Has a random act of kindness stayed in your memory forever?

[CrushWithEyeliner]

Once when I was 21 I was on the tube going home after work when I suddenly felt really really awful and had to get off the train. I wandered up to the ticket barrier when a guard saw me and asked me if I was OK. I was feeling so faint I couldn't even talk I just said I felt sick. He then took me into the back room where he and his colleagues made me sweet tea, toast and talked to me for ages until I felt better then called me a cab home, they were really concerned.

I know it sounds really silly but I have never forgotten how sweet they were to me and how much better I felt for it and it was so long ago and such a little thing - does anyone have any similar experiences?

[policywonk]

I was once walking down a street (in Brixton), and a woman carrying a massive bunch of flowers was coming the other way. As we passed, she just said 'Here, have these' and put them in my hands. I was mighty chuffed. She, on the other hand, looked very cross, so my guess was that they were an unwanted bunch from some worthless male. Very much appreciated by me though!

[ChorusLine]

DS was about 6 weeks and was in BHS cafe and the queue was huge and i started to cry (yes i know) a staff member who was tidying up saw me made me sit down and gave me waitress service - then i cried some more. Shepherds pie never tasted so great through salty tears!!!!!

[snowleopard]

I was cycling home from a fruit-picking holiday when I was 17 (very stubborn, independent and stupid) and it started pissing down and I headed for a Little Chef to shelter... but on the way up the road to it I passed a caravan and a group of squaddies invited me in! - they had an older leader with them so I figured it was OK (verrry naive) but it was ok - they gave me hot beans on toast and the return half of a train ticket that would get me almost all the way home. They were doing a sponsored walk from John O'Groats to Land's End and didn't need the return.

They were so nice and I was such a lefty militant type who thought all soldiers were bastards. Taught me a lesson.

[Remotew]

I was in a queue at a cafe and a lady in front of me didnt get a tray and was struggling with cups and plates. I just went a got her a tray and she gave me a little laminated poem about kindness. She was obviously religious and I kept it in my purse. I thought it was so sweet argh.

[ivykaty44]

The lady in Porlock who lent me and my partner her mini to go and get my car from cloutsham. I had never met her before and she didn't know me from adam yet gave me her car keys and said off you go.

So if you are that lady in Porlock who was working in the hotel that afternoon - ooo about 12/13 years ago thank you very much

[OrmIrian]

When I broke down on the main road through town - rush hour, chucking it down with rain, 3 DCs in car - on the way to CMs with youngest 2 DCs and then on to school for DS#1 and work for me. Blocked a lane of a budy road and got a bit of beeping and yelling for my trouble . I hadn't a mobile at the time so was about to go to the nearest store (B&Q) to ask to borrow their phone when man (with daughter)in car stopped and towed me all the way to the CMs house. Then took me and DS#1 to school and took me back to CMs house to wait for recovery vehicle. Wonderful man! It makes me keener to do thing for others when you know how kind others can be.

[NutterlyUts]

Aged 11, lost at the big secondary school. A 6th former saw me looking like a rabbit in a headlights, stopped to ask if he could help, and directed me to the playground. Never forgotten that, even though it wasn't anything big.

[avenanap]

I was working in a pub when I found out I was pregnant. My boyfriend had just dumped me, I was living in student acommodation and was in debt. A customer who came in every day saw me in another pub and brought my lunch. Then he gave me a blank cheque and told me I could cash it for anything up to 1k. I was so shocked. No one has ever done anything nice for me before. I cried for ages. It helped me so much.

There are some really lovely people out there, I hope that lovely things happen to them back.

[discoverlife]

Was in a new town, flat broke at the meat counter trying to figure out if i could afford some liver (Yes I was that broke, just moved house). When a complete and utter stranger came up to the counter and bought a joint of beef, then turned around to me and said. 'You look like you could do with this more than me' shoved it into my bemused hands and he walked away.

[jammydodger]

I was in Korea, backpacking, aged 22, on my own. Got off the train at the wrong stop, so ended up in this tiny little town with no English signs and noone who spoke English. I needed a place to stay for the night, as it was getting late and couldn't find a hotel, I was starting to panic quite a lot. I asked everyone I passed "hotel?" but noone spoke any English at all.

In desperation I stopped in at a garage and this group of 5 mechanics were there playing cards. I gestured to them that I needed somwhere to sleep, said "hotel" - a few of them laughed, etc...I was really desperate. One of them led me back onto the road, stopped a taxi, gave the taxi driver some of his own money and said something to him in Korean. Gestured to me to get in. I got in (on my own, bloke stayed at the garage)..and the taxi driver took me to a lovely hotel down a little lane which I would never have found in a million years.

I'll never forget that man. What a star.

[Sidge]

Nearly got arrested in San Francisco when travelling round after doing Bunacamp. We had booked a motel room for the 4 of us (as they all had 2 big beds) but the manager said only 2 of us could have the room - no idea why as the rooms were charged by the room not per person.

We disputed it with him so called the police - cue 2 scary American cops complete with snarling dogs, nightsticks, guns etc! We got our money back and left (could't afford 2 rooms) and were in effect stranded on the highway at nearly midnight.

A woman was coming back to the Holiday Inn over the road and had seen the commotion and was disgusted with the manager and police, so paid for us to have 2 rooms in the Holiday Inn and bought us breakfast too!!

