What stranger will you never forget?

Marie5656

Well-known Member
Location
Batavia, NY
Is there a person you have met once, who left such an impact you remember them to this day?

Here is my story. Back in the 70s I had been visiting a friend in Baltimore, and was taking an overnight bus back home. I had an hour or so layover in a small town in New York, about half way home. I had been chatting with a young man, a bit older than me, sitting across the aisle. He was getting off where I did, as it was his stop. But, he made the decision to sit with me and wait for my next bus to come, as he did not think I should wait alone in the middle of the night. We had a nice conversation, made funny observations about people around the terminal. When my bus came, he walked me to it, we shook hands and he walked off.
 

I was waiting for hours, in a hallway of a hospital emergency department, on a stretcher.
A man who was working as a janitor paused, when more likely would have just walked on by, and asked me if I would like a blanket.
I nodded, and he went to a closet, and got a clean folded blanket, and brought it to me, and went away.

I took great comfort, both physically and emotionally, from having the blanket over me, given to me by the stranger.
 
I can't think of a feel good story, but I do have one that was memorable to me.

I was on a flight from Zurich to Chicago. An attractive young woman sat just in front of me. As the flight progressed she started changing clothes, in the bathroom. And slowly piece by piece she became a he. When the flight landed in Chicago a young man walked off.

It was kind of a shock to us passengers, but no one said anything to her/him. Sure wish I knew the story behind it but I don't. I suspect it had more to do with disguising identity than any kind of sex change thing.
 

It was actually just last year on a flight to JAX to spend time with family. I flew on New Year's Eve and got bumped up to First Class (I'm not special. I have 2 million miles on American Airlines due to my former job).

A woman sat next to me and boarded the flight complaining to the crew about almost missing the flight. My initial thought was, "Oh, this one's a real winner", but somehow we got into a conversation and we clicked. She has a gay son and when I told her my partner and I had been together for 30 years she immediately became my best friend. We were at complete opposite ends of the political spectrum but whenever politics were discussed we cut it off and moved onto other topics. She actually texted me to wish me a Happy New Year.

The reason I will never forget the encounter is that she made me realize we can all find common ground even if we are politically divided.
 
Is there a person you have met once, who left such an impact you remember them to this day?

Here is my story. Back in the 70s I had been visiting a friend in Baltimore, and was taking an overnight bus back home. I had an hour or so layover in a small town in New York, about half way home. I had been chatting with a young man, a bit older than me, sitting across the aisle. He was getting off where I did, as it was his stop. But, he made the decision to sit with me and wait for my next bus to come, as he did not think I should wait alone in the middle of the night. We had a nice conversation, made funny observations about people around the terminal. When my bus came, he walked me to it, we shook hands and he walked off.
What a lovely story! If it happened to me, I would have remembered him, too!
 
It was actually just last year on a flight to JAX to spend time with family. I flew on New Year's Eve and got bumped up to First Class (I'm not special. I have 2 million miles on American Airlines due to my former job).

A woman sat next to me and boarded the flight complaining to the crew about almost missing the flight. My initial thought was, "Oh, this one's a real winner", but somehow we got into a conversation and we clicked. She has a gay son and when I told her my partner and I had been together for 30 years she immediately became my best friend. We were at complete opposite ends of the political spectrum but whenever politics were discussed we cut it off and moved onto other topics. She actually texted me to wish me a Happy New Year.

The reason I will never forget the encounter is that she made me realize we can all find common ground even if we are politically divided.
That's wonderful that you found such a connection! Thanks for sharing!:)
 
When my son was about four I was shopping in a store with him. There was one of those big sets of Evil Knievel displayed and he wanted it so bad. Being a single mother, I could not just buy him something like that. So I said no and took him away from the toys and continued shopping. When I went to the check out to pay for what I bought, there was a man with the Evil Knievel set in his cart beyond the check out.

He said to me that he bought the set for my son. I started to protest thinking why did he buy this for my son? What exactly did he want from me? He was a good looking Italian man who spoke broken English. So I was not trusting him or thought I should take the set. Then he told me that he had come here from Italy to start the Italian restaurant next door with his brother. His wife and children were still in Italy and he missed them terribly. So when he saw my son begging for that Evil Knievel set he wanted to buy it for him.

I never forgot him and did see him from time to time when I went to that restaurant. His restaurant became very successful and last I knew it was still there. Eventually his wife and children did come over here and I would see his wife helping him in the restaurant. My son loved that set which had the Evil Knievel figure and motorcycle and accessories and had it for a long time.
 
I don't know if the police still do this, but back in the late '60s they would occasionally "raid" local bars looking for underage drinkers. Yes, that would have been me. One night they raided a bar I was in and I managed to get into the ladies restroom without being detected. I knew they would eventually find me and I just glued myself to a wall not knowing what to do.

