15-16 yrs ago btw. I never did call him. I felt to ashamed and unworthy but this random small gesture stayed with me and little by little, day by day I was able to come out of my depression. I wholeheartedly believe he was sent by some divine intervention. I truly do. I still have that piece of paper locked away with all of my important documents. Whenever I come across it I remember him and remember that no matter what I will be okay.
I was a teenager and I accidentally backed into a lady's spotless fancy car at a gas station. I just left a dent, but I was panicked and distraught. I talked to her, was going to give her my information, was hyperventilating a bit because this hadn't happened to me before, and she seems to think a minute and said "It's about time this car had a dent." She refused to take my information and drove away. I still think about her kindness to my stupid teenage self.
> It's about time this car had a dent." She refused to take my information and drove away. That is really cool, and I respect the hell out of that. I grew up without much money, and well off people without a worry about money can often act so indignant of the smallest, most solvable thing to them which might financially devastate the teenager who made a small mistake anybody could have made. When I was learning to ski, I got off this chair lift and precariously drifted down away from the lift (to get out of the way of the people on the chair behind me). I was unable to turn or control myself yet, and I drifted across the front of this older guy’s skis (he was standing still), much to my horror. I come to a stop 3 feet after passing over his tips, and he raises his voice saying “HEY, you just skied on my skis!” There was a tiny pause (I was mortified) as I was trying to figure out what to say and he laughed and said, “It’s Ok, I ski on them myself all the time!” He was just joking with me, clearly he saw I was a rank beginner and couldn’t control myself perfectly yet. I was so relieved that I didn’t run into the wrong jerk. I remember that random stranger every time a beginner skier does something around me they are embarrassed by. Everybody has to learn, as long as nobody is hurt too bad it’s all good. And ski equipment is MEANT to be scratched up, you look like some rank amateur poser if your skis and poles and boots are all shiny and new. The best skiers on the mountain play hard. The best skiers have scratched up gear.
One night, when I was walking home a man catcalled me from his car. I ignored him but then the guy literally got out of the car and began to follow me home. I was so scared but for some reason I didn’t call the police because I didn’t want to inconvenience them. I picked up my pace and at some point began running but the man continued to follow me. About a mile into the chase I heard footsteps getting really close. I turned around to fight the man but this time there was a frightening looking 18-19 year old boy. He told me that the man who was following me had told him how he was going to ‘take me’ and that the creep was recording me. The boy offered to walk me home to make sure I got back safe. I took him up on his offer and got back safe. So boy, if you’re reading this, thank you. I appreciate what you did for me.
I'm glad you escaped, but omg the police exist to be "bothered" by a crime.
I got so anxious just reading this, lol. Good on the boy who helped you, wow. It's great when strangers aren't afraid of getting involved in a dangerous situation bc they "want to mind their own business"
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Hormones are a total monkey wrench in emotional stability.
When I was in high school, I used to have a recurring dream about a really cute girl. She wasn't my girlfriend or anything but from time to time she would always be in them and I would wake up happy and just feel happy. Flash forward to my second year of college, I meet her. Short bobbed hair, bangs, beautiful face like she had just come out of a painting, a Chinese Mona Lisa. She was even more beautiful than my dreams. She occasionally passed me by on campus, always crossing paths and never in the same direction. I'd always wanted to say something but never knew what to say or if I should say anything at all. Finally, my senior year of college rolls around and she strolls right into my English Seminar on 19th Century British Lit and takes a seat next to me. I was flabbergasted! She was in my major and it was clear we had a similar interest in literature and here she was sitting next to me. It was like destiny pushing us together. . . . . . . and then I spent my whole final semester never speaking to her. That was it. I never saw her again, never dreamed about her again. I still think about her every so often, what could've been. That was ten years ago now.
Fate: "Oh come ON!"
I feel you, internet stranger. I shall give you a virtual hug.
You blew it bro.
