About ten years ago, I was at a mechanic’s shop and one of the workers came out and told a customer who was an elderly woman that the repairs on her car were going to cost about $2,000.
The woman was visibly upset and told the mechanic she just couldn’t afford it so she’d have to be on her way. Another customer, a middle-aged man, stepped in and said to put her repairs on his bill and that he would cover the whole thing.
The woman tried to protest, but the man said just to help someone out in the future when she was able to.
It was definitely the nicest thing that I’ve seen someone do for a total stranger.
Do you want some more stories like this?
It’s time to get wholesome with a bunch of AskReddit users.
1. “It was awesome.”
“I was in Edinburgh, traveling alone. I met some guys at the hostel and we went to a club, but it was weird, so I came back to the hostel. The hostel is on the Royal Mile. It’s 2am and there is a girl doing poi juggling. I did some poi juggling myself, so I stopped to watch, and when she stopped, started talking to her.
I asked here where she was from. She said Brazil. So, being a stereotype guy like I was, I asked here whether she knew capoeira. She did.
So, on Friday night, on the Royal Mile, me and a stranger did capoeira. It was more than 20 years ago, and I still remember it. It was awesome.”
2. It was just an accident.
“Driving on the highway, the car in front of me suddenly swerved to take an exit, and then tried to swerve back onto the highway, almost sideswiping me in the process.
Luckily there was no one to my left, so I veered into the left lane and avoided an accident. A few moments later I’m passing her, and she very sheepishly looks up at me, kind of anticipating and expecting someone to cuss her out.
Well, I had just learned a new road trip trick. Flipping people off is stupid, but giving them a thumbs down REALLY stays with someone. It’s the “I’m not mad I’m disappointed” of the road. I had a huge *ss thumbs down queued up for this driver, but when I saw her face I immediately knew she didn’t mean to, she was embarrassed, and she already felt bad enough.
So instead I flashed her a huge smile, dramatically and jokingly wiped sweat from my brow, and gave her a giant thumbs up. She smiled and laughed and honestly it’s one of my favorite moments in my life.”
3. Generosity.
“I had just lost my job and my dad had his card stolen. He was waiting on the bank but completely out of food and living in an old, run down RV.
I would have figured SOMETHING out. I’d die before I let him starve. Right as he’s almost in tears talking to me about it, someone knocked on the door.
A lady had food for someone in an RV, but those people had vacated the parking lot and she wanted to know if my dad needed any. (Some sort of local helping hands org.)
There was everything from canned goods, to fresh meat, milk, pasta. Everything. She had bought it with her own money and didn’t want it to go to waste.
I’ll never forget the timing, or her generosity.”
4. At the baseball game.
“I’m a wheelchair user. At a baseball game, a little girl came running up to me and climbed on to my lap.
Her mom was apologetic but I told her it was fine, no worries– looking at the girl’s face, I could tell she had some kind of developmental disability. Mom explained to me that the little girl’s grandfather used a wheelchair and she missed him.
I rolled around a little to give her a ride, she giggled and had a good time, then she climbed off and went back to her mom.”
5. A nice old fella.
“I was once traveling through an old town, when I stopped at a small shop to buy some packaged water.
I was in my tweens at that time, so I jumped out of my car and went to buy, a very old man sat at the shop, once I bought everything he took out an ice-cream and handed it to me, as I was about to take the bottles with me he picked the bottles himself and walked with me to the car so that I I could have my ice cream.
He was very old and scaly, very thin too. And once he saw that I had a younger sister he rushed back to the shop to bring out another ice cream for her. I insisted that he take money for it.
But he didn’t take it and just smiled. Maybe we reminded him of his grandchildren I presume.”
6. A good night.
“Went to a bar to meet a date and got ghosted.
So I’m sitting at the bar drinking alone and saw a woman being harassed by a drunk guy. I intervened and she acted as if she’d been waiting for me. The drunk got lost and the woman and I sat together at the bar for a couple hours. We had a really great time, lots of smiles and laughs.
There were sparks for sure. She asked for my phone and started talking selfies, so I took it back from her to get some better photos. Probably captured 50 or so, some really candid ones and some silly poses. After we laughed about the photos, she got up to leave.
I asked for her number and if we could go out sometime, but she declined. She thanked me for the wonderful night and said something along the lines of “let’s just leave it at this and enjoy the memory.”
Somehow I felt ok with that. I kept her photos for several years and every time I saw them they instantly brought a smile to my face. I never even knew her name but it was one of the best dates of my life.”
7. Honeymoon in Greece.
“On my honeymoon in Greece we nearly got stranded driving our little scooter back from a day trip.
Finally found a petrol station in this village but it was during afternoon nap/siesta time. We apologised as best we could in the little Greek we knew. The guy obliged but looked a little annoyed. He casually asks where we are from and we tell him New Zealand.
His face lights up and is amazed because he had never met someone from NZ before. He asks us what are we doing so far away from home, we tell him that it’s our honeymoon.
He tells us to wait there and comes back with a bottle of wine that’s obviously worth more than the €6 of petrol we are buying. He refuses for us to round up the bill or for us to buy anything.
