The people in our lives can have a pretty big impact on us, but sometimes it's the strangers we only meet once who make the biggest difference.
It's those strangers, and our interactions with them, that we remember for the rest of our lives
Reddit user u/mahaslays asked:
"Who's one stranger you will always remember?"
After a series of bad choices I found myself barefoot, without my purse, and lost in a city I didn't know. I sat in front of a gas station for awhile and the cops were called. I begged for help, to use a phone to call someone, anything. After 20 minutes of back and forth cop 1 called me a whore and cop 2 just shook his head and got in his car. Given the area, yeah I fit the bill.
A cab driver had been parked near me and had been in the car while this exchange was going on. He stepped out shortly after the cops left and sat a few feet away. He offered his cell phone and said he would drive me home at no cost. I called a family member that hung up shortly into my call asking for help. I chose to trust him, to get in that cab, and give him my address. It went against everything I've EVER known but ultimately he got me home safe. His name was Mustafa (he made a joke about being older than the Lion King). He said to me "You will someday find someone who will treat you like a Queen but you must think of yourself as a Queen first". It was one of the nicest things someone has done for me. I tried giving him money when I got through my front window (again, no purse) and he said it was okay..that he needed to be on this side of town..25 miles away.
When i was a kid we had to go around the neighbourhood and ask people to sponsor us for a charity something at school. When we ringed the doorbell, we could look into the hallway. There was a man covered in bandages and blood from head to toe, screaming at is. I never ran that hard again in my life. And I'll never forget the image.
Wife and I took our honeymoon to Disney World 13 years ago. We were young, dumb, and broke.
Rather than have an expensive wedding, our parents helped pay for the honeymoon.
Leaving EPCOT one night, we got to ride at the front of the monorail. In the car with us were some man and his young daughter.
My wife and I were wearing our chintzy Mickey and Minnie honeymoon ears. The man asked us how long we had been married. We told him only a few days. He said congratulations, reached into his jacket and pulled out his wallet, and gave us a $100 bill.
I tried to refuse, but he said it was ok. "I own a couple of banks."
It likely didn't make much of a difference to him, but to us, it meant that we got to eat at an amazing restaurant for dinner on our last night there.
I remember when I was like 4-6 I was walking with my dad through a very crowded street and I looked at a kinda normal man (mustache and brown jacket) and thinking I'll remember him. He didn't even look at me or seemed creepy, he was just walking.
15 later I still remember the mustache man.
My wife and I were on our late honeymoon in Saint Croix. There was an old hippie couple at the lounge at our resort and we spent an evening with them. The husband played the trumpet and the wife played the guitar. They played a song called "Mr. RV." and it was so good I asked them to play it twice. It was about an old man driving an RV who was inadvertently delaying traffic. I don't remember the song anymore. But I'll always remember those two. Really nice people.
When my grandmother (who had cancer) was having a dangerous procedure done, my mom and I were in the waiting room and this older man looked at us and told us everything would be alright and quoted some scripture. My mom swears that she immediately felt at peace when he said that. Once the procedure was done, we realized we had forgotten a blanket in there and went back to get it. The man had it draped around him and was asleep so we just left it with him. We saw him several times after that in different areas of the hospital. It was very strange because he told us he wasn't there for anyone. A few days before my grandmother died, she kept describing a man sitting in the room with her. She described him exactly like how this man looked.
I was at a local burger joint in my home town about a decade ago when I was 16 or 17 years old. It was around lunch time on a Saturday and the place was super busy. It was a five guys type ordering system so after placing my order I found went stand towards the back of the restaurant to wait for my number to be called. All the tables were full except one table with a single old black man sitting there. He was eating so nobody joined him, but he waved me over to sit down. He proceeding to talk to me for damn near 45 minutes in between bites as I waited for my food. He gave me all kinds of unsolicited advice on life and love and just about anything. Things that I still carry with me to this day. About 5 years late my mom dragged me to church with her one weekend I was home, and I saw him walking down an aisle through a very crowded conjugation, he winked at me. No way in hell he could have recognized me after all those years, going from 17-22ish I looked totally different. I couldn't find him after church and never saw him again. I'm half convinced he was an angel don't @ me
The nice lady I met on the Amtrak from Klamath Falls who found out I was into collecting coins and shipped me her entire collection. Thank you, Connie! It's been over 30 years and I still have those coins.
