What's the kindest thing a stranger has done for you?

[GimmeDaBoobehz]

Equally, what is the kindest thing you have done for a stranger?

[AuditAngel]

Two and a half years ago my beloved FIL was involved in an accident and airlifted to a major trauma centre the other side of London. DH was looking after the children, called me to come home for the girls so he could go to his dad.

I couldn't reach my mum, got BIL to collect DS from his holiday club, and asked a friend to mind DD1 until I could reach mum so I could take DH. I planned on taking DD2 (6 months) with me. My friend took both girls, said would keep them overnight if needed. I thrust assorted baby stuff at her, then gave her my keys in case she needed anything for them.

We managed to find a grotty car park near the hospital, parked and checked their hours. Later we needed to retrieve the car before the car park closed. I walked back (leaving DH, MIL and BIL to a case conference with FIL's doctors) , paid, then the attendant asked if we were at the hospital? When I confirmed this, he told me to leave the car where it was, explaining that they close the entrance, but never the exit, so I could come back whenever. I offered to pay the charges until they closed, but he waved it away. It was wonderful to have one less thing to worry about.

[AuditAngel]

I do try to do a good deed for others too, but, they are such little things so not worth mentioning.

[justaquickone]

.

[specialmagiclady]

I got terribly terribly drunk once in a well-known Central London private members' bar and ended up chatting to well-known transsexual magician, Fay Presto.

At chucking out time, she took me to the door and pointed me in the direction of the tube. I staggered off in the opposite direction. Whereupon she told me to come back, got her car and drove me all the way home, several miles out of her way. She had a lovely convertible Triumph Herald with shiny red leather seats. We listened to accordion music.

And like the baby in the Elephant and the Bad Baby who never once said please, I never once said thank you.

[killpeppa]

specialmagiclady


that sounds like a glorious night
glad you got home safe

[loadofwaffle]

My Mum passed away suddenly and I wasn't there. My brother was and I did everything in my power to get to him as fast as possible. It cost me a fortune and I had two flights and a connection to make and when I finally collapsed on to the second plane an air hostess walked past me, handed me a pile of tissues, squeezed my shoulder and said just to call her if I needed anything. I had said nothing to her and she didn't know me from Adam. Presumably my pain and grief were written all over my face. I couldn't even speak to thank her but that little squeeze of the shoulder will stay with me always. It really is the little things.

[IAlwaysThought]

Thanks OP, this is the best thread EVER

I know there are some scumbags around but I believe most people are honest and kind. There are some wonderful stories here. I like how some people have been touched by the smallest things.

[marriednotdead]

I don't think the size of the deed makes a difference to it's value Audit. Whatever we do makes a difference somehow, to someone and that is all that matters, whether it be a smile at a stranger on the street or a kidney to a person on the transplant list.

I try to live by 'treat others as you would like to be treated'. I've done lots of things that others would say are great/generous etc but for me, the reward is feeling like I've made that difference and helped ease someone's path a little.

Equally, my generosity has been repaid by others' kindness to me and that's something that I will never take for granted

[SourSweets]

Just remembered another one.

When I was at uni I was a bit wild, went out one night and picked up a random guy, got in a taxi back to his which was miles away and cost a fortune.

I sobered up a bit on the way and realised I didn't want to go in, so I dropped the guy off at his house, closed the taxi door and realised I couldn't pay to get myself home in the taxi. I asked the driver to take me to the nearest tube, but he said he had a daughter my age and was so pleased I'd decided not to go with a guy I clearly didn't know that he'd make sure I got home safely. He drove me all the way back to my house on the other side of London free of charge.

[persimmon]

I hope this becomes a classic so that I can re-read it whenever I need a lift!

[MiddleAgeMiddleEngland]

Lovely thread.

I'm a bit of a country bumpkin but once had to go to a meeting in a busy part of a large city and couldn't find my way. I asked a homeless man for directions. He walked with me, refusing any offers of payment. When I came out of the meeting a couple of hours later, he was sitting on the pavement outside - he'd waited so that he could guide me back safely. Fortunately, I was able to buy him a drink and a burger.

