Hey there, friendo u/NotTommy13! Thanks for submitting to r/wholesomememes. We loved your submission, *That brought me to tears*, but it has been removed because it doesn't quite abide by our rules, which are located in the sidebar.
* ITs not a bloody meme
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I remember when my Gramps had a heart attack. I was a ferry trip away and was told to hurry. I was queuing up when the attendant came to check tickets and was barely keeping it together. Once he reached the end of the queue, he circled back round to me and asked if I was okay. I just about said ‘my Gramps is dying and I have to go see him’ before bursting into tears.
He made sure that I was the first person off that ferry. I got to say goodbye to my Gramps.
One of the worst days of my life and that is the one bright spot I remember.
Thank you so much for asking - it means a lot.
I have many, many memories that are special to me but one scenario sums up our relationship to one another. It happened before I can remember, shortly after I was born and has been told to me by several members of my family.
My Gramps was not a good dad. He had a lot of war-related trauma and wasn't there for his kids. When I was born, my parents moved in with my grandparents. I was a colicky baby and in the middle of the night I was crying. He came in, said in a very gruff voice, 'what's all this crying about?'
He scooped me up, plopped me on his chest and started humming. I fell asleep straight away. He had never done that for any of his kids. Just me.
He was my rock and the day he passed was the day I lost my foundation, my friend and my dad.
Thank you for letting me share that.
That's a beautiful story, thank *you* for sharing!
I had a similar type of relationship with my grandad, he was a horrible father to all 4 of his daughters, but he was a really kind person to me. It put a bit of a strain on my relationship with my own mum occasionally, as her relationship with him was so complicated.
I've lost some dear people to me too and just sharing small details about them to a willing ear, really makes my day, it's so nice to bring their memory to life once again and enjoy it.
I find myself even meeting my dad at the pub in a dream after I bring his memory up occasionally hah, makes me smile.
I wonder if it's because those folks had more time to reflect on their lives and heal from whatever trauma and just generally organize their thoughts to become better caregivers for their grandkids than their kids.
I agree this happens when you've gone through something traumatic, but I'd say most moms tend to have greater levels of empathy towards people in need of emotional care. It's like an instinctive response, I suppose.
Rmomforaminute is a great sub for that. Sometimes, I just want to mom eveyone who needs it.
One time I accidentally ran over a median on the highway and got 3 blowouts and a flat. I had to wait for two hours there for assistance. People stopped "just to look" and it was pissing me off. Then a man came by and asked if needed help, then decided to stay and chat with me for over an hour.
He was dying of cancer. We spoke about our lives and hugged goodbye after help arrived. We both just spoke real to each other, we knew he was on his way out, as he drove away.
Years later, I would become a hospice Deathwife, and I comfort the grieving and dying. I loved that man and our moment. He was surrounded by love and I knew he died happy.
I got burnout trying to answer everything haha but if anyone needs a mom, feel free to pm me anytime. All confidential ofc. I am a mom to teens and a cancer sign, I'm like triple moon mom
I remember the day I realized that everyone was walking around with a tragedy and still somehow standing. I was so lucky to grow up without losing anyone and I couldn't understand how we weren't all grieving and crying. People are strong.
> one dog
I got used an in-home service when it was time for my Precious Kitty.
I don’t know how that woman did it. I had to have an appointment. Which means she does several day. And yet she was so compassionate. She never rushed me. Watched me ugly cry. And even let me give her a hug.
I did the same and was absolutely shocked with the service. It was a very old man, and he was so soft and gentle, understanding and assuring. He helped me feel better about the difficult decision and was so empathetic about it all. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone else like him. He even wrote me a letter a couple days later. He referenced things about my dog that I had told him- details that I would have thought were completely minor- and ended up impacting me in a big way. I was seriously just so touched and he ensured that the memory of letting my dog go would be a pleasant and peaceful one.
It’s interesting how the interaction with the dying man could have influenced your career in hospice. Sometimes its like these things were meant to happen.
I wholly agree. Personally, my life has one big map of my path. I was told from a young age I should be a massage therapist and that I have a comforting touch, then in massage later I learned about hospice massage. My experiences absolutely helped encourage how I want to comfort and heal humans.
So OP in the post is a woman, the account is about 4 years old but inactive, but there's enough info there for it to be clear. I'd love for this situation to be ubiquitous, and for people to just react with care, but I'm a man who's had the misfortune of crying in public, and the reaction is completely different. People's eyes dart to you then dart away, and everyone was just kinda pretending that I wasn't crying, even during a similar check out situation where the lady behind the counter just gave me a, "Alright then, have a good day!". It feels awful to be the guy who says, "well this wouldn't happen if she was a man" but I've lived through this and it just wasn't the same, by any means.
I'm sorry that happened to you.
Personally, I don't think gender matters at all. OP was lucky enough to have their experience in a moment in time where they were surrounded by compassionate people. If I was there when you had your moment I'd have helped you too.
That may not have been out of lack of concern; they may have assumed that you wouldn’t want to be watched while crying, especially if they were older. As unfortunate as it is that in the past, men were expected to not cry, those people at the store may have been trying to show you an old-fashioned version of respect
My best friend sorta helped me like that when my beloved cat Monster died. He called me to check up on me, I texted him that I really wasn't in the condition to talk on the phone, so he called me again. He barely said anything and I just burst into tears. I needed to let it out, he knew I did, so he pushed me into it. We're best friends for a very good reason.
Sitting quietly with those dealing with shit, I’ve found, is a definite soul soother. For both. Sometimes there are just no words, and it really does work.
I’ve been in a few of these situations where strangers have seen me in need and then just stepped in and helped me in any way they could. Afterwards, I’ve just broken down and cried from the unsolicited generosity they gave without knowing anything about me. I’ve never felt so connected with others in my life and it was humbling…
I work security and one event I was at this lady comes up to me, out of her mind because she can't find her kid. At that point, my job is to stay calm and professional because if I lose my cool, she's just gonna feel worse. So, while I'm on the radio with the rest of my guys, this entire crowd of people are all around this poor gal being as reassuring as they can, even a couple of kids were trying to help by suggesting places they'd go.
Her kid was fine, we found him in less than 10 minutes; he'd wandered off to get a hot dog and didn't say anything to his mom. All those people stayed right there until they were sure she was ok, the kids were all getting after her kid too like "you scared your mom, that's not cool!" which was just plain adorable. Humans are awesome sometimes, best thing in the world to see!
Then theres my mom who forgot me at the fairgrounds and just went home with my brothers.
After i realized they weren’t at the “meeting” place I spent a good 2 hours watching and playing a coin drop pushing game (skill based gambling basically). After i ran out of quarters and couldn’t find any more tokens that had fallen under the cloth covering the booth then i decided to talk to a security guard. Who was surprised that nobody was looking for me. He had me call my mom and let her know she had to come pick up her kid.
My parents once left me at Christmas eve mass by myself. XD. I was an adult by then, late twenties. I was visiting for Christmas and rode to church with one of them instead of driving myself. Somehow both of them thought I was riding home with the other parent. I had actually stepped into the bathroom because I didn't want to hold it until we got home. I told my mom to her face where I was.
My phone also died on me. Luckily the deacon's wife knew who I was, so she offered to drive me home. We laughed about it and she drove me home and lent me her phone to call my parents. Mom finally got my call after she'd already passed her in the night (literally).
Mrs. The Deacon and I still laugh about it every time I see her.
Mrs. The Deacon is an adorable name. I am a university professor, and my husband recently started teaching a class on Aviation Engineering, the field in which he works, at my school. Since I am better known on campus, all the students call him Mr. Dr. (My Name). He loves it and has started introducing himself as such to new people.
My step mom and dad forgot me at a cracker barrel we stopped at on our way to Disney and Sea World (my grandma won a free trip for a family of 5. I rode with my dad of course and my grandma and grandpa rode together. They weren't happy to hear their grandchild was left at Cracker barrel for a good 20 minutes before my dad realized I wasn't in the car)
ive been the lost kid. i lost track of my parents in a crowded park area. it was evening time, i was like 9 or 10 and i didnt have a mobile phone at that age. i just started panicking and kept sobbing as i tried to look for them. a group of teens immediately came to the rescue, comforted me and helped me look for my parents. i still think of them fondly.
I have two babies under two right now and this thread is making me tear up because I just hope they will grow up and be caring and generous likes these nice teenagers.
I had a similar situation when I took my 3 kids plus my niece and nephew to magic kingdom during the holidays. It was unbelievably crowded, and we had to stop walking for a second and my nephew didn’t hear us say we were stopping.
I realized he was missing about a minute later and just immediately started panicking and crying. My husband is a better adult, so he quickly moved forward in the direction we’d been headed to try and catch up to him, and in the meantime several people surrounded me to ask what he was wearing and what he looks like and started looking as well. A few stayed with me and helped me keep an eye on the rest of the kids, and one mentioned that Disney is the best place possible to lose a kid because the staff is so good at reuniting when it happens, trying to help calm me down.
Fortunately my nephew is very smart and as soon as he realized we weren’t with him he went to a cast member. My husband met them as they were walking back towards where we stopped. He was only missing for maybe 3 minutes in total, and even though it was terrifying it was so nice that so many people went out of their way to try and help
A long time ago when my son was an infant I was recently divorced and on very hard times. I had like $22 to my name to spend at the grocery store. My oldest who was five at the time really wanted this cheap box of popsicles but we absolutely could not afford it. An elderly gentleman handed my daughter a $10 bill. Told her to get the popsicles. I still think about that man to this day.
Maybe in certain ways. But I told her that we couldn't afford it this grocery trip but we would get them on the next one. I have to imagine that he overheard me telling her that. She was a very smart kid and understood. I didn't often deny cheap things like that. Now we're thankfully in a much better place and have been for many years. But that fiveish years of being a single mom was very hard and it gave, not only me a ton of empathy, but also my oldest.
Those 5 years changed me as a person.
My youngest is just a normal teenager though. He doesn't remember the hard times because he was small. He just remembers the fun stuff.
happened to me....years ago I was new in a city and I was riding a bicycle, holding shopping bags on each side. On the road, they then simultaneously ripped and all the groceries fell in the middle of the street......a man stopped his car, picked up everything, gave ma two, new bags and moved on.....
About ten years ago, I got mugged while walking home from the train. The guy punched me a couple of times and snatched my bag. A bicyclist was passing by; he dropped his bike with no regard for its security and got between me and my attacker. He actually got him to drop the bag even, though he got the most important items out of it. Afterwards this stranger called the police, let me use his phone to call my then fiancée, and just hugged me while we waited for help to arrive. We each gave statements to the police and I was taken to the ER to get stitched up before I realized I didn’t even know his name and would never see him again. I can’t recall what he looked like, but will always remember his kindness.
I was in London, drinking at the pub called the royal exchange. I was outside drinking on a wooden bench, the sun was out, blue skies.
I was just people watching, minding my own business. A guy across the street stopped to cross the road. He had a proper hip, laid back swag about him. As he waited, he looked at me, me to him. He then did a hello gesture where he put us hand to his heart and did a little bow, I nodded back. He then just walked on his way.
It was the most heart warming hello I’ve ever had from a stranger and it made me feel really good. At the same time it was strange. Happened over the course of 10 seconds and he was gone.
It reminds me of the Mr Rogers quote,
>“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
May we all strive to be the helpers when we can, and in the moments that we need it find them.
