Strangers who's lives have touched yours, do you wonder where they are now?

[BloodyAdultDC]

I witnessed a proposal late on Valentine's Day a few years back, in Paternoster Square near St Paul's - hardly anyone around, I often think of them and how their lives have panned out. I was a mumsnet wedding witness a few years back, never heard from the bride or groom since, wonder how telling their family went. Also the midwife who supported me overnight when I finally sussed bf, I wonder if she really knew what an impact she had on us both. Many many others too.

Does anyone ever think about those kinds sliding door moments, and wonder how they're doing now?

To the woman who works in security at Leeds Bradford airport who recognised I was struggling with a teen with panic disorder and needed it to be as quick a process as possible. I thank you your insight, care and attention helped immensely.

-I was getting the tube home late from work one night and it was just me and an elderly man in the carriage. As I was approaching my stop, he said "work will still be here when you're dead". It was the wake up call I needed and I found a new job shortly after.

This thread has made me all tearful for some reason!

When I was a child my friend and I were bored at the local park so we knocked on a door to find out the time. A lovely elderly lady answered, told us and when we said thank you she said we could come back any time and ask. I think she must’ve been lonely and I often think about it. I can’t even remember if I did go back again

There have been a few but one that is still on my mind happened recently. The trains had been cancelled at Euston and we crossed to get a bus to Paddington, there was an older lady looking lost and worried, she had come down from Birmingham to look after her daughters cat, her daughter was a florist and was working almost round the clock with it being Christmas and couldn't drop her at the station. The lady had no idea where to go to get another train to the Midlands and was really worried has she had diabetes and didn't have much more insulin. The poor love just burst into tears, i gave her a hug and got her on the right track. Every day since then i have woken up and wondered about her and hope and prayed she got home ok.

When I was still at university I volunteered to train as a Mental Health First Aider. The very first person I was called to see was a first year who wanted to end her own life. She told me that May 9th was the anniversary of both her parents passing, and she wanted to do it then, to be with them again. I phoned an ambulance as she had a clear plan and had been giving away her things (signs we were trained to look for) and I stayed with her until they arrived. I was with her for about 6 hours, and wasn’t ever able to follow up. I looked out for her for the rest of my time there just to see if she was okay, but never saw her again. I think about her every May 9th, and desperately hope she feels better.

A guy that I did CPR on. I was with him for a good 20 mins and he had a pulse a couple of minutes after the paramedics arrived. I was staring at his lanyard the whole time I did compressions and yet cannot remember what it said
The last I heard he was a successful resuscitation and was discharged from hospital. Just wonder if he remembers any of it and how his life turned out

I wasn't even meant to be there, was supposed to be at the supermarket, changed my mind and went to buy makeup, then for some reason walked into this book shop I hadn't been in for months. He was on the floor and turning blue as I walked in

She will forever think of you kindly, I can tell you that much from experience.

As a very young teenager I was in a similar situation, I got myself from an alleyway to a street. A very kind shop owner (in the middle of closing) got me inside the building for safety and put the shutters down to protect me. Then the lady working there drove me to A&E as I was so badly beaten I couldn’t even see.

I think of that kindness from complete strangers many many times over the years, and whenever I can I have paid the kindness forward to others.

I went to college with a girl called Hayley in 2002-2004.

She was a brilliant laugh. We used to go clubbing, just the two of us, on Thursday nights when we'd just turned 18.
She was a clever, funny and ambitious young woman. She secured a place at Manchester University but swapped it for a much worse course at a much worse university so she could stay around the area with her "boyfriend", a 40-odd year old butcher.

We lost touch when I moved away to university and I still feel sad about it. I hope she's okay. I'd love to reconnect again. I can't find her on the socials.

Two middle aged men on holiday in somewhere like Benidorm/corfu. Bog standard Thomas cook package. They had the table next to us for breakfast every day. I would have been about 7, they were French Canadian and didn’t speak much English.

they shared their honey with me for my toast- I’d never had it. When they left they left the rest of the jar for us.

it would have been the 70’s. Obviously I just thought they were lovely men at the time, but in hindsight they would have been a couple. I often think about them and wonder what their lives were like, if they were accepted, if they had to travel to Europe on holiday because there was less judgement. It can’t have been easy being openly gay then.

