Random acts of kindness by strangers

[Mannify]

This is totally off-topic, but I always find this an uplifting line of discussion. Do you have any instances of strangers being unpredictably kind?

 

Here's one of mine. I had loaded lots of shopping onto the handle at the back of my pushchair. My son climbed out in a pedestrian area, making the pushchair unbalance, making the shopping smash onto the pavement, including a jar of tomato sauce, which splattered every where and the bags all split. I was staring at despair at the mess, wondering how I would transport all the stuff home, and wondering what on earth I should do about the tomato sauce. A besuited older gentleman came across and, referring to the tomato sauce, said, "Leave it. There's nothing you can do about that. Just leave it.", and then disappeared into the crowds I really needed someone to say that because it was hard enough working out what to do about everything else, and keeping my son safe. I secured my son back into the pushchair and began trying to find places for my shopping when the gentleman reappeared with a fistful of Tesco carrier bags and joined me in putting all the shopping in. With that job completed, he disappeared into the crowds once more, and I've never seen him since.

[A-S warrior]

sounds like the kind of guy that just sits on street corners waiting for someone to have a spot of bad luck and then saves the day, he probably thinks he,s zoro or sumthing. he probably wears a plastic belt with a cap gun, and a plastic police badge. he,s either got an ego issue, really really bored, or just mad.

 

of course he could just be a good samaritan, but there quite rare, its normally just a weirdo.

Edited July 6, 2012 by A-S warrior

[Mannify]

Well, it's the rarity that makes it noteworthy.

[LancsLad]

About 16 months ago I had a reasonably bad crash on my bike when I lost control going around a tight bend in heavy rain after a steep downhill and hit some farm yard slurry on the wet road skidded and hit a big pothole. I came down hard on my side ripping my clothing and causing a fair bit of damage to my side and rolled over and skidded along on my face for a bit which made a mess. I went across the width of the road and was fortunate that oncoming traffic managed to brake in time and didn't hit me.

 

I picked myself up and people stayed in their cars, a few drove around me and a couple waited untill I was standing and then drove off. One old guy stayed and put my damaged bike into the back of his van and then went out of his way to drive me 15 miles home. I cleaned myself up a bit and once he was confident I was ok he left me, though he did offer to take me to hospital if I had wanted to go. To be honest I was pretty shaken and don't know what I would have done if he had driven off like other people had.

[darkshine]

When I was at summer school I was totally broke, I had like £30 quid for the entire week, and this lady took me under her wing and insisted on spending money on me, she insisted constantly and it made me feel uncomfortable taking things off someone (food, soft drinks, coffee). She met me for breakfast everyday and she invited me out with her and a couple of people she'd met and really tried to get me involved, and then this guy helped me too, between the 2 of them they got me through the week, they sat with me in lectures and classes and talked to me and stuff.

 

She told me that once someone helped her out, she said that the way I could repay her would be to do the same for someone else one day, and that it didn't have to be money and I promised that I would.

 

I kept my promise and ended up helping 2 people who were stranded at wrong train stations so I guess my debt to her is paid.

 

It meant a lot anyway, cuz otherwise, without those 2 people, I would have spent that entire week alone and even though it was incredibly difficult being dragged into social situations and bars and stuff, and I was in pieces by the middle of the week, I don't think I'd have got through it without them, and they didn't care that I was weird either, they were just really nice and accepting.

Edited July 6, 2012 by darkshine

[Mannify]

I've been meaning to reply to these lovely accounts for ages, and what better time than when I really should be writing an essay? Aw, these are lovely, and something to remember when dealing with 'random acts of rubbishness' which is possibly more typical of everyday life

[Aeolienne]

Last November I fell off my bike, dislocating my shoulder. I managed to summon up enough energy to drag the bike off the road and stagger to the pavement, where I sat down in front of a low wall waiting for the pain to subside (initially I thought I'd "just" bruised my arm). One random stranger got my mobile phone out of my rucksack for me so I could dial 999; another offered to store his bike at his house, and a third rang the ambulance service a second time stressing that my breathing was becoming intermittent!

[darkshine]

I bet that hurt

Edited July 9, 2012 by darkshine

[Aeolienne]

I also have reason to be grateful for a certain Heathrow Express train driver who found my mobile phone which had fallen out of my pocket on a platform at Paddington station. Because I was travelling in a quiet coach and snoozing most of the way, I didn't notice my mobile was missing until I'd arrived at my destination - by which time the helpful driver had texted my dad to say "I've found this phone and I believe it belongs to a member of your family". Very considerate of him - had he handed it into lost property who knows if I'd have ever seen it again! My dad, incidentally, picked up the text message during the interval of a concert at the Wigmore Hall, which left him with just enough time to nip over to Paddington afterwards to retrieve the mobile before the driver went on his next shift.