He just tells us “honeymoon is honeymoon, be happy, go”
Hands down one of the best highlights of our trip.”
8. Can still picture it.
“The most wholesome and memorable experience was in a crowded New York airport with an elderly lady.
I saw her crying and looking bewildered as she sat alone in the main concourse. So I sat down next to her and asked if I could help.
She said she was going to a family member’s funeral on the west coast and had never been in an airport. The lady was “hard of hearing” and the loud speaker announcements just compounded her confusion – to the point where she was physically trembling.
At that point, as I once noted here in ask reddit, I guided her through security and directly to her gate, asking the attendants to give her special assistance (especially with her inability to discern broadcast announcements).
As an attendant escorted her for boarding, the lady turned, waved, and blew a kiss in my direction. To this day, I can still picture her vividly.”
9. Bless her.
“I started going back to the gym. First day saw a personal trainer and took some pre-workout.
I was pushed pretty hard and by the time I left, I was dizzy, light headed and nauseous. On my drive home my symptoms got worse and progressed to the point where my arms and legs went tingly to numb, lost fine motor control, hyperventilating and my speech became nearly unintelligible.
My hands locked up and I couldn’t open them or move my fingers. I was essentially temporarily handicapped but I was still thinking straight.
I pulled over, hazards on, crawled out and onto the curb, fumbling about dialing 911. The operator couldn’t understand me and I didn’t know what was happening to me and was panicking.
A woman pulled up behind me, got out and asked what was happening, if I was okay. I shook my head and handed her the phone that says “911” on the screen. I did my best to tell her what was wrong but she could also see the state I was in.
She told the operator what she saw, where we were. She got me a blanket from her car and wrapped it around me and stayed with me until help arrived.
I looked up at her and managed to say the most defeated, desperate thank you I could muster before she left. I recovered shortly after and didn’t need to go to the hospital, but was still picked up by family.
Bless that woman, wherever she is.”
10. A miracle.
“I was in Walmart one day and some dude was blocking the aisle where the item I needed was located.
I then heard him ask a Walmart employee where the cabinet liners were. She proceeded to say she wasn’t sure and started to send him to the wrong location.
I nosily piped up: I know where they are. If you want to follow me I will take you to them because I just bought some last week.
The man: Oh, ok. Thank you.
He followed me to the opposite side of the store and I showed him where they were. He thanked me again and I hurried back to the other side of the store to get what I needed.
Five minutes later at the self checkouts the man showed up and I saw him just hanging around with his bag of purchases on his arm. When it came time to pay he stepped up and insisted on paying for my items. I thanked him profusely.
At the time I only had $35 in my bank account and was trying to purchase food for the week. This man who I was so annoyed with helped me so much. I still tear up when I think of his kindness.
“I am a single mother of two wonderful kids and this was my miracle.
11. Uplifted and humbled.
“I was flying between Melbourne and Brisbane and found myself sitting next to a nun not much older than me.
We chatted for the whole two hours about life, death and infinity. It was really pleasant, much more than I thought it would be.
As we were landing, after we exchanged goodbyes, she looked me straight in the eyes, touched me on the arm, and said, ” God bless you”.
I felt uplifted and strangely humbled, especially as I am an atheist.”
12. We’ve met before…
“I had been living and struggling in NYC for three years, when my dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
I decided to move back down south to be closer and help out. It was a huge, scary, life-changing decision and I didn’t know if I was making the right call—I had been working in book publishing and trying to follow my dreams but it just wasn’t what I thought it would be.
On one of my last nights in town, I got into a cab to meet someone for dinner. The eerily prophetic cab driver just looked at me in the mirror and asked, “you are leaving this city for good?” I told him I was and he said “yes, you have met many fancy animals with human faces.”
As I got out of the car and said goodbye, he said “well, we have met before 1,000 years ago or so, and I expect we will again.”
I think about that guy a lot. And yes, moving was the right decision!”
13. At the red light.
“I’m sitting at a red light with my wife and son. I’m directly behind a yellow school bus full of kids.
Some of the kids were just being kids and making faces out the window at cars, etc. A small group of kids were gathered near the back of the bus looking at us.
All of a sudden, one kid does the “Gangnam Style” crossing the wrists and bobbing the hands up and down part.
I do it right back to him, with a huge grin on my face. Then I do the part where you stick your arm up in the air and twirl it around while moving your head back and forth.
By this time just about the entire bus was watching and as the light turned green I heard them absolutely erupting with laughter.
Best red light ever.”
14. A small gesture.
“A few years ago, I was experiencing deep depression.
My life was a mess, my apartment was a mess, I was a mess. For a moment, I decided to just go to the park and sit for a while, as I was really at the end of my rope and had zero idea on what to do.
Out of nowhere, a kid, possibly about three or four years, comes and hands me three yellow dandelions and runs back to her mom.
I don’t know why, but I always remember that. That day, I went home and cleaned my apartment and made it more tidy. I wouldn’t say that my life miraculously changed, but I will say that, that one moment of kindness, that neither the kid nor the mom probably remember, was one of the most memorable moments in my life.”
Okay, now it’s your turn!
In the comments, tell us about the most wholesome experience you’ve ever had with a stranger.
We’d love to hear from you!