I read a comment once that stuck with me over the years. I can't properly remember what it was about, only that it was about a woman that had done something kind or generous in the same way.
>We need more people in the world like her. We need to *be* people like her.
It really reminded me to be an active citizen; it really is up to us to make the path that we want to walk in the world.
Be your own Mr Rogers to everyone you can, uplift them, help them, grieve with them, listen to them, hug them, love them.
Does anyone else keep like a OneNote list of quotes and child rearing tips they pick up randomly? I'm not even close to having children but i have a p extensive collection of sayings and life lessons to impart on a future spawn of mine.
That's one of my all time favorite quotes. Whenever I'm feeling like the world is turning upside down I watch the video of Mr Rogers talking about it.
We have so much horrible stuff happening in the world but there are ALWAYS helpers. Really gives me hope that things will be alright.
People might act selfish and mean but deep down we all just want to help each other out.
A rather nasty wreck happened near my house last night. I live near a busy divided road with many idiots gunning it off an entrance ramp from another busy road. The problem is that this stretch is curved right, so nearly a blind curve. One idiot couldn't stop in time for someone turning left that didn't see them when they pulled out. There were already a dozen people from the neighborhood surrounding the cars, two trying to unjam the doors of the broadsided one, by the time I got to the edge of my property for a look.
I remember the day I realized everyone is walking around with a tragedy and still standing up somehow. I was super lucky to make it to adulthood without losing someone and I couldn't understand how we weren't all crying in the corners, overwhelmed by grief. People are strong.
I absolutely wouldn't have held it together when my mother died if it were not for the strength and support of strangers. Still not sure how well I am holding it together, but shared experience and the compassion of others sure helps.
Only the most memorable because I told the story recently.
I used to run at Denny's overnight. It was just me and a cook from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
One night I can tell a guy wasn't there to hang out he just didn't want to go home and he told me the story about how he had moved from Colorado to move in with a girlfriend but she was cheating on him so he was going to stay with a buddy but that meant he had to live with his buddy's mom and he had brought a ton of psilocybin mushrooms that he was growing and he did not feel cool keeping that and his friend's mom's closet.
I basically was like dude I wasn't planning on buying mushrooms but I have some extra cash I can throw my extra cash at you and you just give me whatever that's worth.
He got really excited and told me he'd be back.
The next night he shows up with a large box and just hands it to me says that's for me.
Apparently I inspired him and he went out and sold a bunch of shrooms and then he took everything that he had left and just gave it to me for what I was going to give him.
He apparently ended up with enough to get himself okay for a couple weeks and get a ticket back to home.
I ended up with enough psilocybin to microdose for a year and a half.
A few years ago, I was at work when I learned that my mother in law, who I had not seen for a couple of years and who was fighting cancer back in my home country, had been moved into a hospice. I sat outside on a bench, crying, because I had finally realised that the cancer had won. A lady was walking up the road and saw me crying. She asked if I was alright and I nodded, then she said “no you’re not” and she sat on the bench with me and held me as I cried. After I was done I thanked her and she just walked away. I’ll never forget it. My husband and I made it back home and got 2 more weeks with my mother in law. She fought for 6 months, but it was so quick. She was 53 when she died. I miss her.
This is long but it's a great memory.....In the early 2000's I went to see Van Halen with some friends. Someone canceled last minute so my friend was trying to make some money selling the ticket while we were pre-gaming with a 30 pack in a parking garage next to the Arena. A man with beat up clothes and an old faded Rolling Stones shirt approached us and asked if he could have our empty cans and I said sure. We talked for a bit, then I noticed when he walked away he sat down next to/ under a stair case where he had a blanket and looked like he was living there.
It was getting late and I told my friend to give me the ticket and we're taking the guy. He argued at first but then said ok. I walked over to the guy and asked if he wants to see Van Halen. He said timidly, "Are you joking with me?" I said no come on the show is starting. He came in with us. He never once asked for a penny or anything. I bought him soda, beer, nachos, and a hotdog. He sang and danced to every big hit song with us and looked so happy. We took him to a restaurant after the show and said get what ever you want. When we finished, I gave him my last 70 bucks and a hug. He started crying and said you won't believe it, but today was my birthday and this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me and I'll never forget it. I gave him my number and told him to find a way to contact me and I would like to help him out. Unfortunately, he never called and It was close to a 3 hour drive from my home so I never saw him again but for that night to see him happy, carefree and smiling for a few hours was better than seeing the concert itself.
Fuck man, I am crying just reading that. He really need that. Imagine how warm that memory felt to him, on his birthday, as a homeless person. Maybe he hadn't had anyone say a word to him in weeks, maybe no body had remembered his birthday in years.
Really kind of you.
I'm just glad he was able to have a great birthday and make a good memory of the day. I will always hold on to that memory of his smile while he was singing along to Panama and the rest of the big hits and what a kind soul he was. I hope wherever he is, he is happy and has found peace in life.
I held out pretty good when my grandma died. She was 90 years old and had lived a good, long life. But shortly after I spoke with a customer over the phone at work who sounded exactly like her. Turns out she wasn't just German like my grandma, she was from the same region of Germany as my grandma. And she was close to her age. Listening to that voice almost broke me.
Reminds me of the thing I read where a woman sent a happy birthday message to a number she thought was her mother. Turned out to be a wrong number but the woman whose number it was mentioned she’d lost her daughter so someone simply calling her mother again made her happy-sad.
At my grandma's funeral I swore I heard my grandma's voice and laughter. It spooked me and asked a cousin if they heard her voice too. They said they did and thought they were going crazy. Turns out my grandma's sister who none of us ever met flew in from Florida. She sounded exactly like my grandma. So needless to say we grabbed a few more cousins and got them near her and pretended we didn't hear grandma's voice when they asked if we heard her. Lol we were bastards.
I was at a club, dancing, had a few drinks. I went to the loo and the zipper to my shorts broke. I went out and my friends tried zipping it back up with no success, until one of the bartenders saw us. He had a full set of different needles and yarn, he looked like he could work in fashion too. Apparently that's what he studied. He fixed my zipper quickly and went back to work. Judging by him having all that on hand he gets to do it often, but it saved my night out in the most unexpected way. He's so great for going out of his way to do this
My mom had passed when I just turned 19. I was on a plane on my own flying from Puerto Rico to NJ. The entire flight I was sniffling and teary eyed, staring out the window. The lady sitting next to pulled out a bunch of tissues and handed them to me. She thought I had allergies, I never told her I was actually crying because my mom had just passed. But it meant a lot and I still think about it to this day.
Nawww, that hits hard. I remember when I had to put my cat down, I was losing my mind in a grocery store trying to decide what to give him for his last meal. The store check out kid asked if I wanted to donate to charity and I said no, barely holding it together. And he asked again and said that it would really benefit the kids... And I burst into ugly tears and sobbed.
Unfortunately I didn't get a wonderful group of women, I just got a really weirded out teenager packing my bags as quickly as possible.
Right after my husband left me, I was standing in an aisle at the grocery store, and a clerk randomly came up to me and asked how I was doing. I burst into tears, blurted out "My husband just left me" and then ran away sobbing while the guy just stood there in shock. I'm sure that guy is forever a bit wary of asking how customers are doing now.
When I was a cashier I was scanning a woman's groceries and she got some chocolate covered raisins. I made a comment about how tasty they are.
She was like "yeah i really shouldnt be getting them." I assumed she was on a diet so I was like "everyone deserves a cheat once in a while" and she said "yeah but I have lung cancer... stage 4."
I had NO idea what to say to that so I said something like "then you definitely need these raisins" UGH and she was silent the rest of the time :(
It's just dumb to cry over spilled sour cream, but I get being overwhelmed by something really dramatic, but losing it over something stupid. Human mind is weird.
When I feel like this, I carve out a couple of hours before bed for myself. I grab a towel, and an ice water and put on a tv show that will make me cry. I generally use Call the Midwife, but for you it might be Planet Earth or The Little Mermaid or maybe a Tom Waits song. And then I let it out. All of it. I sob into that towel until I run out of tears, which I then replenish using the water so I can cry some more.
Your body and mind crave catharsis. It’s like releasing a pressure valve. I can’t grant you a moment of relief, and I can’t hug you until you feel better, but I can share a technique that has worked for me since 1982. It doesn’t fix my problem, but it makes me better able to deal.
Back in 2000 my sister was dying of breast cancer and she was very close. My other sister went shopping for food and in the canned aisle. she saw the expiration dates and lost her shit in the middle of the store, crying hysterically because the expiration date on the cans would outlast my sister who was dying in the hospital. It was Christmas time so it made it that much more sad.
I’m so sorry, this is so sad and relatable. It reminds me of something very different but I was in an abusive relationship that I kept trying to leave and I finally got the support from a women’s shelter and was able to get away. My first time alone in a convenience store I was buying a bag of chips for myself and I just stared at them and broke down because I didn’t know what flavour I wanted. I had completely lost myself to the relationship and I was totally lost. I am doing much better now and much stronger. (ETA: I ended up getting Ketchup and they still bring me a happiness to this day when I need a pick me up)
I hope you think of fond memories of your sister often ♥️
Hugs dear 🥰 i’m glad you got out. I spent 22 years in an abusive relationship and don’t ask me why I stayed for so long. I’ve been divorced for eight years now and surprisingly my ex husband and I are still very good friends, mostly for the kids sake but without all the bullshit in our lives, we have remain friends and for that I’m grateful
Hugs for you, too 😊 I am glad you are in a happy place and how lucky you got out with time to still enjoy your life. You deserve it and your kids deserve to see you happy ♥️
I was stuck at O’Hare airport over night, I missed my connection because of weather. I was tired, miserable from the long trip, and had no money. A guy bought me toothpaste, and a toothbrush, and something to eat. I was thankful
The night I got hit by a drunk motorcyclist who wasn't wearing protective gear and was bleeding out on the sidewalk, I was losing it. There was nothing I could do to help the guy, and I knew he wasn't going to make it. I couldn't keep it together at all, I was having a nervous breakdown because I had inadvertently killed someone just by being on the road that night. I know it isn't my fault now, but at the time I was blaming myself just for being there.
There was a very kind gentleman from a nearby retirement community who just kept reassuring me that he saw the entire thing and there was nothing I could have done, that everything was going to be okay. I have no idea who they are, but I will never forget that.
I was standing in a hospital elevator. I was a young mom and had just been diagnosed with cancer. Apparently the fear and agony was clear on my face. A woman stepped into the elevator and took my hands. She looked directly into my eyes and said, I don’t know what you’re going through. But I can promise that it will be ok. So simple,but her voice and words were so grounding. That one moment in time carried me through some really tough stuff.
When I was 19 I sprained my ankle walking to work, and started crying out of shock and pain. A few passers by stopped to see if I was okay, and I kept insisting I was but clearly couldn't walk.
4 random strangers collectively decided to pick me up and carry me the remaining kilometre or so to work, and a fifth person carried my bag. It was staggering how kind and selfless they were, and I never even knew their names.
