What's the nicest thing a stranger ever did for you?

[hatredisnotavalue]

I have so many stories. While I gather my thoughts, do you have stories to share?

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Solly Mack]

2. a total stranger sent me a rather large check

for my secret santa project

it enabled me to buy more toys for more kids

[progmom]

3. A guy overheard me telling someone that I had to...

...sell my soprano saxophone because I was broke. He came back the next day and gave me his. No joke. Said he never used it anymore and I deserved to have it.
I will never forget his kindness.

[baldguy]

4. I was in a snow storm in a traffic jam when my car died.

A guy walking by knocked on my window & asked if I was OK. I told I was fine, and was just waiting for AAA.

About 40 min later the same guy knocked on my window again & handed me a large coffee and a newspaper!

[hatredisnotavalue]

7. I had a flat tire on the Interstate once

And this guy stopped and helped change it. I was in college and he saw the low pressure in my other tires. He followed me to a gas station and checked the pressure on all of my tires. He said he wouldn;t be able to sleep if he knew I couldn't make it home.

[hatredisnotavalue]

5. When our house burned down

And this was weeks after it happened, I went to the local bakery to get a to-go breakfast for the family and was told, it was on-the-house. For months, I would phone in our breakfast and be told the same thing. "Your money is no good here" was the expression. Now, they really didn't have to do that.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. I was extremely young, maybe seven or so and had never learned to

skate. Still can't do it, however, the first time I was taken to the skating rink with my eldest sister, I was thrilled, even though she abandoned me for her friends soon after getting my skates. Just being there with the older kids, watching them go around the rink and listening to the loud music was great. I tried my best to teach myself, but it was pointless. But out of the blue, an older man just grabbed me by the hand and slowly escorted me around the rink. We didn't talk, I don't even remember if he looked down at me, but I do remember looking straight ahead and smiling as the wind whisked my face. I think he only took me around once, and I remember being really quiet through it all, probably forgot to say thank you, afterwards, but it was a memory that has endured.

[Yupster]

12. That sounds like a screen memory

of a UFO abduction.

Or maybe I should stop reading Communion.

[The Backlash Cometh]

24. LOL!

I assure you, I wasn't abducted by aliens, and boy am I pissed about that!

[seriousstan]

8. I went to the World Series Of Rock in Cleveland Ohio.

Nugent, Aerosmith, ACDC and ZZTop. Ran out of gas before I got out of the parking lot. I approached biker drinking a 40 under a bush at 1 AM and gave him 5 bucks to bring me back gas. HE DID! He then led me to the nearest open gas station.

Nobody can ever tell me you can judge a book by it's cover.

[SW FL Dem]

9. I was driving back to college with classmates

We had most of our luggage in a car top carrier. Somewhere in OK, the driver saw some flashing lights and panicked, hit the brakes and the car top carrier went flying. We didn't have room in the car for the luggage so we were screwed. Then along came a Marine, named Angel, who was on leave, heading home to NY and who offered to help us get to the OK City bus stop. He took some of our luggage and two of my classmates in his car. We were scared, but figured if we stuck together we'd be ok. By the time we hit OK City, my classmates were totally comfortable with Angel so he carpooled with us for the next 1000+ miles, leaving us a mere 20 miles from our college. We bought his fast food meals and a tank of gas. That was all he wanted. The four of us arrived at school safely and considered ourselves lucky to have encountered our guardian angel.

[whodiedandmadeUSgod]

10. I was nine months pregnant and at the

grocery store. It was the kind where you bag your own. A teenaged girl behind me went up and bagged all my groceries for me. I thought it ws really sweet of her.

[Yupster]

11. When I was in college in Austria,

a man picked me up hitch-hiking.

He said I was the first American he ever picked up. He took me to a nice dinner and said it was in return for American soldiers after World War II treating his family very generously. That was in 1980.

I hope someday an American hitch-hiker could have a similar experience happen to him in Iraq 35 from now. Sure doesn't look too likely today. I don't think I'd recommend hitch-hiking in Europe today either. Seems the world has changed.

[Reverend_Smitty]

13. I went down to Durham NC...

with my aunt and uncle to see a Duke game at Cameron...I was 17 and it was my first time going down there. Well I didn't have a ticket and they did (I was kind of a last minute addition). So I was standing outside the gym and I was asking if anyone had a ticket to sell and it was getting near game time and I thought that I would have to watch the game from the student center, when an older gentleman asked me if I needed a ticket. I said yes, how much...he said don't worry about it just take the ticket. So I ended up sitting next to this guy deep in the alumni section, turns out he had season tickets and his wife was sick that day and she couldn't make it. My seat was so much better than my aunt and uncles...I was literally sitting center court two rows back in the upper section. If you are familiar with Cameron, you know those are killer seats. Duke won, I had a great time cheering for my team and even got to meet my favorite player (Shane Battier) after the game all thanks to the kindness of a total stranger.