My husband & I were on vacation in Banff celebrating our second wedding anniversary when we were caught in an avalanche on a mountain road. Our car was completely buried and we made the decision to get out of the car through the window (we had no food or supplies and had no idea if we'd suffocate or how long it would take to be dug out). We started running and more avalanches started to fall down but thankfully we outran them. Finally when we got to a safer area, a park warden and two cars drove up. In one car was a father & daughter who lived locally. They had been ice climbing in the area when the road closed so they had to stay with the warden until he could escort them back to another city. The man saw how traumatized and upset I was and immediately opened a bottle of tea and gave me some and asked if I was ok. The warden left us all for a while as another warden was stuck and needed help so we stayed in their car for around 2 hours.
They were SO NICE. They kept offering us food & drinks. But mostly, they really just helped us get our minds off the fact we had just been in a very scary situation (and were potentially still) and were in a bad situation as our car was buried, the road was closed so we couldn't go back to our hotel, we didn't have any stuff, etc. We talked about a lot of different things in the span of two hours and really, it was just comforting to be with other people and it was cool to get to know some locals. Crazy to think how strangers can just be thrown together like that. I know they had to miss work & school the next day due to the avalanches. I hope they have many more safe ice climbing adventures!
This was several years ago. I was in a horrible place in my life. Within a 6 month time frame my dad died, my grandma died, my sister had a massive stroke, I got shingles (I was 31) and I found out I had the onset of the same heart condition my father passed away from. I was very depressed and it was a struggle just to get up most days and take care of my family. I had taken the day off work, dropped my daughter off at school and was just sitting in a coffee house. This older woman came up to me and just hugged me for a few minutes. I totally lost it, I ugly cried while this complete stranger held me and patted my back like I was a child. Once I calmed down it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I guess she could just sense that I just needed a shoulder to cry on. I thanked her and she looked at me and told me to keep my head up, that things would work out and get better. She left the coffee shop and I've never seen her again.
still have the heart problem, but it hasn't progressed since my diagnosis. My sister has regained some of her mobility and is doing surprisingly well. So I guess she wasn't wrong.
A couple of years ago, I was standing in line at the grocery store, minding my own business, waiting to check out. I notice the lady in front of me (older woman, maybe 50s, I was 21 at the time) is buying a cake. She put it on the belt and when she did she kind of looked at me looking at the cake and I cracked a joke, something like "man that looks good!" She laughed a bit and told me it was her sons birthday.. After I acknowledged that, she then shared with me that he would have been about my age.. he had passed away. She told me every year she has a piece of cake on his birthday just to celebrate. She began to tear up and cry, admittedly I kind of did too. She asked for a hug, which I agreed to. A very random interaction that was deeply filled with emotions.. I will never forget that.
I was at a bad point in my life. I barely had any money and no set home. All I had was one duffel bag full of my clothes and a small backpack. I moved around to different states sleeping on friends couches. This went on for almost a year. I was going to fly out on my next destination and they would not let me bring my duffle bag as a carry on. I went back to the check in area. I had no money to check it in and they wouldn't do it for free. At the moment I was quickly taking out what clothes I could fit in my backpack and just toss the rest of my clothes before I was late for my flight. (This was all going on in at the check in) Then a random stranger puts $35 on the counter and walks away. Didn't catch how he looked but I will always remember his kind act.
Years ago I was married to an abusive addict. I went to the bank and opened a separate account trying to prepare a way out. I asked a lot of questions about whether my husband would see it online or any mail would come to the house, etc. The bank rep helping me figured out what my questions meant. She wrote down her first name and personal phone number and gave it to me. She said if I ever needed a place to hide all I had to do was call. With no connections between us he would not be able to find me. I never called her, but her number is still in my phone, only because when I see it, it makes me smile to know that a stranger cared and was willing to help, and also as a reminder of how free I am now. I wish she knew how much that meant to me.
i was moving out of a terrible living situation and had to pay rent for two places during a single month because the only decent place i could find was only available starting the month prior to my old lease being up. it was a saturday and i was using Lyft to transport empty boxes/suitcases to my old place so i could pack them and get a second Lyft to my new house (the idea was to make the actual moving day easier). the Lyft driver that picked me up was this older gentleman in an SUV who was like "what's with all the boxes?" and didn't get into the situation about having a sh!tty living situation, i just said i was in the process of moving.
this guy then offered to turn off his Lyft app, let me pack the SUV full of as many boxes as would fit, and then drive me to the new house. i told him i didn't have money to pay him and he said it was okay, he didn't want money. He said his reasoning was that he was "so blessed in his life and wanted to pay it forward".
and NO, he wasn't a creeper (i'm very good at picking up on that kind of behavior, and i wouldn't have been down if he was being weird/creepy about it).