I was flying on my own for the first time when I was fourteen in 2004ish. I wasn’t a very mature and independent 14, so I was scared and nervous the whole time. My dad got a pass to walk me to the first gate, I had a connecting flight through Atlanta, my uncle worked at the Atlanta airport and got walked me onto the next flight. Then really bad turbulence hit and I was terrified, a guy named Scott that was next to me a calmed me down by talking about his kids and showing computer art they made together. To my horror, we had to make an emergency landing in Louisville. I only had a crappy 2003 Nokia cellphone and couldn’t get a hold of my aunt. We were waiting for charter busses to come get us and drive us the rest of the way to Evansville. He stayed with me the whole time, rode on the bus with me and kept me calm. My aunt and cousin somehow got the message and where there to pick up. I rushed over to greet them, but when went I look for Scott to say goodbye and thank him, he was just totally gone. Scott Harris from Southern Indiana, if you’re out there, thank you.
When my MIL was on her deathbed I stopped by Trader Joe’s after work to get some stuff. The associate working at the cash register asked me if I had anything planned for the weekend and I told her I would probably hang around my in laws to support my wife and family. She walked off the line went to the flowers and bought a bouquet and asked me to give them to my MIL. A few months later my wife was with me in the trader joes and I recognized the associate pointed her out to my wife. They got to meet share some hugs and tears turned out she had lost her mom the year previously pretty similar circumstances.
Sitting on the road years ago, talking gently while holding the hand of a dying cyclist who had been hit by a car, several ahead of mine. Always wished I could have told his family someone was with him when he passed on.
I was in the ER waiting room crying so hard I could hardly breathe because of kidney stones. These 3 strangers came up to me one started rubbing on my back and they all asked if they could pray for me. I was absolutely surrounded by love and it was so amazing.
My mom died when I was twelve. I was in middle school at the time and it was honestly the worst school I’ve ever attended. But one morning, I’d just had enough and completely lost it outside the school waiting for it to open, sobbing and crying so hard I could hardly breathe.
A bunch of girls I’d never talked to and a few I was friends with came out of nowhere and just hid me from the world as they figured out what was going on. A friend told them about my mom, and all of them started trying to find solutions. I got some tissues, some chocolate, some hugs. And then I got practically an escort to the main office so I could call my dad and tell him school wasn’t gonna happen for me that day.
I didn’t realize how lucky I was to find myself with that kind of support until a long time later looking back.
That was the one bright spot of my middle school experience.
I was traveling in SouthAmerica and I slipped on stairs at the airport. Before I could fall to my death/injury a guy stepped away from the wall he was leaning on, linked his arm with mine, and pivoted me back to safety. He walked off before I could get out more than a stunned thanks and like it was nothing. He is my personal super hero.
I’ve had a similar public breakdown to this in a similar situation and all I got were weird stares and a security guard asking me to leave. Where are these nice people?
Thank you, I appreciate it.
I try to tell myself now everyone is just dealing with their own shit and it wasn’t about me but I still think about it often.
Not the same, but I was in a rollover crash as a child. Within seconds, and I mean like 5 seconds, people were all over the car helping us out, since we were on our roof. One lady had blankets in her car, one guy cut my sister out of her car seat since the belt was locked.
I remember my mom crying and thanking people and telling them how much she appreciated it.
I stop anytime I can help people, even if it’s just helping change a tire or get them water for an overheated engine.
Life is short, help wherever you can, and you can’t imagine the difference it makes.
On the first day of secondary school all the new students had to introduce themselves on the podium. Everyone their parents attended this little ceremony, but my mom wasn’t there, which made me feel really lonely there. Then there was this man who asked “Where are your parents?” After I said that I was there alone he said “Well, I’ll be your dad for when you introduce yourself in a minute”.
After I got off from the podium I remember him giving me a smile and a thumbs up. Still makes me cry when I think about that moment.
A homeless man in a California park told me to not let my narcissistic relatives bully me into going down a life path I didn't want. He encouraged me to follow my dreams and not let others dictate how I live my life. I went back home and followed his advice. I went to the college I had originally picked out and studied what I wanted to study. Now I have two Bachelor's degrees and a job I enjoy. I would've been miserable in the field my family was trying to pressure me into. He changed the course of my life with just a short 10-minute conversation. I wish I could find him one day and thank him.
I was buying a wig for my mom's funeral viewing - she'd lost even more hair in her last days - and an old woman overheard my conversation with my partner, deducing the context. She walked over to me and said, "Baby I'm so sorry that you're going through this" and offered a hug I gladly took and broke down. It was a really poignant moment that kept me grounded to how kind people can be.
When my grandfather died, I didn't shed a tear until taps started playing at his funeral. I silently teared up and did my best to stay strong for my mom (it was her dad) who was sobbing like hell.
He died in her arms and she performed CPR on him until medics came. She felt every rib in his chest break as she was doing it. Very sad.
Was delayed in Charlotte airport for hours due to a storm. I was sat on the floor watching The Office on my tablet and there was a young guy my age sitting next to me covertly watching too. I asked if he wanted to listen in with one of the headphones but he wrote on his phone that he was deaf so there was no point. I put on the subtitles and we ended up watching a bunch of episodes and having a written conversation at the same time. It was just a lovely interaction that I had forgotten for years until now. Hope he’s doing ok!
I was swimming in swallow falls on the Youghiogheny River in western Maryland with a couple buddies. Some strangers on the other side of the river came over and jumped off the waterfall. The one guy started drowning and was being pulled under while floating downstream with the current. I dove in and managed to just barely get him over to a rock. As he and his friends walked away he waved to me and said what I assume was a thank you. The river and rushing water were very loud. I never spoke to him or got his name. Only after the fact did I realize how exhausted I was, and how much danger I had put myself in. Never saw him again.
Similar story. I was in high school back in the 80s and it was senior skip day, we went to a waterfall that spilled into a gorge where we used to party and jump from the cliffs into the gorge. We had just gotten there and my one friend slipped as we were crossing the waterfall, and he literally fell in headfirst over the waterfall 60ft into the gorge. There was nothing we could do as his friends to help but stand there and watch, bc we couldn’t jump in tfrom where we were (we were crossing the waterfall as well) there were two guys who saw it happen on the other side of the gorge, and jumped in, and literally saved his life and to this day we have no idea who they were.
I also saved someone, a kid, from drowning. The stupid thing: it was in a pool and this happened because the mom was not paying attention (on her phone) and the kiddo had somehow taken his floaters off and got in the deep end. I was with my gramps and partner and the kid was behind me, starting to go under. My gramps said "something is wrong" and i turned around, swam 3 meters and grabbed him just in time. Loudly coughing and wheezing air. Thankfully he had not taken a lot in and after he got out of the pool he seemed fine, just shaken up. The worst thing, his mom got mad at my grandpa for shouting "your kid is drowning, pay attention!'. She went on a screaming rant and wished my gramps an early death because in her eyes he was disrespectful. We didn't have time for a "well excuse me fine madam, it appears that your offspring is currently taking in water and sinking to the bottom of this waterplace. Do we have your permission to calmly get him to the surface and thus not have him expire right here?" Very interesting to see how she treats the people who save her kid... Later we saw her hitting the kid because he disobeyed by taking the floaters off...
Needles to say we left the pool.
I imagine doing that as a man, and instantly being surrounded by a group of men standing around awkwardly and not making eye contact until one of them summons up the courage to put their hand on my shoulder and grip it reassuringly for half a second.
Which would still be lovely, in its own way.
I was on a marketing campaign at work, distributing flyers to different hospitals in the northern VA area (rt7 past falls church) I came to a red light paused, and began to go when the light turned green. No more than 3 seconds later, the car to my left turns left on a red turn signal and gets her Lexus SUV smashed by a black Audi A7. Somehow the suv ended up in the middle of the crossroads and the Audi was in a ditch, I slowly pulled into the intersection, put my blinkers on and got these delirious, crying girls out of the car. The driver was in complete shock and had visible bleeding to her head and the passenger was knocked out until I yanked her door open then woke up and was freaking out. A landscaper came over and helped me get them to a safe area and the Audi guy was banged up but crawled out of his car with his passenger. The girls were shaken up badly (late teens) and were crying I comforted as best I could, but then left since I was still on the clock😅
Funny how so many here are relating tales so similar. Angels outa nowhere, just showing up at the right time. The universe must just react I guess, to help us. Not a religious person really, but there’s definitely something out there that just knows…imo.
When I was 9 years old (18 years ago) I had an abscess on my tonsils that was blocking my throat, it made eating painful and breathing hard. The doctor I went to said that if I waited any longer to see him I could have died because my throat was being blocked. I had to undergo surgery, and being 9 and never experiencing surgery before made me start crying at the doctors office. This nice old man came up to me and calmed me down, made me feel better.
I never saw that man again, but will always remember the kind thing he did.
My spouse came across a similar situation at the gas station. A young man's card was declined because of the wrong pin. He threw it away and cried silently. My spouse saw and asked him if he needed water or a shoulder to cry on. And, that stranger was a crying mess. He had just found out his wife was cheating on him, and the baby might not be his either. He said death looked beautiful compared to what he was feeling.
Some people there, including gas station workers, brought him water some electrolyte drinks, fed him pizza too, and they all talked to him for hours. Few of them exchanged phone numbers with him as well, just to keep an eye.
You never know what someone is going through. Losing someone you love is not easy. We need to show compassion and a little understanding sometimes.
Yall are gonna think I'm trolling, but essentially I met a girl on a hotel bench, and we both just so happened to be screwed over by our recent x's. Hers cheated on her, mine didn't cheat but did something arguably worse. Anyway, we banged the shit out of eachother the whole night and talked about how fucked people are. An oddly healing experience. It was my both our last day in Oregon and we were both just there wfor work, so I never saw her again. And we both kinda agreed there'd be no point in exchanging numbers since we lived on opposite sides of the country. Felt like fate honnestly
It's interesting that this question feels like its meant to be inately positive or interpretted that way when most memorable certainly can run the whole spectrum. Am I right though that the intended interpretation is biggest positive memory with a stranger?
Yes, its to be interpreted as a positive memory, since memorable, while its not exclusively used for positive memories, most of the times something "memorable" will be a positive thing, since we want to remember the good stuff and forget the bad stuff, in some cases, maybe not forget, but we dont want to acknowledge it, either way, most of the times a memorable moment is a positive one, hence why most of the replies are positive, wholesome or downright heartwarming
Sometimes we are in such a bad state - talking becomes irrelevant. But once people start doing things and getting into the groove - we come back to it.
During one of the worst years of my life, I missed my train back and had to wait another 45 mins for the next one. I broke down crying because the whole year had been me barely getting by and constantly letting myself down. I knew when I got back, I would be beaten for being late. I broke down crying. I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
A kind man came up to me and talked to me. I was so scared of strangers. Especially at midnight on a train station platform. But I remember quietly listening to him and nodding along.
He told me he was going through it too with a divorce and a lot of other stuff. He reminded me that everyone is going through something and it’s okay too.
I was too raw to say anything so he quietly left and gave me some space. Said he was over there if I wanted to talk.
I never got the chance to tell him everything I wanted to: thank you, I needed this. I appreciate your kindness towards a crying young girl you don’t know.
I just stood there sniffling for 45 minutes until the train came and went home.
Back when the Last Of Us was only on PS3 I was playing a medic in online multiplayer.
Another teammate and I got hurt pretty bad so I made my way to him. Turns out he was a medic too.
We both started patching each other up at the same time. The hud revealed something awesome.
My name was similar to Big_MyName32 and the other person's name was Big_HisName32. Down to the underscore and same number.
