Who do you remember from your past who would have no idea that they'd been memorable to you?

[halexanderamilton]

I saw a lollipop lady this morning and it made me remember the lovely lollipop lady from my primary school who was so friendly and fun and remembered all the children's names. I obviously don't know but I'm guessing she's passed on now, not knowing how she had affected me and most likely lots of other people. I am 52 now and I have remembered her with fondness. It made me wonder if there was anyone who will still remember me in 45 years when I'm gone, other than close family, obviously.

What random person can you remember with pleasure from your past who wouldn't know that you remembered them?

A lady in Marks and Spencers food hall who somehow seemed to notice I was not ok (depressed and on the verge of tears and had just had a miscarriage). She asked me if I was ok, and I tried to smile and say yes, but my face just crumbled and tears rolled down my cheeks. She gave me a hug and said she hoped I would be ok. That little act of concern and kindness nearly 30 years ago meant so much.

A man who once found me being sick and having dirrehoa on the street both at once. I'd literally been walking along feeling a bit odd when it started both ends at once. Everyone else waked past me.

He wiped my face and jumper up with his hanky took me to a public toilet and told me to wait in a cubicle. It seemed the most logical thing to me as I sat there festooned in paper towels vomiting and shitting away. Fifteen minutes later a pack of M &S knickers, some wet wipes and a packet of mints were slid under the door and a voice said "hope you feel better soon, sorry can't hang about in the ladies" and he'd gone.

Never saw him again, never knew his name and cant even remember what he looked like but still exceedingly grateful to him 24 years down the line.

I put a multipack of knickers in the foodbank box every year as a memory to him!

Oh I like this thread!
I have a few. Once on the last day of our holiday 250 miles away from home I realised I'd lost my purse and almost run out of diesel. Retraced my steps, found someone who had indeed found my purse but who had handed it in the the police station 20 miles away as it was the closest one. I was in the middle of nowhere with no money and not enough diesel to get my purse back. This was before the days of Apple Pay. I didn't have a clue what to do and was walking back to my car when a lady must have seen the state of me came up and asked if I was ok. I told her what had happened, she rushed back into her house and came out with £40 cash and her address gave me a hug and sent me on my way.
The other one was a nurse who after the rather long and traumatic birth of my dd (coincidently 13 years ago today) came and sat with me while I tried and failed to feed her whilst completely delirious. Her kind patience made such a huge difference to me.

My parents used to foster children when I was at Primary School. There were two children in particular who were lovely little kids, toddlers when I was about 8/9. There was a boy called Billy and a little girl called Tanya. I often think of them and wonder what happened to them and hope they ended up having happy lives, I worry they didn't .

The man who gave me his burger box to catch my daughters excessive vomit in when she was suffering from heat stroke and I was not knowing what to do! He must have been really put off his burger bless him!

When I was about 12 my friends and I were out for day and we're getting some photo booth photos done. The machine swallowed our coins and we were gutted.

A man gave us a fiver - told us to enjoy our day and disappeared. It seemed such an extraordinarily generous gesture.

The colleague who spent a lunch break helping me practice parking. I hadn’t long passed my driving test and we had the worst car park ever for parking in, so I used to park a few streets away. He asked me why I didn’t park at work, and when I explained he spent the whole hour with me practicing getting in & out of spaces over and over again until I was confident. He was so kind & patient, I was really upset to read a few years later on Facebook that he had died of cancer.

What a wonderful thread, it's making my daughter's eyes roll though, because it's giving me the weepies!

I've got a few.

When I ruptured my liver, I instinctively knew something really serious had happened. My friend raced down to my other friends house. My other friend's Dad raced down, and carried me to my mother's car, having called her. If I'd walked, I'd have died. I wish I'd thanked my friend and my other friend's Dad properly.

The guy who took me under his wing after my boss at the work party was groping and mauling me, and made sure I was okay.

The two young guys who took me to my friend's house after the most appalling argument with my mother, which ended up with me rushing out without shoes in the middle of winter in tears, with no phone.

The midwife (Alison) who sensed my distress at how badly breastfeeding was going and would come and sit with me for every feed, even in her breaks, encouraging me, helping me and the babe latch on. I think it's one of the reasons I'm one of the few in my family who have been able to successfully breastfeed.