This guy helped me pack the SUV (and not just the trunk like I was originally planning--I'm talking the entire backseat and trunk), drove me to the new house for free, and helped me unpack the SUV and put the boxes in the garage. and he didn't want anything but a 5 star rating for the initial ride. i thanked him profusely, gave him 5 stars and as much of a tip as the app would let me (which is about $12). i posted about it on Facebook and a friend of mine who worked for Lyft helped me get the guy recognized in their internal monthly newspaper, so there's that.
I will never forget Gary, or his kindness.
Between 16-18, I had a lot of trips to A&E. I was really mentally ill, undiagnosed, and nobody would take responsibility for my care because I was too old for child services, but too young for adult care. Most A&E staff aren't trained in complex mental health, and their only job is to keep you alive in a room until an on call psych can get to you.
One trip, there was a student nurse in triage. She was probably only a year or two older than me. I was at hospital on my own and frankly quite terrified after a bad bout of mania and psychosis. She took me to a quiet room, made me tea, and sat with me and made sure I was okay. I never got her name and I never saw her at that hospital again, but she is the single most compassionate person that I met in all of my hospital trips. She's probably qualified by now, and I'm sure she's an incredible nurse.
At 16 I ended up homeless for a few months. This dude showed me the ropes to survive. He had a PhD in history and a seriously addictive personality. I owe that stranger my life.
I worked in chemo room cleaning and stocking supplies. One day after a particular gentleman had finished his "maintenance treatment" for his terminal diagnosis. He went out if his way to come over to me and out of all the staff and other patients in the room he gave me the biggest hug and said, "I think you need that more then anyone else here ever will." He then grabbed my hand and gave me a rock with a happy face on it. I carry it in my pocket everyday. He was not wrong either, I definitely needed the hug.
I was walking into a Wawa one morning before work to get coffee. I have a beard and my typical work outfit was a SnapBack hat worn backwards, with a black company shirt and tan shorts. I had gray shoes too. As I hold the door for a dude who was leaving, I caught a glimpse of him. He looked exactly like me, beard, backwards SnapBack, black shirt, and tan shorts. He looks st me and then looks away and then does a double take. He stops before walking completely out and we make eye contact. We both shake our heads and let a small exertion of air through our nose and walk our own ways. I still, to this day, think I have a long lost twin that my parents never told me about. This was 8 years ago and I think about it randomly from time to time.
| Image by Elf-Moondance from Pixabay |
Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide refer to, as defined by Medical News Today, as the "deliberate action taken with the intention of ending a life, in order to relieve persistent suffering." It's a controversial topic. As of 2021, active human euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia, Luxembourg, Canada, and Spain. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, Germany, the Australian states of Victoria Northern Territory, and Western Australia.
But this issue has many passionate supporters who often know what it's like to care for someone who would have benefited from the practice. They told their stories after Redditor Random2328 asked the online community,
"What are your thoughts on medically assisted death?"
"She was able to go to a place in Switzerland..."
"My grandma was 89 and wasn't dying of anything in particular—she didn't have cancer or dementia or anything—but her memory was slowly failing and her body was generally falling apart from old age and a leg injury from fifty years prior. She had been a widow for fourteen years. She was lonely and in pain all the time and her family lived across the ocean so we couldn't see her as much as we'd want to.
There was nothing actively killing her, but she did NOT want to be alive anymore. She wasn't depressed, just old and in pain and ready to be done.
She was able to go to a place in Switzerland, with all four of her children, and take a pill to end her life while her children sang to her and she looked out at the mountains.
We all got to say goodbye to her and she got to be completely in control of the end of her life. I can only hope that if I am ever in that situation, then the world will be kind enough to let me close my own exit as beautifully and peacefully as my grandma did."
Your grandmother sounds like she was truly blessed. Being able to make that choice––and still have time with her family––no doubt meant the world to her.
"I don't know if I'd have the courage..."