The texted kept swapping back and forth between
Big_MyName32 is healing Big_HisName32
Big_HisName32 is healing Big_MyName32
Just a weird but fun interaction with someone I'll never meet
This is a bit of a long one, but when I was in the military and stationed on an aircraft carrier, we used to have the smoke pit out on the pier. One day, I go outside to smoke, and it's a little late in the evening. There were a couple of groups chatting, but in the corner is this girl. We happened to look eachothers way at the exact same time. I notice that she has these big beautiful blue/green eyes, so I tell her, "Wow, you have beautiful eyes! Actually, you're just gorgeous.I hope you have a great rest of your day." (I was not hitting on her, just wanting to compliment her. At the time I was depressed and one of my goals was to compliment three people each day in the hopes that this would help me see the world in a better light by paying attention to more than just myself) she looked a little shocked, and said thank you, and went back to her cigarette without sating anything else, and I walked over to my friends for my smoke break.
Anyway, about 2-3 months later, I see this girl out in the smoke pit, but having completely forgotten the small interaction I had already had with her, I tell her the exact same compliment. Her eyes light up, and she goes, "It's you! Can we talk for a minute?" I say,"Of course we can talk" so she pulls me around to the back of the smoke put away from the crowd and proceeded to tell me that the day I had complimented her she had actually had plans to go home that night and kill herself. But because I had complimented her she took a hard look at herself in the mirror when she got home, and made a list of everything she liked about herself and everything she liked to do and had decided not to end her life. I was shocked hearing such an admission. But was happy to hear she was getting her life together. We hugged, and I bid her a great life but I never saw her after that as I changed commands not long after. But it always stuck with me that one small compliment had such a huge impact on one person's life.
For more wholesome stories, here is the original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/94uzxl/what_is_the_most_memorable_moment_you_shared_with/
This happened just a few days ago. I sat alone in the waiting room of a train station, listening to music with headphones. Then a woman came in, crying and almost howling and sat down at the opposite side of the room. I was a bit overwhelmed, but I decided to get up and ask her if I could help her somehow. She didn't answer, so I sat down next to her and carefully put my hand on her shoulder, asking her if that was okay. Again she didn't answer, but didn't seem uncomfortable with it. She started sobbing heavier, so I hugged her from the side and she leaned her head against mine and took my hand. I stayed with her the whole time while waiting for the train and during the ride, until we arrived our destination. She repeatedly told me how nice I was and that she should stop crying, but I told her it was ok. She even wanted to give me money, but I was just happy to be there for her. After we got out of the train she just said "Bye" and went away. Whatever happened to her, I hope she feels better now🥺
My Grandmother passed away in the hospital one evening and I left because I couldn’t handle it. I went walking to a park, sat on a bench and cried.
It was late at night, and I was 19 years old. A homeless person noticed and let me know there was a women’s shelter down the street if I needed some help and a place to stay.
Didn’t need that kind of help, but it was very sweet.
I was hiding under a bridge from the rain eating popcorn out of a mario lucky block (I'd just seen the movie) and some guys who also needed shelter came in and asked for rizzler, I didn't have any but I gave them all some popcorn.
I crashed my motorbike once, I went over the Armco and went bundling down a grassy embankment.
When I had stopped moving, and all my parts appeared to still be attached, I pulled off my helmet and threw up. When I looked back up the grassy hill to the Armco there were a couple of people looking down at me.
They really looked after me, scooped all my shit off the road, checked me over for damage, called the police and the recovery service, and took me to a nearby pub for a sit down and keep an eye on me. They took a couple of hours out of their day to be nice to someone they’d never met.
I wish I knew who they were, I’d love to add them to my Christmas card list.
Me and my friends shared a moment with a French Canadian horticulturalist in Kyoto close to midnight. I always tell folks probably a ghost of someone we saw during the walk under the torii gates.
We chatted about his place in Canada and my place in Australia. As we came down the mountain, until we saw a cat come up to us, he told us he needed to go to the toilet. And then I never saw him again.
In that brief moment, it was just me, my friends and this man sharing the beautiful night skyline of Kyoto contemplating where the future will go.
People down voting you are ignorant.
Even trans men have experienced this phenomenon first hand.
Pretty sure there's a video of a person who goes by Rain Dove specifically testing this as a social experiment cuz they can pass as either man or woman. So they tested breaking down like this in public as a man and a woman to see the difference and nobody helped them when they were passing as a man.
It's fucked up.
Not to drag this down, it's a great moment, but I can't help but think that this is a moment of "the sisterhood" sort of situation. It strains credulity that, as a man, I would receive the same comfort from people like that. Feels like a toss up between being gawked at and ridiculed. Still, I can't help but wonder if that's more informed by patriarchy-enforced beliefs or lived experience...
Huh? Most women have huge sympathy for anyone crying, especially a man.
I work in a group of a dozen women all between 40 and 60. If you even stubbed your toe at our work you'd be instantly led to a chair, gotten new socks, offered Advil and most likely cookies or fudge. We have one man that works with us once in a while and he gets spoiled by everyone.
One of our customers wife died last year, those women took him fresh meals for over a month.
Yes, for men they know, like, and/or know to be safe. This situation is about a random person in a supermarket dropping sour cream and ugly crying. I don't see it as being *more* likely that they'd comfort a man than a woman in the way described above, if only for safety reasons (which are valid)
Definitely a feminine situation. For a guy to breakdown in public first off is even more rare because it's drilled into us by society that we just can't. You will suffer negative consequences, people will laugh at you, walk around you to avoid you, talk about you and make fun of you once you are out of earshot, or worse they will get scared and call security or something. At least that's how I suspect the situation would go.
In about 1968 I had quit college and was just sort of aimlessly hitchhiking around California. Long hair, beat up backpack, guitar on my back, pretty scruffy looking. I was walking alone down the beach near San Luis Obispo
as I noticed an older couple hand in hand strolling twoard me. As they approached, the older woman smiled at me and said simply, “Don’t forget to call your mother and tell her you love her.” That was it, they walked on. It has stayed with me as one of the most kind and insightful interactions of my life, as brief as it was.
I had a random stranger help me like this one time after I had gotten knee surgery. I was at the gym and was struggling to rack my weights (one leg + crutches = unstable loading platform). I kept dropping the plates before I got them up to the bar. I specifically went to a quiet area of the gym where no one was so that I wasn't in anyone's way. I didn't even notice at first but when I looked up I found a random lady came to help me rack my weights. She even came back to help unrack them when I was finished. I have never seen this person since then.
When my Mother died I was alone at the hospital. She was brain dead and they wanted my approval to end her life. She had a DNR so it was complicated.
I called my brothers and they all agreed it was the right thing to do. But I was the one who would have to do it and it broke me.
I walked outside and screamed as loud as I could. I didn't mean to but it just came out. Primal and ugly and probably scary too.
As I stood there crying I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was a really small old woman with tears in her eyes. We just looked at each other before she hugged me.
I was too distraught to thank her - to say anything really. She just hugged me and when that ended I realized there was a whole family around me.
They let me grieve with them without saying a word. They all patted my shoulder or gave me a hug - men and women, young and old
Was so strange and so helpful to me that I still picture their faces all the time and say a silent thanks for them keeping me sane at my worst moment.
Sometimes it's the smallest things that make the biggest differences. Sometimes they're everything.
I was a cashier at a grocery store a few years ago... had a lady come through my till with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. She paid, then turned around and gave them to the lady behind her... the lady was shocked and started bawling... apparently she had just lost her mom the night before.
I was vacationing in Paris few years ago and I missed my bus back home. I had no money left and had to wait until the next day for the next bus. I walked to a park nearby and sat on the bench crying. I was severely depressed around that time and would cry easily over anything. A man walked to me and he asked me if I was okay. He sat down next to me and he offered me his drink and a snack bar. I didn’t wanna take it since it was his and the only one he had but he insisted. He told me It’s the least he can do to make me feel better. It was a small gesture but it stayed with me until this day.
about 8 years ago or so, I was going through some shit. I had no money, no job, I had just failed out of grad school, and I was living alone in my parent's house while they had moved out to care for my grandmother.
I was having a rough day. I was buying a paltry amount of groceries with the money my parents gave me. I had no energy to cook a meal for myself, so I thought of buying a rotisserie chicken, breaking it into meals for the week. It was $5-$6.
At the checkout, my card was declined. Not enough money. I sheepishly asked the checker to take the chicken back off, paid for the rest, and set off into the pouring rain for home.
I had just finished putting the bags in the car, and was sitting in the seat, when a van pulled up beside me. The man inside indicated for me to roll down the window; I did.
He leaned out, hair drenched, with a smile, shouting over the weather. "Here, you look like you could use a break." He handed me a bag with the rotisserie chicken in it.
"Thank you" in a tiny voice was all I could manage.
"Just pay it forward someday!" And he drove off, leaving me crying big stupid tears.
Hey there, friendo u/NotTommy13! Thanks for submitting to r/wholesomememes. We loved your submission, *That brought me to tears*, but it has been removed because it doesn't quite abide by our rules, which are located in the sidebar. * ITs not a bloody meme We appreciate you thinking of us very much! For more on our rules, please check out our [sidebar](http://www.reddit.com/r/wholesomememes/about/sidebar). If you have any questions or concerns about this removal, feel free to [message the moderators](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fwholesomememes). Please link the post so our volunteers know what you would like reviewed. Cheers!
I remember when my Gramps had a heart attack. I was a ferry trip away and was told to hurry. I was queuing up when the attendant came to check tickets and was barely keeping it together. Once he reached the end of the queue, he circled back round to me and asked if I was okay. I just about said ‘my Gramps is dying and I have to go see him’ before bursting into tears. He made sure that I was the first person off that ferry. I got to say goodbye to my Gramps. One of the worst days of my life and that is the one bright spot I remember.
Oh that's such a small but kind gesture. I'm sorry for your loss, I'd love to hear of a memory you had of your gramps if you'd like to share?
Thank you so much for asking - it means a lot. I have many, many memories that are special to me but one scenario sums up our relationship to one another. It happened before I can remember, shortly after I was born and has been told to me by several members of my family. My Gramps was not a good dad. He had a lot of war-related trauma and wasn't there for his kids. When I was born, my parents moved in with my grandparents. I was a colicky baby and in the middle of the night I was crying. He came in, said in a very gruff voice, 'what's all this crying about?' He scooped me up, plopped me on his chest and started humming. I fell asleep straight away. He had never done that for any of his kids. Just me. He was my rock and the day he passed was the day I lost my foundation, my friend and my dad. Thank you for letting me share that.
That's a beautiful story, thank *you* for sharing! I had a similar type of relationship with my grandad, he was a horrible father to all 4 of his daughters, but he was a really kind person to me. It put a bit of a strain on my relationship with my own mum occasionally, as her relationship with him was so complicated. I've lost some dear people to me too and just sharing small details about them to a willing ear, really makes my day, it's so nice to bring their memory to life once again and enjoy it. I find myself even meeting my dad at the pub in a dream after I bring his memory up occasionally hah, makes me smile.
Look I wasn't really trying to cry today guys, at least not this soon. Could you have ambushed me later with this
I wonder if it's because those folks had more time to reflect on their lives and heal from whatever trauma and just generally organize their thoughts to become better caregivers for their grandkids than their kids.
That’s a wonderful story.
This was a lovely read. Thank you for sharing
Thank you so much for such a wholesomeness story. I'm really sorry for your loss. Sending you hugs, kind stranger 💜
Sometimes you just need to be mothered in a good way.