A lovely lady whose name and face I can still remember - and this happened in 1991!

[ghosty]

When DS was 6 weeks old he was rushed to hospital with suspected meningitis. He was under observation during the day and they decided to keep him in overnight. DH went home and I stayed with DS. By 10pm his temperature was still going up and up and he was getting really poorly so they decided to do a lumbar puncture. I was beside myself, called DH to get him to come back to the hospital, and then stood in the hallway sobbing - I was terrified.
A lovely lovely lady just came up to me, took me in her arms and cuddled me like I was a child. She then took my hand and led me to the kitchen where she made me a cup of tea and let me sob on her shoulder while she patted my back and soothed me. DS didn't end up having Meningitis (thank god) and I never found out the lady's name ... I thought she was a volunteer or a helper of some kind. But I found out later that she was a parent and her baby had never left the hospital after birth and was never likely to leave
I hope so much that where ever she is in the world she is being rewarded for her kindness. I will always be grateful to her. She was an angel.

[ivykaty44]

Oh and one of the mums at school asked me if I wanted her old car cos they were going to take it to the scrap heap? Mine had broken down and I was 7 months pg and needed a car to get to the hospital to visit my mum.

That was such a lovely thing to do I loved that car - speedo didn't work it jumped around between 20 miles per hour and 60! had no interio light but it was great.

[snowleopard]

Oh yours has made me cry ghosty! What a great thread.

[rantinghousewife]

Was on a train with ds, who was about 2 at the time and he was playing up big style. Some woman was getting the right hump with me 'Can't you stop that child crying!'. And I burst into tears, some lovely lady took pity on me, she calmed ds down, bought me a cup of tea from the buffet car and sat and kept ds occupied whilst I snivelled into my tea. If anyone knows her, can they tell her he managed to grow up ok

[lisalisa]

Message withdrawn

[cocolepew]

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[AnotherFineMess]

Excellent thread cwe.

I have been overwhelmed by how kind people have been when I've been out, struggling with 2 under 2. The most unlikely looking people have carried buggies down steps, carried trays, rearranged themselves on buses to give me more room and just said the loveliest things about my children, me and breastfeeding.

I also had a thunderbolt a couple of weeks ago - DH and I have a special anniversary coming up and wanted to book a weekend away - really couldn't afford it but booked it anyway and walloped it on the credit card. The very day after we'd booked we got a cheque theough the post from old friends who we haven't seen for years for the EXACT amount of the weekend away. We hadn't told a soul how much it cost - how incredible is that!!!

[cocolepew]

Sorry, I had written a post but the bloody computer seems to have eaten it.

[sagacious]

Fifteen years ago
A traindriver who found me passed out drunk at the end of the line at 1.30am, threw me over his shoulder (literally) and stuck me in his cab, found out which station I should have been at and dropped me into a cab then getting back in his train to go all the way back to where he should have dropped the train in for cleaning.

I remember him saying he'd get a bollocking for doing it but he had a daughter a similar age.

Bless him

[PollyPentapeptide]

When I was 17, I did my first journey alone in a recently purchased old banger down the M25 to go to a friends house. About 20 minutes into the journey, I broke down on the hard shoulder. I had no money, no phone and no idea what the hell to do and it was pissing down - obviously!!!

A big scary, hairy trucker pulled over and offered to take me to my friends house and arranged to get the car towed. He could see that I looked quite nervous about acepting a lift from a stranger but basicaly told me there was no way he was lwaving me there on my own.

So I got into the cab of his truck and he phoned his 70 year old mum on his mobiile so that I could chat to a friendly women and not feel so scared!

So thank you to Bryan the trucker and Edna his lovely mum who calmed me down and told me some very saucy jokes to take my mind off things

[staryeyed]

Well when I was much younger about 7 or 8, I was a bit of a tomboy and a bit of a dare devil. I climbed a tree and my brother said I should cross the branches to get to another tree. Having no common sense I agreed. I got stuck in the middle of the two trees on the flimsiest branches and froze too scared to go either way. This really nice man passed and asked if I was ok. My brother explained what happened and he rushed to get his ladder and climbed up and got me down.

[lucylala]

aww, am loving this thread - more please!!

My is sad but nice...

Last year I was in hospital with suspected miscarriage. I ended up in gyny ward just 'waiting' for the miscarriage to happen over a couple of days. The other women in there were all in their 50/60's and were having.

On the morning I lost the baby, it was really early, staff were lovely but basically said I could get dressed and go home. I was standing behind my curtains round the bed, desperately not wanting to make a sound when the one of the other women stuck her head in and just said 'oh love'....and held her arms out...I burst into tears and she just held me and stroked my hair and then one of the other women went and got me a cup of tea...it was lovely - like having a load of mums looking after me! Made me think 'aww, aren't women brilliant!'

[lucylala]

just thought of another one...

I went to London for first time, on my own, and was trying to get across london on the tube at rushour. I had no idea what I was doing and it seemed total mayhem.

A tube pulled up and everyone piled on and I was waiting my turn on the platform politley (didn't realise it was every man for himself).

I must have been looking a bit confused and dithery cos all at once I felt a huge hand on the back of my collar and I was literally dragged onto the tube as the doors shut. It was a man in a suit who just decided to help me 'assert' myself!

What a star!