"I just went through this with a good friend in Canada. He had glioblastoma and was given 3-6 months to live. Ultimately he lived for 15 months, but he wanted to be sure he could end his life when things got bad for him, so he made the necessary preparations. I'd long known he'd made these plans. I wasn't sure how I felt about it. But as I was caring for him for the last six weeks of his life I got to witness the process firsthand.
Long story a bit shorter: Towards the end, my friend could no longer walk or speak. He could understand everything you said to him, but he couldn't find the words to reply intelligently. In his frustration, he made it clear that he was ready. So we explicitly asked him if he was ready to die. He said yes.
The next day two nurses came to his home. They talked to him and confirmed that he wanted to end his life. So, while sitting in his favorite recliner, they put in an IV. His immediate family and I sat with him. The nurses administered medication that made him fall asleep. Then they administered a second medication that stopped his breathing. In less than 5 minutes he was gone.
I don't know if I'd have the courage to make the decision my friend did, but I didn't experience his suffering. Being present for him as he ended his life has convinced me that having the option to end your life on your own terms is the absolute right thing to do. There's no reason someone should have to continue to suffer when they know all they have to look forward to is more suffering. I'm very grateful that my friend had the option available to him. Had he been in my state in the U.S. that wouldn't have been possible. But it should be."
"She made the decision to have the procedure done..."
"My grandmother passed away last week with a medically assisted death.
She had cancer that had spread to her brain, and was given a few weeks to a few months to live. From what family members said, she was deteriorating fast.
She made the decision to have the procedure done as she wanted to end her time here with dignity. The appointment was made, doctors consulted, and paperwork drawn up. 10 days later two medical professionals came by her house where she was spending time with her children. It was done quickly and comfortably.
Nana left peacefully on her own accord, in the comfort of her own home, and while she was still more or less herself. It was very strange to have a time and a date looming, but it also allowed me to set aside that time to be alone and hold a small vigil of my own (I'm currently in another country, and couldn't get back)
She lived in Canada, where this service has recently been made more accessible, and I'm all for it. If it helped my Nana, it could help so many others."
It sounds like your Nana was able to have peace––and so do you.
"It should be a right..."
"It should be a right for every human to choose when terminal. We euthanize our pets but not our loved ones. We allow our loved ones to suffer miserably at the end of life. I was a hospice nurse and saw the suffering first hand. It is inhumane to allow that."
Why do we allow it for pets and not for humans? What makes an animal's life worth more than a human's? Shouldn't they both be held in equal regard?
"I have a degenerative brain disease..."
"I have a degenerative brain disease and would very much like to die with some dignity left, so I'm all for it."
No doubt. We're sorry to hear about your struggle.
"I longed for there to be a legal way..."
"We let people die in fear and pain, but not animals. The last 6 months of my mum's life were exactly how she didn't want to live - confused, incontinent, immobile. I longed for there to be a legal way to end her suffering. She made it very clear to me during her life that this was not the way she wanted to go. I'm an RN and should make it clear I've never assisted in ending anyone's life, but I've wanted to. Medically assisted death doesn't mean more death, just less suffering."
"As someone who has..."
"As someone who has stage 4 cancer, I am in favor of having the right to die gracefully."
"If it's good enough..."
"If it's good enough for my dog then it's good enough for me."
It's truly as simple as that. We'd be doing so many human beings a favor.
"If you're not legally allowed..."
"If you're not allowed to legally arrange the end of your own life, is it actually your own life?"
"It was such a blessing..."
"My grandpa had a medically assisted death in 2019. It was such a blessing to my family as we were able to say goodbye, and knew how much time we had left.
Also it was relief from great pain for him, and I'm so glad he was able to make that choice peacefully.
Will forever advocate for it."
It's truly shocking that euthanasia is illegal in many countries––and that it can even carry a jail sentence. It is a complicated issue that polarizes many people from different walks of life.
Where do you stand on this issue? Feel free to tell us in the comments below!
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Privilege is discussed quite a bit these days, and for good reason. So many people are able to live life longer, more peacefully, and freely than others thanks to factors they had no control over.
And yet, there is an element of popularity among the privileges discussed. People acknowledge their race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, and citizenship status a lot.
That makes sense. Those are massively significant social realities that we need to grapple with constantly.
But there are some other privileges that we don't always think about. There are some things even more basic that not everybody gets to enjoy.
Observing them can make us all feel a bit more grateful.