[Blue-Jay]

14. Some weird guy replaced my tail light in a drive-thru.

I was patiently waiting in line for a late night snack from Taco Bell. In my side mirror, I saw a guy approaching my car from behind and promptly started getting ready for a little freak-out. He gets to my window and informs me that I have a brake light that's not working. I thanked him for letting me know about it, and he walked back to his car.

A moment later, he walks back up to my car with a light bulb in his hand and asks me to pop the trunk, so that he can fix the problem. I tried to wave him off, but he insists. He said that he has a few extra bulbs in his car anyway. So I popped the trunk, and this dude replaces the malfunctioning light in about a minute.

I thanked him and ended up giving the Taco Bell employee an extra five bucks to "help pay for the next guy".

[GoddessOfGuinness]

19. I hope the Taco Bell guy was honest...

[Nikia]

15. Strangers help me all the time

Especially attractive guys and elderly women.
This probably isn't the nicest thing ever done for me, but the one that comes to mind was the first time I went down hill skiing. I was getting pretty good at it within just a couple of hours. I decided to try the most difficult hill there. The first time, I waited until the person in front of me was mostly down the hill before starting. I successfully made it down the hill and had a lot of fun. The second time, I also waited. Somehow though, I caught up to this person who was on my left. The ski lift poles were on the right. I could not take wide turns to slow my descent. I was practically going straight down this steep hill. Then I fell. As I was falling, I remembered that my mother had broken her leg when she was my age on the same hillwhen her ski didn't release. My skis did release though and I finally stopped rolling. I also dropped my poles somewhere along the way. Two nice looking young men came to my aid. They brought me my skis and my poles. They helped me up and made sure I was alright. The one commented that I had impressive speed but that I needed to work on my control a little.

[no_hypocrisy]

16. Cheltenham, England. A woman found me without a place to

stay around 9 p.m., invited me to her home, fed me cornflakes, and gave me a bed, not a couch for the night. She wouldn't take money the next morning. I was traveling alone through Britain with a backpack in 1979. I'll never forget her kindness.

[DemBones DemBones]

17. Brighton, England, 1965 -- The guy who is now my husband had just

arrived at University of Sussex for the summer when he met a young Brit who offered to lend him his motorcycle for the summer. He had a blast roaring around the English countryside that summer, though his grades weren't the best of his college career! As I recall the story, he never saw the guy again, just put the motorcycle back where it had been parked when he was ready to leave England.

[BamaGirl]

18. Last year

when my husband was deployed my daughters talking to me about it while we were waiting for an eye exam. After the exam, I told them they'd have to wait a week for the glasses because I couldn't pay for both at the same time. Some guy there heard both conversations, paid for the exams, said thanks for your service, and we got glasses. It was kinda weird, but sweet, and he wouldn't take no for an answer.

[Cadence]

20. Helped me heal. n/t

[Guy Fawkes]

21. When I broke my left arm...

the people across the street from where I was were outside working. After the woman getting her mail right next to me ignored me, they came over and got my bike off of me. They offered me a ride to the hospital or use of their phone, but I walked the 3 blocks home.

I will never forget how nice they were....

[GoddessOfGuinness]

22. I was driving home from a gig late one night

and my older boy was in the car with me...He was about 3 at the time.
I got a flat tire, and I wasn't in such a great neighborhood, and the streets were practically deserted. I was pretty scared, especially when a car pulled up behind me.

It was a mechanic who was on his way home after putting in some overtime. He changed my tire for me, and wouldn't take a dime for his trouble. He said he had a wife and kids, and would hope that someone would do the same for them, if they were in a bind.

I hope someone does...

[NightTrain]

23. It involved something called a "glory hole."

And that's all I'm saying about it!

[solinvictus]

25. About 5 years ago...

we were eating dinner at a local Italian/Greek restaurant when a fairly large group of people came and sat at a table next to us. A few minutes later, the waiter asked us if we'd mind relocating as the party needed the table for more guests. We didn't mind and I noticed one of the men sitting at the center was a local businessman who had several furniture stores. We relocated, ordered our food, and was advised that, for our troubles, the businessman was taking care of our check. I thought it was too much, but I sincerely appreciated it.