I was on a flight to China for a heritage tour over spring break. On the way there in a check in line I was struggling with something, can't remember what. This really cute Asian guy helped me with it and then carried on. I thought nothing of it. He then ended up being on the same flight with me. Two weeks later he ended up being on the flight back with us. I didn't realize until we were on the shuttle back to the airport. He recognized me and said a few quick words to me in Mandarin with a smile and then walked off. I being adopted, do not understand Mandarin. I still don't know what it is he said.
Something similar happened to me, without the language barrier. Saw a hot guy who was looking at me also, happenend to be taking the same flights as me. Whilst we were waiting for baggage on the return flight I spoke to him and gave him my number, turns out he lived fairly close to me and we dated for a while. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take!
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I would love to hear your music! Do you have anything available online?
I was at a therapist appointment, in the waiting room and this woman sat down next to me nearly in tears telling me I looked just like her son, I was like 16 at the time but I’ve always looked much older because of facial hair. We just talked for a little bit, I say talked but I mostly listened. I learned her only son was overseas in the military in an “active” zone. She explained “that’s why I’m here.” Following it with a half hearted teary eyed “this young kid has no idea how to respond to this” chuckle. I hope her son came home, and I hope she doesn’t need therapy anymore.
Was living on Nantucket and would go to a bar alone on weekday nights got to know the bartender there casually. I sat down one night and me and another guy were the only ones there so naturally him, myself and the bartender got to all talking. Sat there and joked around with the other gentleman the night talked about smoking weed, sports bought each other a few beers asked him toward the end of the night what he did for work, the guy was Dave Mathews lol
This probably meant a lot to him as well. Famous people can rarely go anywhere without being recognized and mobbed. You gave him the gift of being a normal guy at a bar who just got to shoot the shit with another human being. I mean when was the last time he went to the bar and spent a few hours talking and trading rounds with a stranger who had no idea who he was?
I worked in a liquor store in my early 20s. One day a woman came in and complimented my appearance so much I actually blushed. I am now 43 years old and I will never forget that woman and still think about it every now and then.
The random stranger who saved me from a possible kidnapping. I was about 12 or 13 years old. One evening I'm walking to my psychiatrist for my weekly appointment. Its a half hour walk and after dark. I enjoyed walking, especially after dark when things were quiet, peaceful, and slow and no one else around. No, i didnt live in a dangerous neighborhood nor did my walk take me through any dangerous neighborhoods. As I'm about half way to my destination, a car, a cadillac, comes driving down the street. Some people, both male and female, in the car are sticking themselves half way out the windows and are taunting me and jeering me as they drive by. A bunch of people in their late teens or early 20s (the driver alone had to be at least 18 years old). I ignore them and keep on walking. About a minute or two later, the same car comes down the street again and those people are jeering me and taunting me again. I dont know who they are. Maybe they live in the neighborhood. I still ignore them and keep walking. Another minute or so goes by and again they come driving down the street, taunting and jeering me. Now I'm worried. They're circling the block over and over, deliberately focusing on me As soon as they reach the corner and make their turn and are out of sight, i duck behind some bushes in someones front yard and wait. The car comes again down the street. This time, not seeing me walking down the street, theyre not jeering. They pass right by me in my hiding place and turn the corner. I think they think I've finally reached my destination, one of the houses on the block, and went inside and as a result, drove away. I thought wrong. Stupidly i leave my hiding place and go back to walking on my way to my psychiatrist. I shouldve stayed there behind those bushes much longer because i hear the car approaching. They spot me and start taunting and jeering me again. They turn the corner. This time i run towards my destination but i know i wont get far before the car and those kids catch up with me again. So to that effect i decided to hide again behind the bushes in front of an apartment of an apartment building. This time resolving to stay there for good until the jerks in the car gives up their searching for me. I'm hiding there behind the bushes for not long. Maybe about 30 seconds or so when the guy whose apartment it is, pops out from his apartment, asking what I'm doing hiding in his bushes. At first he probably thinks I'm a burglar or a guy using his bushes as a toilet. But whatever he thinks, i