Strangers you remember fondly

[Conkernudge]

Thought it would be nice to have a thread talking about strangers who have touched your life, or who you remember for a good reason.

Mine:
My DH and I were heading up a long flight of stairs at a train station when suddenly we saw a frail old man overbalance near the top and start falling. My husband dived sideways and managed to catch him before he went head over heels. As the man was falling the lady he was with shouted “Stanley!” crossly. I’m sure she was terrified, rather than cross, but she gave him a bit of a telling off when she caught up with him, despite holding his hand tightly. They were obviously married or partners and he’d given her the shock of her life.

Now whenever I criticise my husband for something minor he goes “Stanley!” as though i’m telling him off for something unreasonable and we laugh.

The fall happened probably about 12 years ago now and it’s just stuck with us. We hope we’ll grow old together like they did.

So, which stranger do you remember and why?

I have a serious heart condition. When I was in hospital the first time they kept telling me that they wouldn’t let me go home but wouldn’t explain why. I have other disabilities so being in hospital was detrimental to my independent recovery. I was very upset and the lovely nurse who usually worked nights but for some reason was doing days this particular day came and sat with me and talked to me to reassure me that they would let me out but that they would rather I came back in as an out patient which was why these things take time...

Also, different hospital, I got there and my blood pressure suddenly dropped like a stone. At this point I dropped my keys on the floor, bent down to pick them up and then just pretended I was taking my time so I could let my BP return to a normal rate. A lovely man came over and helped me up, insisted on taking me into the hospital and finding me a seat, then went and spoke to reception to ensure that someone go up with me as he didn’t feel I should go there on my own. Then he left, but it transpired he was going to a&E so I hope he was ok.

After my grandad died i was feeling extremely lonely, on maternity leave so starved of adult conversation , and falling into depression. I went into a florist to get some flowers and the lady in there maybe realised i was desperate for another human to talk to and she spent an hour just chatting away to me about everything and nothing. Made me feel less alone.

Wonderful thread. It’s made me cry so much. Definitely one for classics!

Just noticed how many of these random acts of kindness occurred on or around trains/stations !!

Could it be that these place are "somewhat transient in nature"? I think that's the word I'm looking for Sort of between worlds if you like.

Heathrow Terminal 3 - I’d just said goodbye to the man who was most definitely not my boyfriend at the time. On my return to the car I started to cry and was comforted by a very kind woman only a few years older who told me about her successful transatlantic relationship. That gave me hope and after a few years of transatlantic non-relationship-ing we cohabited, got married, have two lovely children... life is great. And I am sure that the lovely kind young woman at LHR has a huge part in my happiness!

Many years ago I was in hospital after having my baby. I was just a schoolgirl and the nurses were horrible to me. I was traumatised by the delivery and my parents had recently tragically died. An older new mum in a neighbouring bed was very good to me , helped me with baby and gave me her phone number to keep in touch.

Sadly I lost it so never could ring and thank her.

I was on my way to an interview when I needed directions. The man I asked gave me directions and asked if I had an interview. I said yes, he smiled and said I looked amazing and wished me good luck.

The nurse who cared for me after my c section. She was sooooooo kind. Genuinely kind, my father in law kept in touch with her.

the person who i saw die a few years ago

and

a man who said hello every morning on the morning train commute

I often think of his family (first person) and wonder about the second man and how it worked out for his son who was about to go to uni

Hoppinggreen

OMG, I moved to Oxford early 1990s, my parents were in Lancashire.

No M60 so I could get back to my parents faster if I drove through Moss Side. Which I did with the windows up, doors locked and when a traffic light was red rolling through because I didn't want to stop.

For context for anyone else, a previous work mate's husband was driving a nice car and a caravan through Moss Side and stopped to use a pay phone. Both car and caravan disappeared.

Obviously he went to the police, later that day they recovered the caravan but told him to 'collect it now before it goes again'.

Manchester police had 24 hour armed patrols. They didn't publicise it too much.