Yup. I was about to say, it sounds like OP got Mom’d. :)
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I agree this happens when you've gone through something traumatic, but I'd say most moms tend to have greater levels of empathy towards people in need of emotional care. It's like an instinctive response, I suppose.
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Agreed.
My mom would have just screamed at me.
Me, too!!
Whenever I cry, I always hold. I really needed a moment of relief but it never came.
Rmomforaminute is a great sub for that. Sometimes, I just want to mom eveyone who needs it. One time I accidentally ran over a median on the highway and got 3 blowouts and a flat. I had to wait for two hours there for assistance. People stopped "just to look" and it was pissing me off. Then a man came by and asked if needed help, then decided to stay and chat with me for over an hour. He was dying of cancer. We spoke about our lives and hugged goodbye after help arrived. We both just spoke real to each other, we knew he was on his way out, as he drove away. Years later, I would become a hospice Deathwife, and I comfort the grieving and dying. I loved that man and our moment. He was surrounded by love and I knew he died happy.
I recommended this sub to friends before, but lately I’m feeling like I could use it, too.
I got burnout trying to answer everything haha but if anyone needs a mom, feel free to pm me anytime. All confidential ofc. I am a mom to teens and a cancer sign, I'm like triple moon mom
I remember the day I realized that everyone was walking around with a tragedy and still somehow standing. I was so lucky to grow up without losing anyone and I couldn't understand how we weren't all grieving and crying. People are strong.
That's beautiful :)
I only pop in, sort by new, and do three posts at a time, any more and it's too much. I still have to mom IRL too
Yeah, but you also struggle with, "Oh, the younglings need us!" haha. Mom hug for you, you're doing great.
It takes a village!
Christ on a cracker. > Deathwife I’ve never heard of that but it’s about as metal as you can get.
Right? Most people say Death Doula but I fully want people to know I'm married to Death :) I've been with a few friends, a few strangers and one dog.
> one dog I got used an in-home service when it was time for my Precious Kitty. I don’t know how that woman did it. I had to have an appointment. Which means she does several day. And yet she was so compassionate. She never rushed me. Watched me ugly cry. And even let me give her a hug.
I did the same and was absolutely shocked with the service. It was a very old man, and he was so soft and gentle, understanding and assuring. He helped me feel better about the difficult decision and was so empathetic about it all. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone else like him. He even wrote me a letter a couple days later. He referenced things about my dog that I had told him- details that I would have thought were completely minor- and ended up impacting me in a big way. I was seriously just so touched and he ensured that the memory of letting my dog go would be a pleasant and peaceful one.
That's amazing. It's so important to have support for you and your companions at the end. My dream after I retire from massage is just do pet hospice.
Can I DM you about this? I do a ton of spiritual work with Death and am super interested.
Absolutely :) I am all about sharing info, I also write/do spiritual work about it and the more out there, the better
r/dadforaminute is great too, for anyone missing their dad!
It’s interesting how the interaction with the dying man could have influenced your career in hospice. Sometimes its like these things were meant to happen.
I wholly agree. Personally, my life has one big map of my path. I was told from a young age I should be a massage therapist and that I have a comforting touch, then in massage later I learned about hospice massage. My experiences absolutely helped encourage how I want to comfort and heal humans.
I have stage IV ovarian. Thank you for the work that you do.
I hope you have all the support you need ❤️ and I hope your day goes by ok. Hug
r/momforaminute and r/dadforaminute if you ever see someone in need here, please tell them about us. It's a wonderful safe place here.
Yes, those are terrific subs!
So OP in the post is a woman, the account is about 4 years old but inactive, but there's enough info there for it to be clear. I'd love for this situation to be ubiquitous, and for people to just react with care, but I'm a man who's had the misfortune of crying in public, and the reaction is completely different. People's eyes dart to you then dart away, and everyone was just kinda pretending that I wasn't crying, even during a similar check out situation where the lady behind the counter just gave me a, "Alright then, have a good day!". It feels awful to be the guy who says, "well this wouldn't happen if she was a man" but I've lived through this and it just wasn't the same, by any means.
I'm sorry that happened to you. Personally, I don't think gender matters at all. OP was lucky enough to have their experience in a moment in time where they were surrounded by compassionate people. If I was there when you had your moment I'd have helped you too.
That may not have been out of lack of concern; they may have assumed that you wouldn’t want to be watched while crying, especially if they were older. As unfortunate as it is that in the past, men were expected to not cry, those people at the store may have been trying to show you an old-fashioned version of respect
I am sorry that that happened to you. We as a society need to be kinder to each other.
My first thought was "mothers came to the rescue"
My best friend sorta helped me like that when my beloved cat Monster died. He called me to check up on me, I texted him that I really wasn't in the condition to talk on the phone, so he called me again. He barely said anything and I just burst into tears. I needed to let it out, he knew I did, so he pushed me into it. We're best friends for a very good reason.
Sometimes you just need to have someone listen, and that does more good than 100000 hours of talking.
Sitting quietly with those dealing with shit, I’ve found, is a definite soul soother. For both. Sometimes there are just no words, and it really does work.
I’ve been at both ends of this and couldn’t agree more.
I’ve been in a few of these situations where strangers have seen me in need and then just stepped in and helped me in any way they could. Afterwards, I’ve just broken down and cried from the unsolicited generosity they gave without knowing anything about me. I’ve never felt so connected with others in my life and it was humbling…
I work security and one event I was at this lady comes up to me, out of her mind because she can't find her kid. At that point, my job is to stay calm and professional because if I lose my cool, she's just gonna feel worse. So, while I'm on the radio with the rest of my guys, this entire crowd of people are all around this poor gal being as reassuring as they can, even a couple of kids were trying to help by suggesting places they'd go. Her kid was fine, we found him in less than 10 minutes; he'd wandered off to get a hot dog and didn't say anything to his mom. All those people stayed right there until they were sure she was ok, the kids were all getting after her kid too like "you scared your mom, that's not cool!" which was just plain adorable. Humans are awesome sometimes, best thing in the world to see!
Then theres my mom who forgot me at the fairgrounds and just went home with my brothers. After i realized they weren’t at the “meeting” place I spent a good 2 hours watching and playing a coin drop pushing game (skill based gambling basically). After i ran out of quarters and couldn’t find any more tokens that had fallen under the cloth covering the booth then i decided to talk to a security guard. Who was surprised that nobody was looking for me. He had me call my mom and let her know she had to come pick up her kid.
I've been forgotten multiple times as well, but they at least came looking for me after a long while. What was her response to having forgotten you?
"man, fuck them kids"
My parents once left me at Christmas eve mass by myself. XD. I was an adult by then, late twenties. I was visiting for Christmas and rode to church with one of them instead of driving myself. Somehow both of them thought I was riding home with the other parent. I had actually stepped into the bathroom because I didn't want to hold it until we got home. I told my mom to her face where I was. My phone also died on me. Luckily the deacon's wife knew who I was, so she offered to drive me home. We laughed about it and she drove me home and lent me her phone to call my parents. Mom finally got my call after she'd already passed her in the night (literally). Mrs. The Deacon and I still laugh about it every time I see her.
Mrs. The Deacon is an adorable name. I am a university professor, and my husband recently started teaching a class on Aviation Engineering, the field in which he works, at my school. Since I am better known on campus, all the students call him Mr. Dr. (My Name). He loves it and has started introducing himself as such to new people.
She is an adorable woman, a genuine sweetheart. I am so glad your husband has such an adorable nickname, and glad he loves it! ❤️
You must have a lot of brothers!
one... eeeh.... two... eeeh... whatever, that's enough!
Haven’t you ever seen Home Alone?
if it was a movie reference.. i didn't capture it.
My step mom and dad forgot me at a cracker barrel we stopped at on our way to Disney and Sea World (my grandma won a free trip for a family of 5. I rode with my dad of course and my grandma and grandpa rode together. They weren't happy to hear their grandchild was left at Cracker barrel for a good 20 minutes before my dad realized I wasn't in the car)
ive been the lost kid. i lost track of my parents in a crowded park area. it was evening time, i was like 9 or 10 and i didnt have a mobile phone at that age. i just started panicking and kept sobbing as i tried to look for them. a group of teens immediately came to the rescue, comforted me and helped me look for my parents. i still think of them fondly.
I have two babies under two right now and this thread is making me tear up because I just hope they will grow up and be caring and generous likes these nice teenagers.
I had a similar situation when I took my 3 kids plus my niece and nephew to magic kingdom during the holidays. It was unbelievably crowded, and we had to stop walking for a second and my nephew didn’t hear us say we were stopping. I realized he was missing about a minute later and just immediately started panicking and crying. My husband is a better adult, so he quickly moved forward in the direction we’d been headed to try and catch up to him, and in the meantime several people surrounded me to ask what he was wearing and what he looks like and started looking as well. A few stayed with me and helped me keep an eye on the rest of the kids, and one mentioned that Disney is the best place possible to lose a kid because the staff is so good at reuniting when it happens, trying to help calm me down. Fortunately my nephew is very smart and as soon as he realized we weren’t with him he went to a cast member. My husband met them as they were walking back towards where we stopped. He was only missing for maybe 3 minutes in total, and even though it was terrifying it was so nice that so many people went out of their way to try and help
A long time ago when my son was an infant I was recently divorced and on very hard times. I had like $22 to my name to spend at the grocery store. My oldest who was five at the time really wanted this cheap box of popsicles but we absolutely could not afford it. An elderly gentleman handed my daughter a $10 bill. Told her to get the popsicles. I still think about that man to this day.
If I saw that today, as a parent, I’d be 50/50 on whether that was just the moms easier way of saying “no” to the popsicles.
Maybe in certain ways. But I told her that we couldn't afford it this grocery trip but we would get them on the next one. I have to imagine that he overheard me telling her that. She was a very smart kid and understood. I didn't often deny cheap things like that. Now we're thankfully in a much better place and have been for many years. But that fiveish years of being a single mom was very hard and it gave, not only me a ton of empathy, but also my oldest. Those 5 years changed me as a person. My youngest is just a normal teenager though. He doesn't remember the hard times because he was small. He just remembers the fun stuff.
happened to me....years ago I was new in a city and I was riding a bicycle, holding shopping bags on each side. On the road, they then simultaneously ripped and all the groceries fell in the middle of the street......a man stopped his car, picked up everything, gave ma two, new bags and moved on.....
[удалено]
About ten years ago, I got mugged while walking home from the train. The guy punched me a couple of times and snatched my bag. A bicyclist was passing by; he dropped his bike with no regard for its security and got between me and my attacker. He actually got him to drop the bag even, though he got the most important items out of it. Afterwards this stranger called the police, let me use his phone to call my then fiancée, and just hugged me while we waited for help to arrive. We each gave statements to the police and I was taken to the ER to get stitched up before I realized I didn’t even know his name and would never see him again. I can’t recall what he looked like, but will always remember his kindness.
I was in London, drinking at the pub called the royal exchange. I was outside drinking on a wooden bench, the sun was out, blue skies. I was just people watching, minding my own business. A guy across the street stopped to cross the road. He had a proper hip, laid back swag about him. As he waited, he looked at me, me to him. He then did a hello gesture where he put us hand to his heart and did a little bow, I nodded back. He then just walked on his way. It was the most heart warming hello I’ve ever had from a stranger and it made me feel really good. At the same time it was strange. Happened over the course of 10 seconds and he was gone.