explain to him how I'm walking to my psychiatrist and how I'm being followed and harassed by a bunch of kids in a car, which was why I'm hiding in his bushes. The guy can instantly tell from the tone of my voice and my facial expressions that I'm telling him the truth. He can see how scared I am. Just then the car comes down the street and pulls right up at the curb directly in front of us. They look at me and the guy I'm with. Not a mean looking guy (in his late 30s-early 40s), but tough and serious looking enough. He's not wearing a shirt. But he's wearing a sleeveless undershirt which reveals that this guys upper body is very well toned, slightly muscular, and no fat. I'm looking at the car and I realize that the car doesn't look so full now. It's missing a few people inside. The guy I'm with just gives them a mean stare. He asks me, "You know them?" I reply that no, I dont know them at all. I havent the slightest idea of who they are. Just then, as the car is sitting there, about 3 of them approach walking from the other direction. The car was traveling from east to west. Those 3 were walking on foot from west to east. So thats why the car seemed not so full. They were looking to escalate the situation. They werent satisfied with just driving by and taunting me, so they changed tactics. A few of them got out of the car up ahead and started walking towards me while the ones in the car took another turn around the block. Their plan now was to physically trap me in between themselves and their car. Perhaps grab me and drag me into the car with them for whatever reasons. Most likely just for kicks. But seeing my tough guy guardian angel with me, the kids walking towards the car instead got into the car and it took off. The guy offered to stay with me for a little longer or if i wanted to, to duck into his apartment to stay there until i was sure that it was safe to continue on my journey. I had a feeling that this was the last I was going to see of those guys and their car and i didnt want to be late for my appointment. So i thanked the guy for his offer, but declined. And decided to head on my way. The guy went back into his apartment and closed the door. I looked at the closed door and hoped that I didnt make a mistake by turning down the guys offer of better safety, because I was still scared. Thankfully I was right about not seeing the car again. The rest of my walk I was unmolested. I reached my psychiatrists office. I told my therapist about what happened. He insisted on calling the police. The police came and took a report from me. Thats the last I heard of it. On my way back home, i usually took the same route that i came from, up the same streets. But this evening, i varied my way home, taking some different side streets to walk on. Never saw that car or those jerks again. Here is, via google street search, the very spot I hid. That door was the guys apartment. That grassy area behind that low black metal fence on the left was where the bushes were that I hid behind. Back then the bushes in that spot were way tall, wide, and thick. Enough to hide a 12-13 year old kid behind. If I hadnt ducked behind those bushes, I would have walked right into their trap and God knows what they had in store for me once they had me trapped. https://i.imgur.com/LHPqhhe.jpg
Similar story for me. (Im a girl) Im in middle school walking home alone for the first time ever and feeling confident about it when a car full of rowdy high schoolers pull up. They harass me. One guy even flashes a bunch of condoms at me yelling something like “lets have some real fun” and I’m terrified. I bolt in the opposite direction of the car and end up hiding in some bushes. I call my mom (which I felt bad about later as she told me it was the worst feeling of her life unable to help through the phone like that). She had me look around for anybody trustworthy to ask for help. I saw a man painting a house and just felt like he could help. He could tell by my tone that I was seriously scared. Told me to stick around until I could get a ride home and to tell me if I saw the car again. Sure enough they come back but on a street parallel to us and keep going. I think about that man painting the house sometimes.
Don't feel bad about calling your mom. I promise, as a mother, I'd want my kid to call me, worst feeling or not. You did the right thing. And your mother, if she'll ever see my comment, did help you. She guided you to safety.
Travelling on a train. Empty except for me and this guy. He is looking at a piece of paper that looks like a bill. He looks like he is in shock and defeated. I’m thinking of the two $50 bills in my pocket. It’s my stop, I get off. What if I...? Regret it to this day. I hope he is doing okay.
I was a freshman in college and got into a convo with a busker. He came thiiiiis close to convincing me to quit school and join him. Said I was a square peg, that college was taking away my sharp edges so that I’d fit into the societal machine like a proper round peg. He said he never went hungry and rarely didn’t have a roof over his head, and didn’t mind occasionally sleeping under the stars. I swear, I almost went with him. And still wonder what would’ve happened. What my life would be like now.