The twins were around 5 weeks old and it had been a tough time. I walked for miles and after 2 hours they fell asleep. I nipped into a cafe for a coffee and finally some food. I had had about 3 hours sleep the night before and was at breaking point. As soon as I picked up the coffee cup both twins started wailing and I almost joined them.

There were 2 women sitting at the table next to me and they gave me a knowing look. My food arrived and I heard one of them say "come on Joyce" and they came over and asked if I would be so kind as to let them hold the babies whilst I had my food. They sat cradling my babies and told me to just eat and then we could have a chat.

Honestly it was the kindest thing and I macaroni cheese has never tasted so good. We had a lovely chat about babies and their grandchildren and how tough the early days and weeks can be. I really hope they remember me and know how much they helped me that day.

Pushing my daughter's pram some 30 years ago, it was a windy day and the sun canopy that just clicked onto the pram frame blew off into a busy dual carriageway. I just stood there staring at it, cars zooming past it. I couldn't run into the road to retrieve it, it was too dangerous.

A lorry driver coming up the road in a huge articulated lorry manoeuvred his truck so it stopped diagonally across the dual carriageway, so no other cars could get past. I ran into the road, got the sun canopy and put it back on the pram. In my panic, embarrassment and being flustered, I never waved a 'thank you' to him.

I still live in the same town, drive down the same road it happened on every day on my way back from work, and every now and again I still think of the kind lorry driver who stopped the traffic for me, and I cringe at the fact I never said thank you.

I used to work as a TV news reporter. I've met so many interesting people, some of whom have really stuck with me. I do think about them and how their lives turned out.

Very very late one night (or early one morning) I went into a petrol station on the City road in London and there was a young girl crying by the till- nobody was acknowledging her and I asked her what was wrong.

She'd lost her friends in a club, one of them had her phone and purse, and she couldn't remember how to get back to her halls of residence because she'd only been there a few days. She didn't know what to do (still pretty drunk and very upset.)

She'd got her key and knew what the place was called so I took her home. Her name was Olivia, she'd be late 20s or early 30s now, and I often wonder about her.

I was in hospital with PPROM and eventual preemie birth for a month. Everyone apart from my DC doctor were amazing.

• the nurse who brought me in Mexican leftovers to eat. So delicious! *the patient liaison who was a lovely guy and would bring me snacks in as I wasn’t ordering food due to lack of appetite. Also gave me a warm blanket to cover my legs when I got wheeled up to the NICU to visit DC. He’d pop in every now and then for a chat and to make sure I was being looked after well
• the nurse who hadn’t quite got the hang of IV lines who used to be in finance and became a nurse after caring for her DH when he got cancer, but was a very reassuring presence
• the anesthesiologist who looked after me during the EMCS. I was in shock and shivering, he got me a warming thing, stroked my head and told me it would be ok (it wasn’t but you know). Still remember his bright blue eyes *head surgical nurse who stopped by and gave me a big hug when it all went pear shaped. I was provided so much kindness during a fucking awful time (😭now remembering it)

When I was 16 I had a Saturday job in an Indian clothes shop in Birmingham. Another girl worked there who was early twenties, she was from India.
She told me she had been in an arranged marriage to a British lad from the same religion and culture.
She told me he was an alcoholic who would get drunk and beat her, that his family had only bought her over here on the hope of taming his already horrible ways.
She wasn't even allowed a mobile phone, but the owners of the shop we worked for would let her use their phone anytime she wanted so she could contact her own family back home in India.
Once i heard her on the phone tell her mum how happy her life was here.... she couldn't bring herself to tell them the truth and she broke down crying in bitter tears afterwards.
I left not long after that and I would pop in every now and then but when I moved away we lost touch.

I hope and pray she somehow got away and made a life for herself on her own terms.