I must have looked terrified because one girl in the restroom asked me if I was underage and I nodded yes. She said she was there with her off duty policeman boyfriend and for me to join them at their table and we'd be passed by. I had no choice but to trust her and went to her table. Sure enough, the police just nodded as they walked by us. The relief I felt was overwhelming and to this day I thank her for what she did.
 
So many but two stand out. One was Bobby who worked in a ski resort where I was vacationing when I was 16. He was 20. I'd had too much to drink because the bartender said my drinks would be free if I didn't order the same drink twice. I got so blasted. Bobby saw what happened he walked me upstairs gently and we sat in front of a fireplace talking and talking about everything the way young people do. Eventually we got tired and he got a blanket and draped it over both of us and we slept. He never laid a finger on me and I thought he was so cool I was half in love. I had to leave for home the next day and we kissed and said goodbye. I knew I would never see him again and of course I never did but it was all so perfectly romantic I cherish the memory to this day.
 
If people look throughout their lives a person may come into it for a short time ....
Not sure where the saying came from but " people are either a blessing or a lesson"

I have had many a person who came into my life through work or friends etc..... many stories of a helpful person at the right time or helping me understand a situation i had not encountered before ..... met one here in fact... they know who they are.

although fleeting I try to learn something or be grateful for each blessing that comes...
 
When my son was about four I was shopping in a store with him. There was one of those big sets of Evil Knievel displayed and he wanted it so bad. Being a single mother, I could not just buy him something like that. So I said no and took him away from the toys and continued shopping. When I went to the check out to pay for what I bought, there was a man with the Evil Knievel set in his cart beyond the check out.

He said to me that he bought the set for my son. I started to protest thinking why did he buy this for my son? What exactly did he want from me? He was a good looking Italian man who spoke broken English. So I was not trusting him or thought I should take the set. Then he told me that he had come here from Italy to start the Italian restaurant next door with his brother. His wife and children were still in Italy and he missed them terribly. So when he saw my son begging for that Evil Knievel set he wanted to buy it for him.

I never forgot him and did see him from time to time when I went to that restaurant. His restaurant became very successful and last I knew it was still there. Eventually his wife and children did come over here and I would see his wife helping him in the restaurant. My son loved that set which had the Evil Knievel figure and motorcycle and accessories and had it for a long time.
What a beautiful gesture! It brought tears to my eyes! It's such a good feeling to read about the wonderful people in this world!:)
 
When I was eight years old, I had lost my gold cross that I my godmother had given me. I felt devastated and went home crying. Three days later, as I walked to school, a little black girl came up to me and handed me the cross. "I believe this is yours," she said. I was ecstatic. Then she disappeared. I never saw her again. When I told my mother that day, she believed it was a miracle because it happened September 14, the very day we celebrated the exaltation of the Holy Cross in Orthodoxy.
 
I was in the 5th grade, had a lot going on in my life and getting bullied in school was on top of it. Although I've never been one to show emotion in front of anyone (long story), the bullying was so extreme that when I got on the schoolbus to go home one afternoon I was crying a little. On the other side of the aisle was a pint-sized 3rd grader- I knew who she was, but never actually met her. She immediately slid into the seat beside me, patted my arm, and addressed me by name, saying "Don't cry- some of us do like you!" I never forgot her kindness. Her name was Eileen.
 

What stranger will you never forget?​


A few

here's one;

Didn’t happen today, yet still....it made me happy today

It’ll make me happy tomorrow if I think about it


A while back, wife and I went to church

It’s refreshing, sometimes, to attend a church

Sometimes

Anyway, there was a song service
I don’t sing
Can’t
Tried
It’s not considered singing
So, there I was, mouthing the words.

A few rows back, a middle aged gentleman was singing his heart out.
A tenor, I believe.
I also believe he was a butcher by trade.
Cause he was doin’ a job of it on that song.
His voice, his voice literally hurt my good ear.

Seems there are several stanzas to ‘He Lives’.
He got louder with each one.
At the last of the chorus to the last stanza I looked back...

Had to

There he was, tears streaming down his face.





The sun from the stained glass windows did not shine on him.

Yet,

His face....beamed

He wasn’t a good looking guy

He literally wrecked the hymn




I’ve seen a lot of beauty
A lot
In nature, mostly

But this

Was the most beautiful thing

I have ever seen
 
In 2017 I was 70 years old, and living alone on the Big Island of Hawaii (my wife had passed away from Cancer in '16). I was spending the day in Kona, and was walking thru a small cluster of shops and restaurants. Setting on a bench in an open area was a lovely lady. I was not close to her, and she did not notice me, but at first glance the old Roy Orbison song went thru my head "You're not the truth, no one could look as good as you". I didn't want to stare, so I walked away, then circled back in less than a minute. She was gone. I'm guessing she was off the cruise ship that had docked that day.