Yesterday in another city, I was in a card shop when an elderly woman asked if they sold small packets of tissues. They didn't, and couldn't suggest where she should try. I had an unopened packet in my bag and gave them to her. Such a tiny thing, but she was really grateful as if I'd given her a fortune.

[SupermansBigRedBottleOfSpirits]

My dd2 stopped breathing whilst dp was looking after her, he couldn't get through for an ambulance, ran to our local shop and 2 amazing women drove him and our baby girl to hospital 2 minutes round the corner. One of them came to her funeral. Lovely kind women who didn't have to do what they did.

[owlbegoing]

MNHQ please move this to Classics.
Pretty please.
Have some and and while you consider

[technosausage]

I'll add one
Quite a few years ago I was on a night out and my dad was picking me up, I was walking to meet him and took a short cut down a dark alley. Out of nowhere someone grabed me and pushed me against a wall and I fell to the floor, I think he was trying to grab my bag. I heard someone running towards us. A fist came out of nowhere and sent the attacker flying to the ground and knocked him out cold. The fist belonged to the local big issue seller (Darren in Truro) he picked me up off the ground and basically carried me out the alley, I was in shock and very drunk. He made sure I had all my things and walked with me to where I was being picked up and phoned the police to let them know what had happened. I was running a coffee shop at the time and gave him free drinks and food for the rest of the time I was running it.

[AmyMumsnet]

Hi everyone

Thanks for your nominations. We can't think of a better thread for our classics board so we'll move it over now.

Whilst I'm here, it would be a shame not to add my own story of a wonderful stranger who definitely deserves some recognition:

I was on the train back to London from University to attend an awards ceremony held by my old school, when I realised I had forgotten my purse. It meant I had no way of getting from the train station to the ceremony as I couldn't buy a ticket for the underground. I called my friend to have a moan and try to work out what to do, and when I hung up the man next to me gave me a £20 note. He said that he had three daughters and he'd want someone to take care of them if they ever needed help. He refused to give me any contact details so I could pay him back - all I know is that he was wearing a mustard corduroy suit and he got off at Reading. So if any of you recognise him, please tell him he made my day!

to all of you lovely MNers for your RAOKs, as we're sure those strangers will still remember what you did for them and how grateful they were.

[Elibean]

To the two women who donated eggs, somewhere in Notts, 7 and 10 years ago respectively. I thank you every day

[MrsYoungSalvoMontalbano]

This thread has made me cry, what lovely lovely people there are... Makes me wanno go and do a random act of kindness now - wouldn't it be good if this could snowball..?

[MyBoilsAreFab]

When I was a student in Edinburgh I was woken on a Sunday morning, after a no doubt boozy night out, by a young man at the door. He handed me my purse, which I had obviously dropped somewhere the night before. It had cash, cards etc in it, all still there. I was so taken aback and caught on the hop that I just thanked him briefly, and off he went. I have always wished I could see him again to thank him properly (there is a movie in there somewhere)

[BigWellyLittleWelly]

This thread has made me bawl my eyes out, genuinely heartfelt sobs, so much grief and loss in our world and all around small things try to help ease that pain.

DH once watched an elderly gentleman stagger into a few wheels bins on our pavement, couple of neighbours ignored him but DH went out to see if he was ok. Turns out he was taken poorly and was trying to get home. dH called his son, gave him water and took him home.

The ánethetist who was kind to me during my CS with my second DD who fought my corner when I said I had to hold her right away.

The lady in the library who sat and read dd1 a book when dd2 was very little and had just thrown up everywhere and dd1 was trying to escape out of the doors.

[toffeesponge]

chocoreturns - I was so happy to read your post on this thread as I was thinking about you earlier this week and wondered how things were with you. You really are an inspiration .

[garlictrivia]

Completely echo that, toffeesponge :)

[IneedAsockamnesty]

My raok tend to be a bit crap really because they just involve giving (sometimes covertly sometimes not) material stuff to people who need them so I'm very lucky to have 2 very kind acts that people have done for me.