Redditor Mburns15 asked:
"What is something most people don't realize is a privilege?"
Many called attention to the fact that the physical ability to interact with a majority of public infrastructure isn't a sure thing.
Always Calling Ahead
"Spontaneity in your daily plans. If you're a wheelchair user that's virtually impossible."
"So few places have accessible restrooms, some public transport needs contact 24 hours in advance in order to accommodate you, the list goes on."
"I envy people who can just go with the flow."
Take Care
"Being able-bodied. So many people are one accident away from being unemployed and don't realize that. Your job will ruin your body - be aware and fight it."
A Silent Struggle
"Not having chronic pain" -- Aggravating_Okra_00
"Having energy to do what you want with your life. Trying to explain to people how exhausting and draining chronic pain can be. Having to explain the concept of energy budgets to people - sure I could come out and do $funthing with you, but then I wouldn't have the energy to cook and clean the house and would be useless at work tomorrow." -- Fraerie
Others chose to point out the very basic necessities that are far from ensured across the world.
To Be Comfortable
"Feeling safe in your own home. Not worrying about rats, mice, roaches, bed bugs, bricks being thrown through windows, violence outside, break ins."
-- yesohoygh
Peace
"Privacy. I don't mean digital privacy, I mean a room with solid walls and a door that closes. Lots of people don't have that."
Exercising Gratitude
"Having access to water and a sewage system. Also the abundance of food in western super markets is quite frankly insane. Every day I try and spend a moment to reflect on how lucky I am."
-- DrSealMan
Game Changer
"Sanitary products for women! It's different in different parts of the world + economic backgrounds"
And finally, a few people from countries around the world discussed the unique, intense struggles of living in a place that isn't embedded in the affluence of the Western world.
Just Imagine
"Going about your daily life without seriously worrying about your physical safety. Sleeping at night without worrying about whether a bomb is going to come through your roof."
Not a Given
"Having the ability to express an opinion. Free speech is very censored in a lot of the world." -- BananaLCG
"Criticizing your own government." -- ipf000
The Ability to Think About Other Things
"Living in a good country, not having to spend your youth worrying about how to immigrate to good countries."
-- MiniSugaSwag
But before you think of this list as a big long guilt trip, imagine a more positive spin on this. There are so many things to feel grateful for, even when it seems like everything is working against you.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
The law is a fickle mistress, and it varies from state to state and county to county sometimes. And then there is the blatant hypocrisy of it all.
There are some things that feel like they should be allowed to pass but you get scolded for, like jaywalking, and then there are things like actual robbery in broad daylight, like telemarketers and nothing happens to them.
Make it make sense. It's like taxes, the wealthy know loopholes and the poor go to jail. Shameful.
Redditor u/Xanduh wanted everyone to chat about legal life fails by asking:
What do you wish was illegal?
I try my best to follow the law. And Lord knows how well I'm doing. There are so many obscure laws for ridiculous things, yet, scamming people of their life savings is a free pass. I'm confused... apparently, so are many others...
Save a Life
drag race drugs GIFGiphy"Hiking up prices of life saving medications. (Insulin, epi-pens, etc.)".
The Hands of Time
"Advertisement like "anti-aging" is absolutely preposterous."
"I would love to see a massive class action lawsuit against any skincare that proposes "anti-aging". Watch a judge rule in the plaintiff's favor citing that the products did not actually turn back time."
Credit
"Your credit score goes down because you cancelled a credit card."
"You want to have multiple lines of credit that you're responsible with, preferably for a long period of time, because it proves you're a reliable borrower. If you have no debt, it's almost like you've not established credit at all. Your score goes up the more lines of credit you have. It's bonkers. Someone more financially literate than me could probably explain better, though."
- isocleat
The Devil
Kate Mckinnon Snl GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphy"Hi, I'm X. We're trying to reach you regarding your car's extended warranty."
- Mtt76812
I'm at the end of my tether with these car warranty calls. I swear to God... nevermind. And advertisements needs to be more regulated. That is a start at better fixing justice.
Extra $$$
Happy Credit Card GIF by HollyoaksGiphy"Convenience fees for online ticket purchases. Why am I getting charged for saving on paper, ink, and everyone's time?"
You're Cancelled
"Companies making it really difficult to cancel things. Especially subscriptions. I think the process to subscribe to something to should be exactly the same as the process to cancel it. I'm looking at you spotify."