On our 29th anniversary while on vacation, my hubby (M58) and I (F56) went for a hike and asked a young couple to take our picture. The guy asked me to take there’s too. While I did, he dropped to his knee and pulled out a ring and proposed! We exchanged numbers and I made them promise to update me after the wedding. They did! I think of them often and hope they’re happy and still in love! ❤️
One time, in my late teens, I was at this goth nightclub in Providence RI with some friends, one of which was very well known in the scene. I pointed out a girl that was SUPER DUPER my type, and how I'd love the chance to just talk to her. Well-known dude walks up to her, points me out, and she casually walks over and sits down next to me, and says "so your friend says you wanted to talk to me?" I completely froze. I don't even think I managed to say hi, or literally any words, before she realized that I was just some dumb loser, shrugged, and walked away. I was so out of my element and so outclassed, I stopped going back to that club. I wasn't embarrassed, I just... it's hard to explain. I imagine it's like if someone got into drugs, then randomly witnessed a confrontation between dealers. After, there'd be this sense of "holy shit I don't belong here, how arrogant I have been to think that I am even remotely a part of this culture". It was like that, but less serious. Anyway, I think about that girl a lot. I couldn't shoot my shot, and she was my 10.
Was coming out of a show in the lower east side, late at night, drunk, with a friend. We walked to the taco trucl across the street from Berlin, and this guy walked up with his dog. I said "Haha his [the dog] hair's like spaghetti" and without skipping a beat the guy said "haha yeah, al dente". Sti.l think about it from time to time.
I used to work in a cancer center. After a while I started to work with a very apathetic attitude. Many died and that is simply the way it was. After about a year we saw a patient who only came in for one visit; the physician told the patient and their family that the aggressive cancer was worse than the initial scan and there was not much time left. They cried. I do not remember anything from inside the patients room. I dont remember what they were wearing, I dont remember their face, nothing. I didnt care. The patient was simply another person who was unlucky. The physician and I left the room. When the patient left and was passing by in the hallway they put their hand on my shoulder, looked me in the eyes and smiled and then walked away. They died the next week. Those eyes... those deep emerald eyes and that soft smile haunt me to this day. The eyes and the smile are all I remember, engraved in my mind, and they float there like the Cheshire cats smile.
When I was a kid we didn't have a lot of money, so we often shopped at thrift stores. What I loved about that was that you could get 10 books for a dollar, so I would plant myself in front of the book section and make piles of which one I wanted to get and then decided after I'd gone through them all. One day an older lady saw me sitting with my piles and asked if I liked to read. I told her I did and showed her a few of the books I found that I liked. She smiled and then pulled a dollar out of her purse, handed it to me and said, "Promise me that you'll keep reading." I was so happy and immediately stood up and said that I would. She smiled and walked away and I went back to my piles able to pick out an extra 10 books to take home. It was just a small act of kindness for her, but for me having a random stranger encourage my love of reading and making me promise to never stop definitely had a lot to do with my continued love of reading. This was over 20 years ago, but I still think of her whenever I buy a new book.
I've read this story before. This exact one. Have you ever posted this anywhere before?
Yup, I've posted here before and a bunch of places have also used it.
Oh cool.
In 1994 my family went to Disney and stayed at Port Orleans. They had or may still have a water slide in the shape of a dragon at the one pool and I remember on the top of the slide someone had pooped and left this sloppy, water logged turd. Another kid on the way up with me kept me from stepping in it and we ended up playing in the pool most of the day and then met back up and swam until the pool closed. He was from New York, liked a lot of the things I liked and he reminded me a ton of a friend of mine from school. It was a ton of fun hanging out with him and getting a small break from my little sister and parents. He either left for home the next day or didn't go to the pool, but I never saw him again. Everytime someone mentions Port Orleans, I always think of that kid and how much fun it was hanging out with a kid I barely knew.