Definitely one for classics!

I had an email for MNHQ to say they're going to put it before the classics committee.

Do they really have a classics committee or was someone just having a bit of banter?

My dad's consultant oncologist wrote to me just after he had died to tell me how sorry she was to learn of his passing and what a lovely man she thought he was. I was so touched and it made those final evil dark days fade just a bit and help me to remember dad as he used to be before the disease gripped him.

I don’t have any big or flashy stories, but the stranger who I miss the most was walking-stick-man.

It was a horrible period of my life. I was working full time, with an hour’s commute each way, dcs were small, and I hadn’t yet found the strength to leave abusive xh.

I noticed that every day, as I went down a little West-country lane that was a shortcut to work, there was a tall man with a stick, probably around 70, walking the other way. One day I started waving to him, the next day he waved back.

It became a small ray of sunshine between a horrible work day, and an unpredictable home life.

After a week or so his wave turned to lifting his stick high into the air every time he saw me in the distance.

It was such a small thing, but it made me smile when little could.

These are lovely stories.
My one is: Last year, I had a horrible year with my marriage ending. Unfortunately, Me and ex DH had already booked to go to an event pre separation and we both still wanted to go with our 2 oldest DC. It was in a different town (about 8 hours drive away) so we had to drive up and back together. I talked to now ex-DH before and made us both pact we would be nice to each other for the sake of the children, and do family stuff together. Unfortunately ex was horrible to me and by the time we had arrived in the town for the event I was almost in tears. He continued to be awful to me, we managed to hold it together for the DC at event. The next day he buggered off to 'some friends' who didn't like me and had informed him I was the sole reason our marriage had broken down. (They had never met me!) I took DC to a local attraction and by late afternoon we were all tired, I had no idea about public transport being in a strange town, so i rang ex and asked him to come and pick us up and take us back to where we were staying. He informed me he wouldn't as he was having such a good time with his friends whose company he preferred to mine, and i could sort it out myself. i was begging and pleading with him on the phone, and when I hung up I was in tears. I noticed a middle aged woman looking at me throughout the ph call, and after I hung up, she was leaving with her friend. As she passed by me, she gently put her hand on my arm and said 'It will be ok.' I think I nodded but didn't speak to her.
Later I reflected and wondered how much she'd heard, what she knew, and wished i could thank her. Only 4 words but so nice.

sassh yes this was early 90’s when the Police wouldn’t go there unarmed
No idea what we were thinking ( or most likely not thinking)

When DD was very small, around 2, I was trying to put her into the trolley seat to do some much-needed groceries, and she was Not Having It. I'd just broken up with her dad, and was still a little delicate. Out of nowhere an older woman pops up, jollies DD along, chats away to her about her lovely shoes and her pretty shirt, and before I know it DD is buckled in and she's vanished with a cheery "they all do it, don't worry!"

Friend and I were 18, sitting on the front steps of a club waiting for another mate to bring the car around, a group of men are walking across the road opposite. We didn't really pay any attention to them, but next second two of them are in front of us, pulling down their pants and trying to rub their genitalia on our faces. Another man, coming the other way down the road ran over to us, told them exactly where to go and how to go about it, and sat with us until our friend got there. Then he just toddled off into the night, keychain swinging.

Not a stranger, but yesterday, when I was picking DD (7) up from school, she was very upset. She'd had a class party, and we'd made jelly cupcakes, but someone had left the fridge door open and they'd melted. Obviously she was pretty disappointed, so I was telling her what we'd do when we got home (pull all the patty pan cases out, let the jelly drip out of them into the box, pour it into a measuring jug and make One Big Jelly and then eat it ALL for dessert).
Her teacher, who I hadn't realised was listening, turned around and said "Gosh, I wish you'd been my mum. You're just the kind of mum every kid wants." And honestly I feel so much more confident in myself. As if maybe I'm not making a huge mess of this.