The midwife as I went under general anaesthetic for a crash c section. The last thing I heard was her telling everyone in the room my babies names, which we had discussed earlier in the night. I went to sleep knowing someone was on my side because my DH wasnt allowed in theatre. I like to think she knows what a tremendous difference she made as I wrote to the hospital to thank all the staff but I wrote specifically to her individually as well.

First that springs to mind was a GP receptionist (yes really!!)

I was pregnant again following a miscarriage and had happily made my booking in appointment with the community MW. Sadly had a second miscarriage (happened on the Friday over a long weekend. I was still pretty early gestation but had made my booking in appointment in good faith etc)

I rang to cancel and the receptionist gently asked why I was needing cancel. She cancelled my MW appointment and said that she would make me a GP appointment, just to check I was physcially ok (I'd told her I was getting negatives), she suggested I attend even if it was just to have my loss "on file"

She was right, I went on to have a 3rd miscarriage and was referred for recurrent miscarriage testing much earlier than had I never seen the Dr and had my second miscarriage recorded.

It was the whole act if her taking charge but in a very respectful way? I was flustered and didn't quite know what to do so this lady gave me direction when I needed it.

Never actually thanked her either. It was a self check-in when I got to appointment and reception was busy etc.

I suspect she had suffered miscarriages herself or had someone close who had and or she was just bloody good at her job!!

Sitting on the hair salon, faffing with my hair in the mirror not sure if I liked the cut. The woman in the next chair looked at me and said 'it must be so nice to look in the mirror and see someone so pretty.' I'd been feeling glum at the thought of turning fifty but she put a smile on my face for the rest of the week

I've had a shocker of a day today. This thread is making me feel a bit better. There is kindness in the world still. This is why I love MN still.

The midwife who spent time helping me learn how to breastfeed my first dc.

The Macmillan volunteer who, 20 mins after my dp went for surgery - asked if there was anything I needed - I said a hug - and she gave me the most needed hug of my life, followed by the best cup of tea ever.

The lady in London Marathon 2018 who was running for a testicular cancer charity with a cock and balls hat on - we had a brief, breathless chat at about mile 18 - gave me the strength to carry on

My geography teacher who fostered a lifelong love of this planet we inhabit.

Off to name change now..

A friend of my Nan’s. They’d met at the bingo and she gave Nan a lift many times, popped round to see her when Nan was too ill to go any longer. Nan was 81 and I think she would have been in her 50s.

She came to her funeral even though she’d never met any of us and they had no mutual friends (although I think she’d spoken to my mum on the phone.). Afterwards she came up to me and said “you must be Hat, your Nan talked about you a lot. She loved you.”

Never saw her again, wouldn’t know her if I saw her but would like her to know what her words meant to me.

When I had DD, my first baby, I was in hospital for three days after an EMCS. Unfortunately I didn’t meet any nice midwives, but I will always remember the HCA who told me how lovely I was with DD and gave a brand new, shell shocked and utterly exhausted mum some much needed confidence.

The student doctor who offered to hold my hand while the doctor rather brutally decided to try draining my breast abcess without anaesthetic (it really hurt and it didn’t work, I needed surgery).

A woman senior to me at work, who was always fairly tough on me (on most people tbf), and I always felt like she thought I was a bit of an idiot. I was offered a specialist position at one point and it came up that it was her who had recommended me and given several examples of work I’d done in this area that had impressed her. I was really touched and I’m really grateful to her.

A girl I made friends with during the first few weeks of uni. I have Aspergers and really struggle to make friends so stuck with her. She changed courses and went to a different uni three weeks in and I never heard from her again (pre email or mobile). I never made another friend in the three years I was there. Not one. I'm not even sure I spoke to anyone.

But I always remember the three weeks she was my friend and I still have the mix tape she made me! So Zoëy if you're reading this, hello!

Back to the 1960s, when most adults smoked, and I, an impressionable 15 year old working-class kid, literally did not know any adults who didn't smoke.....it was what you were expected to do ! Anyone who didn't smoke was thought to be a bit of a wimp. I got a summer job (£10 a week) in a cloth warehouse in Manchester. working alongside a 26 year old guy called Jim. Bit of a Jack the lad character, confident, funny, liked a bet (and women); I admired him - he was the first adult I'd ever known, who didn't smoke.....I thought wow, you can be like that, and not to smoke ! So I never did. Often wondered what became of him, maybe never made it out of that warehouse ( I went on to University etc.). But what an effect he had on my life.