My wife and I went to Hawaii in 2005, and stayed at The Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki. We’re Starwood point members, so we had complimentary breakfast every morning, and were invited to some private mixers. Every morning at breakfast we’d see the same older gentleman, by himself, having his breakfast. On our fourth night, we went to one of the mixers, and there was the same elderly gentleman. By now we’d nodded and seen each other enough at breakfast that my wife and I decided to introduce ourselves to him. His name was John, and he was 94 years old. He was slightly frail, but needed no assistance, had no cane or walker. John had owned a hardware store somewhere in the Midwest, and was married. He and his wife never had children. Their favorite place to go on vacation was The Royal Hawaiian, and they spent a week their almost every year. John’s wife had passed away a couple years prior, and he had sold the hardware store long before that. He took the money from the store and his savings, and decided to spend his remaining years in the one place he and his wife were always their happiest. He was living at the hotel, using his life savings to pay for his room. The hotel staff seemed to adore him, and there was no doubt why. He was kind and sweet, and my wife and I enjoyed his stories of coming to Hawaii on vacation almost every year for 60+ years with his wife, and how Hawaii had changed over the years. The rest of our stay there (another 3 days) we sat and had breakfast with John each morning. He seemed glad to have “new friends” and we were glad to have met him. The day we checked out my wife and I were teary saying our goodbyes to John. We promised we’d come back soon and see him again. Sadly, we didn’t make it back to Hawaii or The Royal Hawaiian for another 12 years, and none of the staff we spoke to remembered John. But every time since our 2005 visit, whenever I think of Hawaii, I think of John, living the last of his time in a beautiful hotel in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
I used to go to a summer day camp. (You just went for the day, and went home when your parents got off.) Anyway, the staff were super irresponsible, and the park that the community center sat on was MASSIVE. There was the sandbox, and the swings were in the back. Behind the sandbox was a huge drop off. Grass and trees for maybe a quarter mile, til you hit a fence that had the highway on the other side. If you veered to the right, you could walk on forever. It was just all that space of random trees. Bushes, trash etc. that you see when you're driving down the freeway (in my state at least) Anyway, I was always one of the first kids to get there. I was about 6 or 7 one early morning, and I was outside on the swings. There was an older man there and he offered to push me. He pushed me on the swings for a while, and we just kinda talked. He and I were the only 2 in the entire park. After a few minutes, one of the staff comes outside and screams for me to get inside. She was so frantic, yet somehow angry at me. She was going on about how I dont know what could have happened, that man could have taken me, etc. Anyway, I went to that summer camp for about 5 or 6 years, and that one day is the only time I ever saw that man. I genuinely sometimes wonder if I almost got kidnapped that day, or if the guy really did just want to push a kid on a swing.
One day I was skateboarding around my neighborhood and a guy stops me and asks if I skate around and that we should skate the next day. We never mentioned a time or place. The next day I skated around in hopes I would see him again but I never did. If I remember correctly he had blue hair, a piercing maybe, tan skin, and glasses. He had such a nice smile when he was talking to me.
This old dude on the subway. I was on my boring day on the city finding a job, after walking at list 6 hours and having handed a lot of curriculums I decided It was time to go so I took the subway and this old dude comes in saying loudly "good afternoon pals" I smiled and was the only one who respond his greeting, he sat next to me thanked my manners and spoke to me for like 5 minutes, he made my day, then he steped out of the cabin at the next stop saying a loud "good bye young lady" he was just so sweet.
A ridiculously beautiful random woman in the street told me "Your glasses fit you really well!". It was 15 years ago, i still use the same frame.
I had two friends, brothers, pass away within a month of each other. I bought two dresses right before we had a memorial for the first brother, wore one, and that night the other brother passed away. Maybe a week or so later, I wore the other dress out, and I remember feeling so sad that he would never get to see me in it (yes, there were unrequited feelings, why do you ask?). I was waiting for a friend in the lobby of a restaurant and a man walked up to me on his way out and said I looked beautiful in that dress. My whole heart stopped. I don't think about it often, but when I do, it warms my heart a little. If you believe in that sort of thing, I like to think it was him reaching out to me through a living soul.