"Gyms in general. before they started popping up everywhere I was a member at LA fitness."
"Well I moved 2hrs away from the closest one and they wanted me to come in person to cancel, then they wanted me to send in a damn letter. I can signup online, why can't I cancel online?"
- Rektw
No muss, no fuss.
"Printer ink being ridiculously expensive for no reason."
"Buy a laser printer. Here's my oft-told tale of woe: School got out so my kids no longer had homework to print. A month or so later we needed to print a document. Our Kodak injket printer not only refused to print but said we needed to buy a new ($90) print head because the old one had gummed up, because we'd gone too long without printing."
"I went to the local office supply store and bought a Brother laser printer. It scans, it copies, it uses wifi, and most importantly it just works.About twice a year when we need to print something I go and get it out of my garage and bring it into the house, set it on the kitchen counter, plug it in, and print to it."
"It works great - even remembers my wifi settings (SSID and password) from the previous time. No muss, no fuss. If I really want to print something in color I'll use Kinkos. Turns out I literally never need to print in color."
Child Currency
"Using children to monetize your social media channels."
"It's honestly sad that their parents force them to be the face of their social media accounts, since the children will never have a normal childhood due to their fame."
Bot Thieves
Theatre GIF by StubHubGiphy"Bots buying tickets and up-charging the crap out of the price."
- pgh613
Those ticket thieves need to be taken down. No Broadway show is worth $1000! Don't fall for it kids. That mess needs to be cleaned up. There is actual crime happening to the naked eye. Let's focus there.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
While the world is a dark and scary place, there would not be a world, or a human race, without inherent kindness.
Kindness always gives you a little thump to your heart that nothing else can truly provide. A rush of knowing you've made someone's day better. And you may change the trajectory of that person's life because of it.
To hear more of these kindnesses, for inspiration, Redditor slizsarbleh asked:
"What is something you've done purely out of the goodness of your heart, but have never told anyone?"
Here were some of those stories.
One Grieving Heart To Another
"I lost my mom earlier this year and am still working through the grief. The first week a came back my coworkers had gave me a check for several hundred dollars as a kind gesture. I was truly overwhelmed by the generosity."
"The following week I came into the break room to find one of the techs with a lost look on her face. She had just gotten a phone call that her brother had been murdered the night before."
"She had moved to our city just a year prior and didn't have any family close by. As I held her and listened to her cry, I booked her a flight home."
"It was several hundred dollars as she is from a small town and the flight was for later that day. I told her to go be with family and let me know when she was ready to come back. I had no doubt that is exactly what my mom would have wanted me to do."-thatgirlmocha
Taking It For The Team
"I was extremely stressed and took a mental health day, planning on going to mom's and crying myself to sleep. We ended up going to the mall, and even though money was really tight for her, she wanted to buy me lunch (we split the bill)."
"She realized that she lost a newer $50 bill while walking around. She was devastated."
"I traded my smaller bills to a cashier for a newer $50, folded it like she would, and tossed it under the seat of her car. The next day she called me, almost crying because she was excited to find it and said that without it, groceries would've been pretty tight that week."
"Taking me out that day prevented me from having a full breakdown. I think $50 was a small price to pay for what she did for me that day."-SleepsLikeACat
Services For The Poor
"I do IT work, usually small business and a lot of home repair. I have many wealthy clients and a few not so fortunate. It is not unusual for me to go to a home and it is obvious they are barely scraping by."
"So I either don't charge those people, or make it a nominal fee. I also refurb the old PC's and give them to people who have one that is not repairable."
"My best fee ever was a basket of home grown creole tomatoes, damn those things are delicious."-Disposable70
It really does cost nothing to be kind.
Just A Game, But More Than Just A Game
"This isn't as impressive as the comments I've read but this is just something I did recently."
"I'm a member of a Sims group on FB where people talk about the game, expansion packs etc. I noticed a comment by a teenager who said her favourite pack would be Pets but she can't afford it."
"I went onto her page and saw that she really loved horses. I could also tell from her pictures that her mum was disabled and money looked tight."
"I was fortunate enough when I was her age to always get the packs on the release dates and I used The Sims as a wind down from revising and school."
"I thought that this girl needed the escapism way more than I ever did so I bought every expansion pack, messaged her the activation codes, a link to a YouTube video on how to use them, and a short message saying I hope you enjoy playing and to keep smiling."