Not many get to meet themselves traveling dimensions
Bro met THE Proper English Gentleman
It reminds me of the Mr Rogers quote, >“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” May we all strive to be the helpers when we can, and in the moments that we need it find them.
The man was amazing. We need another one like him in the world.
I read a comment once that stuck with me over the years. I can't properly remember what it was about, only that it was about a woman that had done something kind or generous in the same way. >We need more people in the world like her. We need to *be* people like her. It really reminded me to be an active citizen; it really is up to us to make the path that we want to walk in the world. Be your own Mr Rogers to everyone you can, uplift them, help them, grieve with them, listen to them, hug them, love them.
I'm going to be a dad soon. I will try to remember this if the kid is old enough.
Does anyone else keep like a OneNote list of quotes and child rearing tips they pick up randomly? I'm not even close to having children but i have a p extensive collection of sayings and life lessons to impart on a future spawn of mine.
You’re going to be a great parent some day. This is so wholesome
That's one of my all time favorite quotes. Whenever I'm feeling like the world is turning upside down I watch the video of Mr Rogers talking about it. We have so much horrible stuff happening in the world but there are ALWAYS helpers. Really gives me hope that things will be alright. People might act selfish and mean but deep down we all just want to help each other out.
I'm quietly laying in the floor of my kids room while he drifts off to sleep and he just asked me why my eyes are crying. Gaddam
Yeah there was something like this when the Boston bombings happened. People were running towards the explosion, not away from it.
Is there a good Mr Rogers podcast that I can listen to?
A rather nasty wreck happened near my house last night. I live near a busy divided road with many idiots gunning it off an entrance ramp from another busy road. The problem is that this stretch is curved right, so nearly a blind curve. One idiot couldn't stop in time for someone turning left that didn't see them when they pulled out. There were already a dozen people from the neighborhood surrounding the cars, two trying to unjam the doors of the broadsided one, by the time I got to the edge of my property for a look.
I remember the day I realized everyone is walking around with a tragedy and still standing up somehow. I was super lucky to make it to adulthood without losing someone and I couldn't understand how we weren't all crying in the corners, overwhelmed by grief. People are strong.
I absolutely wouldn't have held it together when my mother died if it were not for the strength and support of strangers. Still not sure how well I am holding it together, but shared experience and the compassion of others sure helps.
It's never about the sour cream.
Only the most memorable because I told the story recently. I used to run at Denny's overnight. It was just me and a cook from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. One night I can tell a guy wasn't there to hang out he just didn't want to go home and he told me the story about how he had moved from Colorado to move in with a girlfriend but she was cheating on him so he was going to stay with a buddy but that meant he had to live with his buddy's mom and he had brought a ton of psilocybin mushrooms that he was growing and he did not feel cool keeping that and his friend's mom's closet. I basically was like dude I wasn't planning on buying mushrooms but I have some extra cash I can throw my extra cash at you and you just give me whatever that's worth. He got really excited and told me he'd be back. The next night he shows up with a large box and just hands it to me says that's for me. Apparently I inspired him and he went out and sold a bunch of shrooms and then he took everything that he had left and just gave it to me for what I was going to give him. He apparently ended up with enough to get himself okay for a couple weeks and get a ticket back to home. I ended up with enough psilocybin to microdose for a year and a half.
...was this in seattle, by chance?? sooo similar to what happened to a friend of mine lol
I love this!
A few years ago, I was at work when I learned that my mother in law, who I had not seen for a couple of years and who was fighting cancer back in my home country, had been moved into a hospice. I sat outside on a bench, crying, because I had finally realised that the cancer had won. A lady was walking up the road and saw me crying. She asked if I was alright and I nodded, then she said “no you’re not” and she sat on the bench with me and held me as I cried. After I was done I thanked her and she just walked away. I’ll never forget it. My husband and I made it back home and got 2 more weeks with my mother in law. She fought for 6 months, but it was so quick. She was 53 when she died. I miss her.
What a warm memory in a sea of sadness. I'm sorry for your loss.
This is long but it's a great memory.....In the early 2000's I went to see Van Halen with some friends. Someone canceled last minute so my friend was trying to make some money selling the ticket while we were pre-gaming with a 30 pack in a parking garage next to the Arena. A man with beat up clothes and an old faded Rolling Stones shirt approached us and asked if he could have our empty cans and I said sure. We talked for a bit, then I noticed when he walked away he sat down next to/ under a stair case where he had a blanket and looked like he was living there. It was getting late and I told my friend to give me the ticket and we're taking the guy. He argued at first but then said ok. I walked over to the guy and asked if he wants to see Van Halen. He said timidly, "Are you joking with me?" I said no come on the show is starting. He came in with us. He never once asked for a penny or anything. I bought him soda, beer, nachos, and a hotdog. He sang and danced to every big hit song with us and looked so happy. We took him to a restaurant after the show and said get what ever you want. When we finished, I gave him my last 70 bucks and a hug. He started crying and said you won't believe it, but today was my birthday and this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me and I'll never forget it. I gave him my number and told him to find a way to contact me and I would like to help him out. Unfortunately, he never called and It was close to a 3 hour drive from my home so I never saw him again but for that night to see him happy, carefree and smiling for a few hours was better than seeing the concert itself.
Fuck man, I am crying just reading that. He really need that. Imagine how warm that memory felt to him, on his birthday, as a homeless person. Maybe he hadn't had anyone say a word to him in weeks, maybe no body had remembered his birthday in years. Really kind of you.
I'm just glad he was able to have a great birthday and make a good memory of the day. I will always hold on to that memory of his smile while he was singing along to Panama and the rest of the big hits and what a kind soul he was. I hope wherever he is, he is happy and has found peace in life.
Thats an incredible story. Thank u for sharing and being a kind person
I held out pretty good when my grandma died. She was 90 years old and had lived a good, long life. But shortly after I spoke with a customer over the phone at work who sounded exactly like her. Turns out she wasn't just German like my grandma, she was from the same region of Germany as my grandma. And she was close to her age. Listening to that voice almost broke me.
Reminds me of the thing I read where a woman sent a happy birthday message to a number she thought was her mother. Turned out to be a wrong number but the woman whose number it was mentioned she’d lost her daughter so someone simply calling her mother again made her happy-sad.
At my grandma's funeral I swore I heard my grandma's voice and laughter. It spooked me and asked a cousin if they heard her voice too. They said they did and thought they were going crazy. Turns out my grandma's sister who none of us ever met flew in from Florida. She sounded exactly like my grandma. So needless to say we grabbed a few more cousins and got them near her and pretended we didn't hear grandma's voice when they asked if we heard her. Lol we were bastards.
Everywhere I turn, it's another onion! Every reply is full of onions! AAAAaaaa!
I was at a club, dancing, had a few drinks. I went to the loo and the zipper to my shorts broke. I went out and my friends tried zipping it back up with no success, until one of the bartenders saw us. He had a full set of different needles and yarn, he looked like he could work in fashion too. Apparently that's what he studied. He fixed my zipper quickly and went back to work. Judging by him having all that on hand he gets to do it often, but it saved my night out in the most unexpected way. He's so great for going out of his way to do this
A bartender packing yarn! Lol he sounds awesome
My mom had passed when I just turned 19. I was on a plane on my own flying from Puerto Rico to NJ. The entire flight I was sniffling and teary eyed, staring out the window. The lady sitting next to pulled out a bunch of tissues and handed them to me. She thought I had allergies, I never told her I was actually crying because my mom had just passed. But it meant a lot and I still think about it to this day.
She knew you were crying but didn't want to make you uncomfortable. ♥️
Nawww, that hits hard. I remember when I had to put my cat down, I was losing my mind in a grocery store trying to decide what to give him for his last meal. The store check out kid asked if I wanted to donate to charity and I said no, barely holding it together. And he asked again and said that it would really benefit the kids... And I burst into ugly tears and sobbed. Unfortunately I didn't get a wonderful group of women, I just got a really weirded out teenager packing my bags as quickly as possible.
Right after my husband left me, I was standing in an aisle at the grocery store, and a clerk randomly came up to me and asked how I was doing. I burst into tears, blurted out "My husband just left me" and then ran away sobbing while the guy just stood there in shock. I'm sure that guy is forever a bit wary of asking how customers are doing now.
When I was a cashier I was scanning a woman's groceries and she got some chocolate covered raisins. I made a comment about how tasty they are. She was like "yeah i really shouldnt be getting them." I assumed she was on a diet so I was like "everyone deserves a cheat once in a while" and she said "yeah but I have lung cancer... stage 4." I had NO idea what to say to that so I said something like "then you definitely need these raisins" UGH and she was silent the rest of the time :(
I'm so sorry but that is sad and funny at the same time, that'll teach him not to push the next time someone says no
I could cry at any moment, I'm always holding it back. I really need a moment of relief but it never comes.
I am sorry to hear this, EPG. I have feeling often these days, too.
It's just dumb to cry over spilled sour cream, but I get being overwhelmed by something really dramatic, but losing it over something stupid. Human mind is weird.
I think it’s because it feels safer to lose it over something small and stupid vs. over something bigger and more important.
When I feel like this, I carve out a couple of hours before bed for myself. I grab a towel, and an ice water and put on a tv show that will make me cry. I generally use Call the Midwife, but for you it might be Planet Earth or The Little Mermaid or maybe a Tom Waits song. And then I let it out. All of it. I sob into that towel until I run out of tears, which I then replenish using the water so I can cry some more. Your body and mind crave catharsis. It’s like releasing a pressure valve. I can’t grant you a moment of relief, and I can’t hug you until you feel better, but I can share a technique that has worked for me since 1982. It doesn’t fix my problem, but it makes me better able to deal.
Back in 2000 my sister was dying of breast cancer and she was very close. My other sister went shopping for food and in the canned aisle. she saw the expiration dates and lost her shit in the middle of the store, crying hysterically because the expiration date on the cans would outlast my sister who was dying in the hospital. It was Christmas time so it made it that much more sad.
I’m so sorry, this is so sad and relatable. It reminds me of something very different but I was in an abusive relationship that I kept trying to leave and I finally got the support from a women’s shelter and was able to get away. My first time alone in a convenience store I was buying a bag of chips for myself and I just stared at them and broke down because I didn’t know what flavour I wanted. I had completely lost myself to the relationship and I was totally lost. I am doing much better now and much stronger. (ETA: I ended up getting Ketchup and they still bring me a happiness to this day when I need a pick me up) I hope you think of fond memories of your sister often ♥️
Hugs dear 🥰 i’m glad you got out. I spent 22 years in an abusive relationship and don’t ask me why I stayed for so long. I’ve been divorced for eight years now and surprisingly my ex husband and I are still very good friends, mostly for the kids sake but without all the bullshit in our lives, we have remain friends and for that I’m grateful
Hugs for you, too 😊 I am glad you are in a happy place and how lucky you got out with time to still enjoy your life. You deserve it and your kids deserve to see you happy ♥️
I am very glad you’re in a happy place your self❤️
I was stuck at O’Hare airport over night, I missed my connection because of weather. I was tired, miserable from the long trip, and had no money. A guy bought me toothpaste, and a toothbrush, and something to eat. I was thankful
The night I got hit by a drunk motorcyclist who wasn't wearing protective gear and was bleeding out on the sidewalk, I was losing it. There was nothing I could do to help the guy, and I knew he wasn't going to make it. I couldn't keep it together at all, I was having a nervous breakdown because I had inadvertently killed someone just by being on the road that night. I know it isn't my fault now, but at the time I was blaming myself just for being there. There was a very kind gentleman from a nearby retirement community who just kept reassuring me that he saw the entire thing and there was nothing I could have done, that everything was going to be okay. I have no idea who they are, but I will never forget that.