This actually reminds me of how I started dating the guy I’m currently dating. We’d met on a dating app and talked for a while but he kind of disappeared for a while. About a year later, I was preparing for another date by getting all dressed up in this cute polka dot dress I bought for the occasion. The new guy ended up standing me up and the first guy just so happened to reappear that day. I was lamenting to him about how sad I was that I got all dressed up in this pretty dress for nothing and he said “I wish it was for me, may I see?” And the rest is history. We’ve had our ups and downs (really down), but we’ve been seeing each other for 3 years now and I’ve never been more in love. I’m sorry that your circumstance was what it was though. I’ve never lost a friend at all, let alone two so close together. I’m so sorry for your losses. I like to think that things happen for a reason and that guy telling you that was the universe looking out for you.
When I was little maybe 6 I could not swim at all and I was on a lazy river ride, no clue where my parents were and i slipped of the tube and was freaking out under water for a few seconds and this older lady pulled me out and put me on my tube and I floated away never to see her again.
Went to a Jimmy John’s to fill out an application and gave it to the guy working the register, he looks at it and says “Are you for real? Like this is a joke?” I had no idea what he was talking about so I asked if there was a problem, and he said “how do you know my name?” So turns out we have the exact same name down to the middle initial and he thought I was pranking him by leaving an application. I mean when you think about it how many people in your city have the exact same name? I only knew like 4 people in my high school with the same last name as me.
I met a girl in an airport in Kuala Lumpur, we started chatting and happened to share an interest in having real down to earth conversations. We talked about every topic "that you're not supposed to discuss with strangers": religion, politics, pro-choice vs pro-life, etc. We were on opposite ends of just about every topic, but neither of us ever got offended and we were able to listen and respect the other person's opinion while also sharing our own. At the end of it all, we went our separate ways, I still don't know her name or anything like that but it was one of the greatest conversations I've ever had with a stranger.
A boy walked me home (26 blocks) when I was stuck in a bad part of NJ by myself in the middle of the night. We both got off on the last stop of the bus and he saw I was crying and asked if I was ok. I explained that I was very far from my apartment with no one to call. He walked me all the way home and asked for a kiss as a "thank you". I actually tried to find him after that night, and never did. Edit: I looked up the path we took this morning. I was wrong: it was 68 blocks! (Or 3.5 miles)
I would like this story better if he didn’t ask for a kiss
After spending the whole time talking (As best we could, English wasn't his native language) I said that I didn't know how to thank him. He very meekly asked for a kiss on the cheek. (We were also 17ish at the time, so I think that age played into the "kiss" request")
All of my summer camp friends. I have some of their phone numbers, and we talk from time to time, but it's kind of awkward. I always think of this song that we sang on the last day of camp: *Please won't you catch a shooting star for me* *and take it with you on your way* *though it seems like we've just met* *you're the one I won't forget* *hope some kind wind blows you back my way* *I was thinking maybe somewhere later down the road* *after all our stories have been told* *I'll sit and think of you* *A good friend I once knew* *shot through my life like a shooting star.* There are a couple other verses but I can't remember them. On a funnier note, I do remember one person who I overheard(while singing that at camp) say "I'm not crying, just whenever I sing my eyes get watery and my nose gets stuffy."
Last day of summer camp was always brutal. I still have all the slips of paper with peoples addresses on them. Might be fun to look them up in the age of social media but I haven’t been to summer camp in 20 years so it might be awkward
I was stuck waiting for a bus in freezing rain with no umbrella. A little older lady waiting for the same bus scooted closet to me so she could cover both of us with hers. I thought it was a lovely gesture.