When I was training as a nursery nurse in a school and wasn't allowed in the staff room on breaks so had to stand in the nursery kitchen to eat my lunch. One of the classroom assistants used to join me and she was so nice to me. She must have realised how isolated I must have felt and wanted to keep me company.

These stories are making me cry! So lovely

There are a number of people I’ve met on holidays, nights out etc. that stick in my mind. For example on holiday as a teenager I got talking to a girl the same age. A song came on by the pool and she got a upset as it was the favourite song of a friend who had died not long before. Whenever I hear that song I think of her, years later. I’m sure she has no recollection of me at all.

There was also a random bloke I chatted to briefly while waiting at a bar. As I was leaving the pub he ran over and said “I just have to tell you, you’re absolutely beautiful” then walked away again. I’d just been dumped, my confidence was in my boots, and he made me feel so much better. He wasn’t sleazy and made no attempt at getting my number or anything.

On the other hand, a few years ago I was dealing with someone at work. Ordinary bloke, routine appointment. We had a nice chat during which I ended up telling him about a small charity I was involved with. The charity had some connection to why he was at the appointment, though wouldn’t have benefitted him in anyway. Around a year later the treasurer of the charity (a colleague) told me that the man had died and named the charity as a benefactor of his estate. It was a huge amount of money. I find it absolutely mind blowing that, while I could remember the man when I thought back, the appointment was so routine to me and yet obviously made an impact on him. The donation has helped a huge amount of people and I will always remember him.

A guy a couple of years ahead of me at school. He was always kind to me when others weren't. I looked him up recently as he's become very successful in orthotics.

To the wonderful midwives who delivered my baby boy safely.
When I thought I really couldn't do it anymore without a c section they kept me reassured that in fact I can do it I'm just a very tired pushing mummy.
Also the midwife who broke my waters and stayed with me for a bit afterwards. She knew I didn't want to do it without my mum and waited with me right up until my mum came into the delivery room even though she was needed in induction suite. I never asked her to but she knew I was scared and wanted my mum. She took the place of my mum for that time she was with me and I'll forever be grateful

When DS2 was a baby he had so many things wrong with him, we were in and out of hospital. But among all the easily identifiable ones (hole in the heart, hydrocephalus, scoliosis) the one I worried about most was that he just refused to eat. he was skeletally thin, like babies on charity ads and I was beside myself with worry but whenever I asked about it i was brished off with 'he;s just small' (he was off the centile charts - below 0%) One day I was waiting for the heart specialist to come back with some x-rays. He hadn't taken more than 30ml of expressed milk for days and I was insane with worry. I walked out into the hospital corridor and accosted a man in a white coat rushing past. I screamed: my baby won;t eat and no one is taking any notice.'
He told me he wasn't working in ths department but saw how distressed I was and he came in, examined DS and told me he had reflux. I'd never heard of it. It wasn't even mentioned in baby books in those days. When the heart specialist came back he asked her to add ranitidine to DS's prescriptions. DS started eating from that day on. I think that doctor saved his life and he was just walking through the department on his way somewhere else.

I have 2 teachers.

One was my english teacher. He created a love of reading within me.

The other was my form tutor. She asked me to stay back one morning as we were leaving registration. She simply said 'you arent ok are you?' It was the first time anyone had ever said they noticed. I disnt really tell her what the problem was, but having her ask and check in time to time made me feel that someone cared. Never had that before.

She came into the resturant my, then, husband owned and I was stunned. We chatted and she said she felt she should have done more. I told her she made my poor childhood better.

The most significant one was when I worked in large local hotel when i was 17/18. In the staff corridors i remember a very tall lad who looked a bit pissed off walking the opposite way. I though he was hot. A few weeks later I was asked to go work in the bar as someone had left. That was that but ove the years he popped I to my head from time to time. No idea why.

Nearly 15 years later I split with my husband and had to flee the property. I went and stayed with a friend. She mentioned her brother was coming to visit. I met him and knew I recognised him, neither of us could think where from. Anyway, we became friends and a few months later he asked for some help with his CV, when I looked at it I realised he worked in the same hotel at the same time I did. Turns out he was the hot guy from the corridor that I always remembered. We have now been together 2 years and it's by far the best relationship I have ever had.

Its like he stuck in my head for a reason.

Sorry, posted to soon. Obviously dp knows, now, that I thought of him. But no clue in the intervening time between the corridor and us meeting.