A few years ago my dd had a nasty rta and was in hospital mostly in ICU/HDU for ages, a certain tv chief who is quite hated on here visited her and read to her and signed a load of books for her to keep and to this day I still don't know how he knew she was there or that she was a huge fan.

Another one was a weird situation involving a clients violent ex trying to follow me home (during the time my dd was in hospital so my guard was down)and another clients gangster father pretending I was his wife and making the weirdo nutter go away to never bother me again.given the hate campaign he had previously launched on anybody who dared to help his ex I have no doubt that asking the stranger to help me and him recognising me as the woman who helped his dd quite possibly saved me a whole heap of shit being brought to my door.

[berrycake]

I was on holiday in Thailand with my mum and sister. We were leaving the restaurant after dinner one night, and my sister pulled the wrong handle trying to 'walk' her rented moped in the right direction before getting on it, and in a very quick and confusing manoeuvre, she fell over and the moped landed on top of her. She was badly cut and scratched because it was a dirty gravel road, and obviously hurt from the moped falling on her.
Within seconds, there were about ten Thai people around us, helping my sister up, moving our mopeds to a safe spot, getting water for my sister, that kind of thing. The kindest thing I remember was the lady who used a special balm to massage the worst hurt areas of my sister's legs, she was so gentle and reassuring, she must have sat with us for at least half an hour. She insisted on giving us the tub of balm to take home.
These strangers then called for one of their friends to drive my sister back to our holiday apartment, because she couldn't ride the moped. My mum and I had to ride our mopeds back (about a ten minute journey), so my sister went in the car alone with this guy they called. They also called someone else to ride my sister's moped back for us.
It wasn't really until we were half way home that I realised how dangerous it was to send my sister off on her own, especially as she was dazed and confused. I panicked myself into a frenzy when the guy's car disappeared down some side road.
When we got back to the apartment, he was sitting in the car outside the apartment, having safely delivered my sister inside, but insisted on waiting for my mum and I to get home, because he didn't want to leave my sister completely unattended, but he also refused to stay in the apartment with her because he knew that might make her uncomfortable.

We took a few boxes of chocolates to the restaurant the next day, and tried to ask them to give them to the other people who had helped, but they were very confused as to why we should be giving them presents. It was as if we were part of their community, not some silly foreigners causing chaos.

This was all from people we'd never met, and knew we'd never see again. People who had very limited English, and who had very little money. I was truly touched.

P.S. Massaging that balm in to the cuts and bruises really made such a difference, my sister was only a bit stiff the next day, not in a fraction of the amount of pain she should have been.

[nouvellevag]

The things I've done are a bit small really, mostly sending people gifts to try and cheer them up - I had a friend in another country who had a nasty housemate, and one time the nasty housemate broke my friend's favourite mug, which was an unusual one that fit in her car's cup holder, and wouldn't apologise and was horrible about it. Friend didn't have much at the time and was sad. So I looked online, found a cup of exactly the same size and bought it for her. Only a wee thing but I was a broke student so it was quite a lot of money for me, and I think it made her feel a bit less alone in her shitty house situation.

Likewise, I once knew someone on another forum who'd taken in a teenager for months on end to help her escape an abusive mother, and then said teenager completely shat on my friend's kindness (I mean you don't expect a kid to cope brilliantly in such a situation, but my friend was totally crushed). I still had access to her Amazon wishlist from a gift swap the year before so I just went on and sent her something with a note to say that everyone on the forum thought she was amazing and appreciated her.

I remain totally grateful to all the people who helped me carry DD's pushchair over a railway bridge at the station I had to go to for my therapy sessions after she was born. And the person who took my heavy suitcase to my train for me at Waterloo when I was an Erasmus student on my way back from France, just got off the Eurostar, and my hand was actually bleeding from dragging on the case's horrible handle all day.

A few months ago DH went out to help the old lady over the road with her bins because she was struggling, and later the same day she came out with a blanket she'd obviously spent ages crocheting and gave it to DD!