I would have been embarrassed to have approached her, but still remember her.
 
When I was a teenager I met a boy at the school dance I went to every week. He asked me to dance and I said yes. He looked surprised and told me no girl had ever said they would dance with him because he wasn't good-looking and dressed well. I said that he looked fine and later that night he thanked me and said I gave him the courage he needed to ask a girl to dance.Today I still remember his name
 
I was about eight years old, I usually walked to school with the other kids but that day I was late and was hurrying along on my own. There wasn't anyone else around until I was almost at the school, a man appeared from a doorway, looked at me and started singing and dancing, he seemed to be moving towards me so I slowed down and was just about to run home when I head a voice say "Don't worry love. I'm watching him". There was a woman right behind me, I had never seen her before or after but, I have always been grateful that she was there that day.
 
I met lots of "strangers" when I was working....nearly all were positive experiences. Perhaps the one that stands out was when I met Sam Walton, the CEO of Walmart. I was part of a team doing a major computer upgrade at the Walmart headquarters in Bentonville, AK. Sam greeted us when we arrived, and offered any assistance we might need. We didn't need anything, but he took us to lunch, at his expense, for the 4 days we were there....at their executive dining room. He was a Great person.
 
Back in the late 80s my car ran out of gas on the freeway, was in the late evening, wife and 3 kids in the car. I had no choice but to get the gas can out of the trunk and walk back towards town. Almost immediately a Calif. Highway Patrol unit stopped, asked what I was doing on the freeway, had me get in the vehicle(front seat). The officer drove about 10 miles and got off the freeway and we stopped at a gas station. He waited, and then drove me back up the freeway and dropped me off behind my car. Later I wrote a letter of appreciation to his station supervisor, I hope I didn't get him in trouble.
 
It was 1974 and I was at the airport in Rome to board my flight to NYC. There was a long, boring line for check in? guess so. Behind me was an incredibly beautiful couple; both very tall, skinny, wearing the most expensive and fashionable clothes. I was 5'4" and about 120 lbs but next to them I felt like a little fat troll, hiding under a bridge.

When I was but one person away from being served, they chose that time to walk in front of me on line as if I didn't exist. Going from zero to sixty in under a second I told them off and Demanded that they get behind me. The woman almost argued, but he shut her up somehow, with a look, I think, and they resumed their places in back of me. Obviously, they thought me too insignificant to complain, & I surprised them but good!

Never forgot the woman, can pick her out of a lineup right now. I was so proud of myself, and saw, once again, what a powerful person I could be when my confidence, etc. was at stake. I learned not to be intimidated by anyone, ever; especially when such a silly thing like excess beauty & wealth tried to put me down. I stood taller than them and it felt like a victory.
 
"A million years ago"...we ('boyfriend' &I) were going to a local concert.. hadn't gotten our tickets yet and a guy standing near us..came up to us and
gave us two tickets
Saying "his people" didn't show....he wouldn't take any money.
I remember that act of kindness...to this day.
 
Back in 1982, I was attempting to find my way in life, without
booze...found my way into kansas city at a halfway house/treatment center...it had only been open a few weeks, not very many peeps there yet, the lady who ran it, founded it,
asked me what I wanted to do with my life...I said get a job and place to stay...she said You can stay here, you don't need money right now, why not stay and "work" at getting your life together
.....Never forgot Shirley Johnson to this day, she was responsible for the start of my 39 yr sobriety journey.....thanks...
 
There are a few strangers I won't forget......but not for positive reasons.
When I was in my 20's, I was exiting the freeway around 2:00am & at the bottom of the off ramp was an older-model, beat-up Toyota Corolla with lots of steam coming out of the hood. And it was 40 degrees that night. I walked up to the driver's window & an elderly woman was sitting there. I asked her how far she was from home. She seemed confused & couldn't tell me where she lived; maybe dementia or Alzheimer's. I asked to see her driver's license for her address. She found it & from her birth date, she was 91. From her address, she was around 15 miles from home. I said I could drive her home. Seeing how readily she got in my car, I was thinking how easily she could become a victim.
On the way to her house, she had some clear moments & she told me she lived with her son.
We got to her house & after 15 minutes of knocking on the door, (she had no key) her son opened the door & he was very angry that I woke him up! He also seemed angry that I brought his mother home! When I said, "Maybe your mom should have a key to the house," he said, "Mind your own damn business." Amazing........
 


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