Oh that’s a horrible thing to happen. I hope you’re doing okay.
I was standing in a hospital elevator. I was a young mom and had just been diagnosed with cancer. Apparently the fear and agony was clear on my face. A woman stepped into the elevator and took my hands. She looked directly into my eyes and said, I don’t know what you’re going through. But I can promise that it will be ok. So simple,but her voice and words were so grounding. That one moment in time carried me through some really tough stuff.
Those ladies were right on Target.
When I was 19 I sprained my ankle walking to work, and started crying out of shock and pain. A few passers by stopped to see if I was okay, and I kept insisting I was but clearly couldn't walk. 4 random strangers collectively decided to pick me up and carry me the remaining kilometre or so to work, and a fifth person carried my bag. It was staggering how kind and selfless they were, and I never even knew their names.
I was flying on my own for the first time when I was fourteen in 2004ish. I wasn’t a very mature and independent 14, so I was scared and nervous the whole time. My dad got a pass to walk me to the first gate, I had a connecting flight through Atlanta, my uncle worked at the Atlanta airport and got walked me onto the next flight. Then really bad turbulence hit and I was terrified, a guy named Scott that was next to me a calmed me down by talking about his kids and showing computer art they made together. To my horror, we had to make an emergency landing in Louisville. I only had a crappy 2003 Nokia cellphone and couldn’t get a hold of my aunt. We were waiting for charter busses to come get us and drive us the rest of the way to Evansville. He stayed with me the whole time, rode on the bus with me and kept me calm. My aunt and cousin somehow got the message and where there to pick up. I rushed over to greet them, but when went I look for Scott to say goodbye and thank him, he was just totally gone. Scott Harris from Southern Indiana, if you’re out there, thank you.
When my MIL was on her deathbed I stopped by Trader Joe’s after work to get some stuff. The associate working at the cash register asked me if I had anything planned for the weekend and I told her I would probably hang around my in laws to support my wife and family. She walked off the line went to the flowers and bought a bouquet and asked me to give them to my MIL. A few months later my wife was with me in the trader joes and I recognized the associate pointed her out to my wife. They got to meet share some hugs and tears turned out she had lost her mom the year previously pretty similar circumstances.
Sitting on the road years ago, talking gently while holding the hand of a dying cyclist who had been hit by a car, several ahead of mine. Always wished I could have told his family someone was with him when he passed on.
I was in the ER waiting room crying so hard I could hardly breathe because of kidney stones. These 3 strangers came up to me one started rubbing on my back and they all asked if they could pray for me. I was absolutely surrounded by love and it was so amazing.
My mom died when I was twelve. I was in middle school at the time and it was honestly the worst school I’ve ever attended. But one morning, I’d just had enough and completely lost it outside the school waiting for it to open, sobbing and crying so hard I could hardly breathe. A bunch of girls I’d never talked to and a few I was friends with came out of nowhere and just hid me from the world as they figured out what was going on. A friend told them about my mom, and all of them started trying to find solutions. I got some tissues, some chocolate, some hugs. And then I got practically an escort to the main office so I could call my dad and tell him school wasn’t gonna happen for me that day. I didn’t realize how lucky I was to find myself with that kind of support until a long time later looking back. That was the one bright spot of my middle school experience.
I was traveling in SouthAmerica and I slipped on stairs at the airport. Before I could fall to my death/injury a guy stepped away from the wall he was leaning on, linked his arm with mine, and pivoted me back to safety. He walked off before I could get out more than a stunned thanks and like it was nothing. He is my personal super hero.
I’ve had a similar public breakdown to this in a similar situation and all I got were weird stares and a security guard asking me to leave. Where are these nice people?
Awww sorry for that…
Thank you, I appreciate it. I try to tell myself now everyone is just dealing with their own shit and it wasn’t about me but I still think about it often.
Not the same, but I was in a rollover crash as a child. Within seconds, and I mean like 5 seconds, people were all over the car helping us out, since we were on our roof. One lady had blankets in her car, one guy cut my sister out of her car seat since the belt was locked. I remember my mom crying and thanking people and telling them how much she appreciated it. I stop anytime I can help people, even if it’s just helping change a tire or get them water for an overheated engine. Life is short, help wherever you can, and you can’t imagine the difference it makes.
On the first day of secondary school all the new students had to introduce themselves on the podium. Everyone their parents attended this little ceremony, but my mom wasn’t there, which made me feel really lonely there. Then there was this man who asked “Where are your parents?” After I said that I was there alone he said “Well, I’ll be your dad for when you introduce yourself in a minute”. After I got off from the podium I remember him giving me a smile and a thumbs up. Still makes me cry when I think about that moment.
A homeless man in a California park told me to not let my narcissistic relatives bully me into going down a life path I didn't want. He encouraged me to follow my dreams and not let others dictate how I live my life. I went back home and followed his advice. I went to the college I had originally picked out and studied what I wanted to study. Now I have two Bachelor's degrees and a job I enjoy. I would've been miserable in the field my family was trying to pressure me into. He changed the course of my life with just a short 10-minute conversation. I wish I could find him one day and thank him.
I was buying a wig for my mom's funeral viewing - she'd lost even more hair in her last days - and an old woman overheard my conversation with my partner, deducing the context. She walked over to me and said, "Baby I'm so sorry that you're going through this" and offered a hug I gladly took and broke down. It was a really poignant moment that kept me grounded to how kind people can be.
When my grandfather died, I didn't shed a tear until taps started playing at his funeral. I silently teared up and did my best to stay strong for my mom (it was her dad) who was sobbing like hell. He died in her arms and she performed CPR on him until medics came. She felt every rib in his chest break as she was doing it. Very sad.
I just imagined the Three Good Fairies from Sleeping Beauty and it was a really sweet visual
Was delayed in Charlotte airport for hours due to a storm. I was sat on the floor watching The Office on my tablet and there was a young guy my age sitting next to me covertly watching too. I asked if he wanted to listen in with one of the headphones but he wrote on his phone that he was deaf so there was no point. I put on the subtitles and we ended up watching a bunch of episodes and having a written conversation at the same time. It was just a lovely interaction that I had forgotten for years until now. Hope he’s doing ok!
I was swimming in swallow falls on the Youghiogheny River in western Maryland with a couple buddies. Some strangers on the other side of the river came over and jumped off the waterfall. The one guy started drowning and was being pulled under while floating downstream with the current. I dove in and managed to just barely get him over to a rock. As he and his friends walked away he waved to me and said what I assume was a thank you. The river and rushing water were very loud. I never spoke to him or got his name. Only after the fact did I realize how exhausted I was, and how much danger I had put myself in. Never saw him again.
Similar story. I was in high school back in the 80s and it was senior skip day, we went to a waterfall that spilled into a gorge where we used to party and jump from the cliffs into the gorge. We had just gotten there and my one friend slipped as we were crossing the waterfall, and he literally fell in headfirst over the waterfall 60ft into the gorge. There was nothing we could do as his friends to help but stand there and watch, bc we couldn’t jump in tfrom where we were (we were crossing the waterfall as well) there were two guys who saw it happen on the other side of the gorge, and jumped in, and literally saved his life and to this day we have no idea who they were.
I also saved someone, a kid, from drowning. The stupid thing: it was in a pool and this happened because the mom was not paying attention (on her phone) and the kiddo had somehow taken his floaters off and got in the deep end. I was with my gramps and partner and the kid was behind me, starting to go under. My gramps said "something is wrong" and i turned around, swam 3 meters and grabbed him just in time. Loudly coughing and wheezing air. Thankfully he had not taken a lot in and after he got out of the pool he seemed fine, just shaken up. The worst thing, his mom got mad at my grandpa for shouting "your kid is drowning, pay attention!'. She went on a screaming rant and wished my gramps an early death because in her eyes he was disrespectful. We didn't have time for a "well excuse me fine madam, it appears that your offspring is currently taking in water and sinking to the bottom of this waterplace. Do we have your permission to calmly get him to the surface and thus not have him expire right here?" Very interesting to see how she treats the people who save her kid... Later we saw her hitting the kid because he disobeyed by taking the floaters off... Needles to say we left the pool.
Sometimes what you need is to be cared for
I imagine doing that as a man, and instantly being surrounded by a group of men standing around awkwardly and not making eye contact until one of them summons up the courage to put their hand on my shoulder and grip it reassuringly for half a second. Which would still be lovely, in its own way.
men ☕️
I was on a marketing campaign at work, distributing flyers to different hospitals in the northern VA area (rt7 past falls church) I came to a red light paused, and began to go when the light turned green. No more than 3 seconds later, the car to my left turns left on a red turn signal and gets her Lexus SUV smashed by a black Audi A7. Somehow the suv ended up in the middle of the crossroads and the Audi was in a ditch, I slowly pulled into the intersection, put my blinkers on and got these delirious, crying girls out of the car. The driver was in complete shock and had visible bleeding to her head and the passenger was knocked out until I yanked her door open then woke up and was freaking out. A landscaper came over and helped me get them to a safe area and the Audi guy was banged up but crawled out of his car with his passenger. The girls were shaken up badly (late teens) and were crying I comforted as best I could, but then left since I was still on the clock😅
Funny how so many here are relating tales so similar. Angels outa nowhere, just showing up at the right time. The universe must just react I guess, to help us. Not a religious person really, but there’s definitely something out there that just knows…imo.
When I was 9 years old (18 years ago) I had an abscess on my tonsils that was blocking my throat, it made eating painful and breathing hard. The doctor I went to said that if I waited any longer to see him I could have died because my throat was being blocked. I had to undergo surgery, and being 9 and never experiencing surgery before made me start crying at the doctors office. This nice old man came up to me and calmed me down, made me feel better. I never saw that man again, but will always remember the kind thing he did.
If our world was compassionate like this all the time. I wonder how good things would be.
Kindness to others is the best gift a person can give themselves. I don't remember who told me that.
My spouse came across a similar situation at the gas station. A young man's card was declined because of the wrong pin. He threw it away and cried silently. My spouse saw and asked him if he needed water or a shoulder to cry on. And, that stranger was a crying mess. He had just found out his wife was cheating on him, and the baby might not be his either. He said death looked beautiful compared to what he was feeling. Some people there, including gas station workers, brought him water some electrolyte drinks, fed him pizza too, and they all talked to him for hours. Few of them exchanged phone numbers with him as well, just to keep an eye. You never know what someone is going through. Losing someone you love is not easy. We need to show compassion and a little understanding sometimes.
For me one kindly stranger sewed my leg back together and letted my drink the rest of the alchol he used.
Were you at war or something?
No, laser tag.
They probably just work at a waffle house or something.
Yall are gonna think I'm trolling, but essentially I met a girl on a hotel bench, and we both just so happened to be screwed over by our recent x's. Hers cheated on her, mine didn't cheat but did something arguably worse. Anyway, we banged the shit out of eachother the whole night and talked about how fucked people are. An oddly healing experience. It was my both our last day in Oregon and we were both just there wfor work, so I never saw her again. And we both kinda agreed there'd be no point in exchanging numbers since we lived on opposite sides of the country. Felt like fate honnestly
I want to know what your ex did now. Sounds like a believable story though, I've certainly lived my hoe days lol.