My mum and I took my ailing grandpa for lunch at a restaurant in a local spa near where he lived, as he was in a wheelchair, so we had to pick somewhere close by that we could push him to. We were struggling to push it along, but finally arrived at the restaurant/spa. It was peak tourist season and incredibly busy, but the owner took one look at us and said "I have just the spot for you", and ushered us into a totally private area on the ground floor with a spectacular view (lovely garden with a waterfall). He went out of his way to make sure we were comfortable and well attended to the whole time. I have never forgotten how kind he was, we were certainly not his target clientele but he couldn't have been more welcoming. My grandpa passed away not long afterwards, and now I get a bit teary whenever I go past the place.

Oh god. I'm due on and sobbing in to an aero bar reading these 😂

We were on holiday in France on a motorbike. It was our first full day there. We were planning on riding from the north down to the South. I was pillion passenger. It had rained the previous night and the roads were wet. My partner pulled out to overtake an English car, but the back wheel of the bike slipped on the white line in the centre of the road (they are slightly raised in France) and because of the extra weight of the panniers and me, he couldn’t keep the bike upright so we ended up sliding down the road at about 60 miles an hour. The English car drove off. We finally came to a halt and picked ourselves up. Luckily we weren’t too badly injured. We saw a car heading towards us so my partner started waving his arms as the bike was still in the road and he didn’t want the car to hit it and cause another accident. A lovely French couple stopped. The man got out and helped get the bike upright and to the side of the road, the women took me into the car, made sure I was ok and gave me coffee from a flask. They wanted to take us to hospital to get checked out but we were just badly briused. A second car pulled up and a young man got out. His mum ran a bed and breakfast nearby so he led us there as the bike was (just about) rideable. She gave us a room for the night and the young lad sorted us with a garage to repair the bike so we could carry on with our holiday.
None of them spoke English and my French was only just adequate, but they were so helpful and kind to us. ( the sun came out the next day and we had a fantastic holiday but had some horrendous bruises as souvenirs)

I just remembered teaching English in Czech republic on year out with a few others. Decided to go on a day out, the guys decided they could read Czech and said if we could take one which we did the last one back would be at 4pm or so. Went out had a nice day, came to get bus back, hmm no bus. Guys decide they'll use their excellent Czech to explain to cafe owner and ask about bus, guy doesn't understand a word. I then go in and explain in German and they understand and explain there's no buses as its Sunday. The guy closes his cafe and drives us back to the English camp about 12 miles away and won't take any money. Really kind.

We're moving this over to classics now.

Thank you

My GP when I was pg with DS at 19. I cried on him because I thought that everyone was judging me for being pregnant young. He hugged me and told me that 100 years ago I would have been classed as an older mother . I've since moved home and surgeries but never forgotten how much better he made me feel.

Yay! It made classics (and made me cry once or twice)!

When DS1 was tiny, I was struggling with PND, XH had raped and battered me and I was broken. I dropped a jar of baby food at the checkout in ASDA and just dissolved into tears, real heaving sobs on the floor.

The woman on the checkout calmly called for cover and a cleaner, scooped me up and took me to the staffroom and made me a cup of tea. She just listened, fed DS1 and gave me the biggest hug at the end.

So if that was you, in the ASDA at the Jewel outside Edinburgh in April 2007. Thank you, I can never explain how your kindness touched me.

DS2 was a couple of months old and I wasn't doing well. I realised, one day, that I had a fair amount of points on my Advantage card and, as money had been tight, I thought it would cheer me up to get some nice toiletries. When I got to the checkout I was 10 points short. I was told that they couldn't accept part payment with points so I would have to pay in full. I had to admit that I could afford to, then left the shop.

I was so ashamed and embarrassed that, as soon as I got out of the shop, I burst into tears. A woman came to ask if I was ok and I just said I was fine and headed towards home. 5 minutes later She caught up with me and handed me a bar of chocolate saying, "everything's better with chocolate." I'd never known a stranger be so kind and 3 years later it stays with me.