"I really do wish her the very best."-MariaOSullivan
Saving And Changing Lives
"Bought insulin for the child of a lady in front of me at the pharmacy. The woman (single mom) was in tears & didn't have the $200 copay for that month."
"I gave her my number & told her to call me within the next few days. That was a few years ago. She now manages the office at my practice, makes enough $ for anything she needs/wants, & is one of my closest friends."
"And now she has excellent insurance for herself & her son! Be kind—it can literally change lives! <3"-EJX713
A Simple Blanket
"There's a semi-secluded bus stop beside a store I used to work at, and a homeless guy started sleeping there on the bench halfway between the stop and the parking lot one winter."
"One day I got to work 15 mins early and saw him sleeping, wearing just a flannel and jeans. So I ram into the store, bought a blanket, and covered him up with it."
"He never woke up so he didn't know it was me. Every time I saw him sitting on the bench he had the blanket wrapped around him."-SeleneSlayer
Even In The Face Of A Feud
"I have an ongoing silent feud with one branch of my family (my dad's cousins and their kids, my second cousins), and we haven't spoken or really seen each other in over 10 years."
"I've pretty much written them off, and I don't really care if we live out the rest of our lives without patching things up."
"Two months ago, one of my cousins from that branch unexpectedly died at the age of 38. Their immediate family had always had financial troubles."
"So while I didn't fly across the country to attend the funeral, I quietly sent my sister a bunch of money and instructed her to pretend it was hers and pay off part of their funeral expenses."
"And then just last week, some of my other relatives started a GoFundMe for one of my aunts in that branch (she's my dad's oldest cousin)."
"She has Stage IV cervical cancer and wants to leave the hospital to pass away at home surrounded by her loved ones, but the hospital won't release her until her medical bills are paid in full (this is in another country)."
"I haven't told my dad or anyone else in the family, but I anonymously donated my last paycheck plus the money I had been saving for my upcoming birthday trip."
"I don't really consider it out of the goodness of my heart, though. It's just that the thought of an elderly, terminally ill person dying alone somewhere that isn't home eats away at me so much that I physically couldn't sit by and do nothing."-OrifielM
And these gestures are the kind where the kindness is its own reward.
To Instill Hope
"A lady was fleeing an abusive marriage without much more than her kids and the clothes on her back. Word went out within a whisper network requesting a few essentials she needed."
"Packed up several things from the request list and also one thing that wasn't requested. I make jewelry as a hobby. Put a pair of handmade earrings into a gift bag: silver and pearls."
"Added a handwritten note that every woman deserves something beautiful and sending good wishes her way."-doublestitch
Someone's Housing
"At the beginning of the pandemic, I was volunteering at a local pizza shop to distribute slices to kids who otherwise couldn't get fed because the schools were shutdown."
"There was a woman with 3 kids that came by every few days to get slices. Turns out the father had died unexpectedly right before the pandemic started and they lost their house because of the slumlord they were renting from."
"The mother lost her job because she had no one to watch the kids. They were living in their minivan and things were bad for them."
"They were so nice and grateful, but ashamed when they'd come by to get slices that I genuinely felt for them. I had lost my job and got a pretty decent windfall of 2 months worth of unemployment and the CARES Act at once."
"My landlord had a few properties open and is a close friend, so I got in touch with him and we worked out me paying their security deposit and the first 2 months of rent and he'd cover their utilities."
"I gave her his number and said he might be able to help and they moved in the next day. They've been there ever since and are doing extremely well now."-eyexxiii
A Little Birthday Surprise
"I was in my art class in high school and there was a girl who I didn't really know a few grades younger. I could tell she didn't have many friends but was really sweet."
"She was talking to me one day and told me her birthday was soon and that she was so excited. I decided to send her those balloons and whatnot you can get through the student store on her birthday, though she didn't know me very well so I didn't sign my name."
"It just so happened that the student store worker brought them in during our art class and I got to see her reaction. She lit up and kept telling us it had to have been her mom or her best friend who did it, and how she couldn't believe that someone got her something and she wouldn't stop smiling the whole rest of class."
"I never told her it was me, I was just happy she felt special. That was a pretty good day."-Rbbbb30
Humans, above all else, have the capacity to be unendingly kind. Despite all the darkness in the world, it is these little moments of light that define us as a species.
Hopefully this has given you some faith in humans today.