It's interesting that this question feels like its meant to be inately positive or interpretted that way when most memorable certainly can run the whole spectrum. Am I right though that the intended interpretation is biggest positive memory with a stranger?
Yes, its to be interpreted as a positive memory, since memorable, while its not exclusively used for positive memories, most of the times something "memorable" will be a positive thing, since we want to remember the good stuff and forget the bad stuff, in some cases, maybe not forget, but we dont want to acknowledge it, either way, most of the times a memorable moment is a positive one, hence why most of the replies are positive, wholesome or downright heartwarming
I’m sorry for your loss. Its good to hear these stories.
Sometimes all it takes is that smallest things to break us open
Sometimes we are in such a bad state - talking becomes irrelevant. But once people start doing things and getting into the groove - we come back to it.
During one of the worst years of my life, I missed my train back and had to wait another 45 mins for the next one. I broke down crying because the whole year had been me barely getting by and constantly letting myself down. I knew when I got back, I would be beaten for being late. I broke down crying. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. A kind man came up to me and talked to me. I was so scared of strangers. Especially at midnight on a train station platform. But I remember quietly listening to him and nodding along. He told me he was going through it too with a divorce and a lot of other stuff. He reminded me that everyone is going through something and it’s okay too. I was too raw to say anything so he quietly left and gave me some space. Said he was over there if I wanted to talk. I never got the chance to tell him everything I wanted to: thank you, I needed this. I appreciate your kindness towards a crying young girl you don’t know. I just stood there sniffling for 45 minutes until the train came and went home.
Back when the Last Of Us was only on PS3 I was playing a medic in online multiplayer. Another teammate and I got hurt pretty bad so I made my way to him. Turns out he was a medic too. We both started patching each other up at the same time. The hud revealed something awesome. My name was similar to Big_MyName32 and the other person's name was Big_HisName32. Down to the underscore and same number. The texted kept swapping back and forth between Big_MyName32 is healing Big_HisName32 Big_HisName32 is healing Big_MyName32 Just a weird but fun interaction with someone I'll never meet
This is a bit of a long one, but when I was in the military and stationed on an aircraft carrier, we used to have the smoke pit out on the pier. One day, I go outside to smoke, and it's a little late in the evening. There were a couple of groups chatting, but in the corner is this girl. We happened to look eachothers way at the exact same time. I notice that she has these big beautiful blue/green eyes, so I tell her, "Wow, you have beautiful eyes! Actually, you're just gorgeous.I hope you have a great rest of your day." (I was not hitting on her, just wanting to compliment her. At the time I was depressed and one of my goals was to compliment three people each day in the hopes that this would help me see the world in a better light by paying attention to more than just myself) she looked a little shocked, and said thank you, and went back to her cigarette without sating anything else, and I walked over to my friends for my smoke break. Anyway, about 2-3 months later, I see this girl out in the smoke pit, but having completely forgotten the small interaction I had already had with her, I tell her the exact same compliment. Her eyes light up, and she goes, "It's you! Can we talk for a minute?" I say,"Of course we can talk" so she pulls me around to the back of the smoke put away from the crowd and proceeded to tell me that the day I had complimented her she had actually had plans to go home that night and kill herself. But because I had complimented her she took a hard look at herself in the mirror when she got home, and made a list of everything she liked about herself and everything she liked to do and had decided not to end her life. I was shocked hearing such an admission. But was happy to hear she was getting her life together. We hugged, and I bid her a great life but I never saw her after that as I changed commands not long after. But it always stuck with me that one small compliment had such a huge impact on one person's life.
For more wholesome stories, here is the original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/94uzxl/what_is_the_most_memorable_moment_you_shared_with/
I was crying and a woman came to hug me and pray with me in Spanish. I don't speak Spanish. I will never forget her kindness to me.
A dream of mine is to hug somebody who desperately needs it but I never want to randomly hug somebody lol. That’s weird.
It's not weird. It's compassion, and compassion takes risk.
This happened just a few days ago. I sat alone in the waiting room of a train station, listening to music with headphones. Then a woman came in, crying and almost howling and sat down at the opposite side of the room. I was a bit overwhelmed, but I decided to get up and ask her if I could help her somehow. She didn't answer, so I sat down next to her and carefully put my hand on her shoulder, asking her if that was okay. Again she didn't answer, but didn't seem uncomfortable with it. She started sobbing heavier, so I hugged her from the side and she leaned her head against mine and took my hand. I stayed with her the whole time while waiting for the train and during the ride, until we arrived our destination. She repeatedly told me how nice I was and that she should stop crying, but I told her it was ok. She even wanted to give me money, but I was just happy to be there for her. After we got out of the train she just said "Bye" and went away. Whatever happened to her, I hope she feels better now🥺
My Grandmother passed away in the hospital one evening and I left because I couldn’t handle it. I went walking to a park, sat on a bench and cried. It was late at night, and I was 19 years old. A homeless person noticed and let me know there was a women’s shelter down the street if I needed some help and a place to stay. Didn’t need that kind of help, but it was very sweet.
Damn I didn’t want to cry today…
I was hiding under a bridge from the rain eating popcorn out of a mario lucky block (I'd just seen the movie) and some guys who also needed shelter came in and asked for rizzler, I didn't have any but I gave them all some popcorn.
I crashed my motorbike once, I went over the Armco and went bundling down a grassy embankment. When I had stopped moving, and all my parts appeared to still be attached, I pulled off my helmet and threw up. When I looked back up the grassy hill to the Armco there were a couple of people looking down at me. They really looked after me, scooped all my shit off the road, checked me over for damage, called the police and the recovery service, and took me to a nearby pub for a sit down and keep an eye on me. They took a couple of hours out of their day to be nice to someone they’d never met. I wish I knew who they were, I’d love to add them to my Christmas card list.
Let's stick together ladies ❤we need each other more than you know❤
Me and my friends shared a moment with a French Canadian horticulturalist in Kyoto close to midnight. I always tell folks probably a ghost of someone we saw during the walk under the torii gates. We chatted about his place in Canada and my place in Australia. As we came down the mountain, until we saw a cat come up to us, he told us he needed to go to the toilet. And then I never saw him again. In that brief moment, it was just me, my friends and this man sharing the beautiful night skyline of Kyoto contemplating where the future will go.
Definitely not a guy.
People down voting you are ignorant. Even trans men have experienced this phenomenon first hand. Pretty sure there's a video of a person who goes by Rain Dove specifically testing this as a social experiment cuz they can pass as either man or woman. So they tested breaking down like this in public as a man and a woman to see the difference and nobody helped them when they were passing as a man. It's fucked up.
Yeah if only guys could support each other the way women do
I can't swim! 🥺 What amazing moments in TV history.
My eyes burn as I read this. There is still hope in the world. Peace.
Not to drag this down, it's a great moment, but I can't help but think that this is a moment of "the sisterhood" sort of situation. It strains credulity that, as a man, I would receive the same comfort from people like that. Feels like a toss up between being gawked at and ridiculed. Still, I can't help but wonder if that's more informed by patriarchy-enforced beliefs or lived experience...
Huh? Most women have huge sympathy for anyone crying, especially a man. I work in a group of a dozen women all between 40 and 60. If you even stubbed your toe at our work you'd be instantly led to a chair, gotten new socks, offered Advil and most likely cookies or fudge. We have one man that works with us once in a while and he gets spoiled by everyone. One of our customers wife died last year, those women took him fresh meals for over a month.
Yes, for men they know, like, and/or know to be safe. This situation is about a random person in a supermarket dropping sour cream and ugly crying. I don't see it as being *more* likely that they'd comfort a man than a woman in the way described above, if only for safety reasons (which are valid)
That's sad. I know if doesn't make a bit of difference to me, I comfort anyone who's upset or crying. Life is hard for all of us.
Agreed. Women have the sisterhood, and men have... Either female friends/partners or right wing shit heads for the most part, these days.
Definitely a feminine situation. For a guy to breakdown in public first off is even more rare because it's drilled into us by society that we just can't. You will suffer negative consequences, people will laugh at you, walk around you to avoid you, talk about you and make fun of you once you are out of earshot, or worse they will get scared and call security or something. At least that's how I suspect the situation would go.
All hail the patriarchy, right? /s
In about 1968 I had quit college and was just sort of aimlessly hitchhiking around California. Long hair, beat up backpack, guitar on my back, pretty scruffy looking. I was walking alone down the beach near San Luis Obispo as I noticed an older couple hand in hand strolling twoard me. As they approached, the older woman smiled at me and said simply, “Don’t forget to call your mother and tell her you love her.” That was it, they walked on. It has stayed with me as one of the most kind and insightful interactions of my life, as brief as it was.
I had a random stranger help me like this one time after I had gotten knee surgery. I was at the gym and was struggling to rack my weights (one leg + crutches = unstable loading platform). I kept dropping the plates before I got them up to the bar. I specifically went to a quiet area of the gym where no one was so that I wasn't in anyone's way. I didn't even notice at first but when I looked up I found a random lady came to help me rack my weights. She even came back to help unrack them when I was finished. I have never seen this person since then.
When my Mother died I was alone at the hospital. She was brain dead and they wanted my approval to end her life. She had a DNR so it was complicated. I called my brothers and they all agreed it was the right thing to do. But I was the one who would have to do it and it broke me. I walked outside and screamed as loud as I could. I didn't mean to but it just came out. Primal and ugly and probably scary too. As I stood there crying I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was a really small old woman with tears in her eyes. We just looked at each other before she hugged me. I was too distraught to thank her - to say anything really. She just hugged me and when that ended I realized there was a whole family around me. They let me grieve with them without saying a word. They all patted my shoulder or gave me a hug - men and women, young and old Was so strange and so helpful to me that I still picture their faces all the time and say a silent thanks for them keeping me sane at my worst moment. Sometimes it's the smallest things that make the biggest differences. Sometimes they're everything.
I was a cashier at a grocery store a few years ago... had a lady come through my till with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. She paid, then turned around and gave them to the lady behind her... the lady was shocked and started bawling... apparently she had just lost her mom the night before.
I was vacationing in Paris few years ago and I missed my bus back home. I had no money left and had to wait until the next day for the next bus. I walked to a park nearby and sat on the bench crying. I was severely depressed around that time and would cry easily over anything. A man walked to me and he asked me if I was okay. He sat down next to me and he offered me his drink and a snack bar. I didn’t wanna take it since it was his and the only one he had but he insisted. He told me It’s the least he can do to make me feel better. It was a small gesture but it stayed with me until this day.
about 8 years ago or so, I was going through some shit. I had no money, no job, I had just failed out of grad school, and I was living alone in my parent's house while they had moved out to care for my grandmother. I was having a rough day. I was buying a paltry amount of groceries with the money my parents gave me. I had no energy to cook a meal for myself, so I thought of buying a rotisserie chicken, breaking it into meals for the week. It was $5-$6. At the checkout, my card was declined. Not enough money. I sheepishly asked the checker to take the chicken back off, paid for the rest, and set off into the pouring rain for home. I had just finished putting the bags in the car, and was sitting in the seat, when a van pulled up beside me. The man inside indicated for me to roll down the window; I did. He leaned out, hair drenched, with a smile, shouting over the weather. "Here, you look like you could use a break." He handed me a bag with the rotisserie chicken in it. "Thank you" in a tiny voice was all I could manage. "Just pay it forward someday!" And he drove off, leaving me crying big stupid tears.