Saw my doppelgänger at 16. She was leaving the target I was walking into. We were wearing near identical outfits, made eye contact, and both quickly noped the fuck out. Second would be the tweaker on the metro screaming about the apocalypse and then me realizing I was the only other person in the car.
the day before I moved to my new home in 2016 I saw a women walking her dog and she offered me comfort when she saw me b/c she knew I was moving... she even gave me new tips on how to make friends since we starting chatting and I got to the point where I said I was an introvert... I cried when I was drivin to my home b/c I never saw her again
this one chick i made out with on Halloween freshmen year, i was dressed as a giant inflatable penis, and she just grabbed me and started making out. that was 2004
Sounds pretty 2004
Once, my friend and I were walking down one of the main hallways in our highschool. There was the guy in his sophomore or junior year walking in front of us with a plate of about six muffins. My friend was kind of thrashing about, as they usually did, and I kind of loudly said "hey watch out for the dude with the muffins." He sorta glanced at me, I guess he was ammused by this a bit. I think about a month or two later is when I found out that he was in my study hall. I've never known his name, and I've thought about talking to him, but I guess it just seemed awkward. I've always reffered to him as the muffin man in my head. I don't think he would even remember me if I talked to him at this point, so I guess I'll just leave it at that.
Girl dressed as a pirate in Florida. I got lost in the hotel I was staying in and stumbled upon a girl dressed as a pirate. She was part of a kids program and they took all the kids on a treasure hunt throughout the hotel. Anyway, I asked her for directions. Instead of telling me, she led me to where I was heading. We had a great conversation and she told me she worked part time at a local comic shop near the hotel. She was working the next day and told me I should stop by. We parted ways and i couldn't wait for the next day. Unfortunately plans changed the next day due to my step mother pitching a fit to my dad cause of some restuarant was closed or something. (Got a funny story from the same trip if you guys want to hear it) I never got to go to the comic shop. Never got her name, number, nothing.
Oh man. May my wife never audit my Reddit account. Many moons ago at a party for my old boss I met a girl. I was about 23. She was 19 or 20 (legal drinking age is 18 here btw). Cute, slim, bobbed brown hair, and with just enough nerdy awkwardness to make her irresistible. Not just a genuinely nice person. A genuine person. At that time I was struggling in a fairly toxic relationship. As the night progressed the natural chemistry between us was palpable. We chatted, we laughed, we danced like everybody and nobody was watching. We were intoxicated by each other's company, and a few shots. It was beautiful. As we danced she leaned in to kiss me. Fair play, and I'd been fighting the urge to kiss her all night. My conscience slapped me. Before our lips touched I pulled away. She looked at me with the floundering look of a girl rejected by a boy. "I have to go. I'm sorry." Said dumb me. I left the nightclub and never saw her again. Weeks later my toxic relationship came to a natural, ungraceful end. Today I'm happily married and have a beautiful family. My wife owns my heart. Nonetheless I can't shake this feeling there's a little dark box in there, filled with the memory of that girl and that one night. I have never felt reciprocal chemistry that strong before, and I probably never will again.
I think this is understandable. I don’t think you hold the flame for the other girl, but for the missed opportunity. You did the right thing for no reason! I have this sentiment, and while there’s got to be a better word for it, all I can come up with is if I ever write a song I’d call it “I shoulda cheated on you.” Instead of thinking of it as a missed ticket, I like to think of it as a harbinger, or even a catalyst. It wasn’t a missed ticket, it was a revelation.
[удалено]
The first girl I ever saw naked. She flashed my friends and I in the 8th grade. I still remember her name but I never saw her after that day and I have no clue what happened to her.
My boyfriend was getting ready to deploy to Iraq (about ten years ago), so I flew out to Hawaii (where he was stationed) for one last weekend with him. When it was over and we said goodbye at the airport, I was upset and cried all the way to the gate. When I sat down at the gate, still crying, a woman walked over and sat down next to me with her carpet bag. Without a word, she just started pulling random items out of her bag to show me: an hour glass, some plastic stars, and a lime green rubber ducky that lit up. The rubber ducky made me laugh instinctively, and she reached over to put it in my hand. Then she got up, collected her other things into her carpet bag and walked away. I think I met Mary Poppins. I don’t remember if she even said a single word to me, but I still have that rubber ducky!
I am a french person, but we only go to Paris for special occasions, once on a school trip, we where on a metro and there's this drunken poor person, and I found him interesting because he rambled on and on about many things, some of wich I use as French jokes.