Thirty years ago I split from my exH , my decision but I was very down about it all. On the day when I had sorted out the legalities my friends decided to take me out that evening to cheer me up. I really appreciated their support so I went but really wasn't feeling it. We were in a little bar, in a seaside town a short drive from where I lived. I was really trying to be "present" but all I wanted to do was to go home and crawl under the duvet.
The bar was quite crowded but I felt very alone. I suddenly got the feeling someone was looking at me and when I looked up there was a man pulling up a.chair beside me. He said he couldn't help noticing how sad I looked and could he cheer me up. Somehow I sensed it wasn't a "line" and I ended up spilling my guts....poor guy!
He said he had to go ...He was working over here in NI but was returning to Scotland in two days. We said goodbye and I thanked him for listening . He was walking away but suddenly turned back and asked me to meet him the following evening. Looking back it was like a scene from a bad rom-com! He said he would be at the clock at the harbour at 8....and if I didn't show that was ok.
I debated the whole day whether to go or not but eventually thought why not....I didn't feel unsafe, it was meeting in a public place etc.
I met up with him and honestly to this day ....even though we never met again...I silently thank him for showing me that good guys do exist. He had no ulterior motive...He didn't make a pass or anything inappropriate. We walked on the beach, around the harbour, ate fish and chips and talked and talked for hours. So Ian...wherever you are...I hope you know how much you helped restore my faith in humanity!

This breaks my heart, poor man.

Oh this is heartbreaking 💔 What a horrid end to that lovely man's life.

The midwife named Sue at the Royal Gwent Hospital in 1992. I have always felt that on arrival at hospital she just knew that I was about to give birth. She dispatched the trainee to go and fetch something and turned to me and said if you want to push do it. My baby was born 15 mins later. The trainee came back when the action was over. She was so calm and reassuring. Her name was frequently mentioned in birth announcements.

I really struggled as a young parent (and made some very poor choices) and had a social worker for a period of time. She was the 1st person I felt wanted to help without me giving anything in return. She listened and showed me patience and kindness without judgement and supported me to be the mum I wanted to be and that my DS deserved. She changed my life. 15yrs later I qualified as a SW and went in the offices to thank her but she'd retired. I think of her often and hope she knew the impact she had

Fabulous thread, thank you Op and everyone who has shared their stories.

I was on a flight back from Tenerife with my two autistic children when they were really young- just turned 2&3. Everything had gone wrong and they were both melting down. It was the moment that it hit me that I would never have a ‘normal’ life and do ‘normal’ things with them. I just wanted to escape but was on an aeroplane mid flight!

They were crying and I was crying and everyone just stared or ignored us. Then the kindest lady sat behind me passed me some toy dinosaurs and stickers for them and told me that I was doing an amazing job and that she understood because her son is autistic too.

She made me realise in that moment that it wasn’t my fault and after they had both calmed down she talked to me and promised me it would get easier and we would find our own normal. I think about her often when they are overwhelmed and remember what she said.

20 yrs ago my DH had a heart issue on our honeymoon which ended up with him being seriously ill in a French ITU. We were camping and I was alone in my tent - terrified. An older English couple who lived on the campsite in a caravan as the managers took me in that night, fed me and kept me company until bed time.
The next morning I had to pack my tent up quickly as I had been called to say he was being transferred to a major cardiac unit in another hospital- so I didn't get chance to say goodbye.
Then five years ago I was on a campsite Facebook group. I noticed a thread asking for recommendations in the area we had stayed in.... and one of the recommendations was the site we had stayed on.... and the recommendation was from the lady who had looked after me all those years ago.

I messaged her and yes she remembered us - and had often wondered what had happened to us.
We had planned to visit her again but she sadly passed away.

What a lovely human being! Hope you got the place? X

I was 20 and travelling alone to Senegal. I had to change planes in Brussels and we'd been late taking off so I had less time. A guy in the row in front was going to Nairobi. We'd been talking as we waited to get off. He said to me as we got towards the exit of the tunnel thing connecting the plane to the terminal "do you trust me?", grabbed my hand and ran with me right through the airport and took me to my gate in time.

Another time I was in Turkey and I was going out to eat dinner alone. The first restaurant I went to, they all acted like it was weird and I felt really uncomfortable. The second place, they couldn't have been nicer or more welcoming and they were kind to me.