July 9, 2020 | Eul Basa

People Share Memorable Moments They Had With Strangers 


Some of the best memories we have are ones we shared with our friends and family. However, there are cherished memories from times with total strangers. From planning the perfect attack against our siblings to helping with family members, these are some of the most memorable instances these people had with strangers.

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#1 Returning the Wheel

I was about 10 years old and I had a pair of Heelys; they were the coolest thing on the earth. We were in China, spending a few weeks in Beijing. I was rolling around in Tiananmen Square, hit a crack and lost one of the wheels. I looked around for about an hour, but to no avail. I was probably visibly bummed, as my Heelys, the things that made me awesome, were now ineffective and basically ruined.

The next morning, I was walking through the square on the way to meet my friends, and an older gentleman ran up to me and stopped me. He found my wheel. He said that he had seen me rolling around and saw me looking for the wheel after I fell. He saw that I gave up and stuck around for another hour to keep looking after I left.

He came there the next morning with no expectation that I'd pass through, but wanted to be there just in case. I'm not sure who was happier, me that I got my wheel back or him because he didn't think he'd see me in literally the world's busiest square. I said thank you and that was about it. We both had places to be and that was that.

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#2 Rock Formation

I found a rock formation that looked like a man’s private area in a cave in Vietnam. I laughed and pointed at it, some Chinese tourists started doing the same thing and then some Russian tourists followed suit. It wound up being great bonding because no matter what, phallic-shaped objects are funny to just about everyone.

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#3 Fisherman’s Friends

This happened in an NYC bar. I was on a first date and there was an old guy at the bar — looked like an old fisherman from a novel — and he was convinced my date and I were already married. He went on and on about it. We said we weren’t married and he told us we were meant to be together and would be married a long time. He talked with us for a good 15 minutes about this. My date and I did get married about a year later and have been together for almost 25 years now.

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#4 Taking Charge

The day my dad passed away, I was holding it together pretty well. Late that night, I went to Target to have a moment to just zone out and buy a few groceries. As I got to the check stand with my arm full of stuff, I dropped a container of sour cream and it exploded everywhere. I completely lost control of myself and started to cry. The ugly cry.

I was then instantly surrounded by a group of women who completely took charge of the entire situation. They helped me get everything paid for, cleaned up, and one lady even went and got me a new sour cream. No words were spoken, but their compassion and “take charge” attitude has stayed with me ever since then.

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#5 Care to Dance?

When I was at Disneyland a few years ago, a woman approached me out of the blue in the middle of Main St. and asked if I'd like to dance. I obliged her and we spent the next few minutes chatting while her friends filmed us dancing. It turns out it was her birthday and she was traversing the park on a birthday scavenger hunt; one of the items on the list was to dance with a stranger. I wished her a happy birthday, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I never even got her name, but it still makes me smile when I think about it.

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#6 Driving Buddy

I had a two-hour drive from Columbus to the Cleveland area. I tend to drive on the faster side and therefore pass a lot of people. I noticed about 20 minutes into the drive that the car behind me was still the same one that got onto the highway right behind me. We ended up driving the entire two hours right next to each other or in front of each other. We created space in lanes to help the other pass the slower cars and made sure the other wouldn’t fall behind. As I was getting off the highway, he honked his horn, gave me a big smile, and waved. It has been my favorite driving experience so far.

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#7 Intense Little Boy

I was playing on my Nintendo DS in the subway when I caught a random connection. I looked up to see if I could spot the other person with a DS and wound up locking eyes with this incredibly intense little boy who was seated a few benches away from me. "Do you have Pokemon ?" he asked. As it turned out, I did in fact have Pokemon . With that, our fate was sealed. There's this thing in the Pokemon games where, if you meet the gaze of another trainer on your journey, then you must do battle. I had just experienced this in real life. He destroyed me. All level 100s. It felt like I was an extra in the anime doing battle with the protagonist.

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#8 Two Dollars

I was leaving the gym and walked down a long hallway. I didn't remember having any money on me. As soon as I stepped outside, I heard a coin drop and looked down and $2 seemed to have fallen from somewhere on me. It was strange because I didn't have any money on me and it would have fallen off of me inside while walking, I thought. It rolled and I picked it up.

I looked up and there was a homeless man in a wheelchair playing harmonica who I otherwise would have passed by. I gave the $2 to him. He said thank you, I said no problem. I began to walk away and he said, “Good, and you?” I played along and said, “Oh, good! Where did you learn to play harmonica?' He proceeded to tell me that he used to play all sorts of instruments until he had his stroke and showed me that one of his arms didn't work anymore. He was a nice guy and it made my day a bit better.

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#9 Bus Ride Home

I was on a long, late-night bus ride. It was express, so it made very few stops. The bus had maybe 10 people on it in total. Halfway through the trip, it made a stop at a small-town station so people could grab a snack or use a public restroom. I went up to the counter to buy what was my dinner, even though it was after 10:00 p.m. When the cashier rang it up, I passed a $50 bill to her and she told me that she couldn't make change. Defeated, I went back to my seat on the bus.

As the bus drove away, a lovely middle-aged lady walked up from her seat and politely asked if I minded if she sat with me. I told her she was more than welcome. She proceeded to unpack a small lunch bag and split the entirety of her meal with me. She said she had been waiting for the washroom to clear out and had overheard what happened.

She said, "I've gone hungry in my life and it sucks. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, so you can share with me." When we were done, I jokingly asked if she could break a $50 and we had a good laugh. She stuck with me for the remainder of the trip and was a very interesting lady besides being incredibly generous. I hope she is well.

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#10 Friend of Mine

I was 13 and waiting for a taxi. It was raining and I had no umbrella, so I got soaked. This guy next to me sheltered me from the rain with his umbrella. We talked while waiting for the taxi and he was so easy and fun to talk to! After about 15 minutes, another guy came up on his scooter. My guy told him that I was a friend of his and if he could drop me to my destination. So yeah, I just climbed on this stranger's scooter and took the lift home. Perhaps that was dumb looking back on it, but I still think of this guy and the kindness he showed me to this day even. I don't even know his name or remember his face.

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#11 Young Woman in Love

I met a well-dressed, older gentleman at a train station in London. He struck up a conversation about the departure board, but since I was a 20-year-old woman, I was hesitant to talk back. However, I like chatting with people and decided to keep the conversation going. He ended up being extremely easy to talk to and I ended up telling him I was waiting for a train to take me to the airport so I could see my boyfriend in Hong Kong. He ended up telling me all about his life and his amazing family, being all-around charming.

He was in London for the day to pick up a passport so he could whisk his wife away on holiday and he just made me smile the way he was so smitten with her. He ended up leaving after about half an hour. When he left, he took my hand and kissed it, telling me it’s so beautiful to see a young woman in love. I never caught his name, but I’ll always remember him.

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#12 Goofy Faces

I was in an ice cream store with a few friends and I made eye contact with some random guy walking to the counter. For some reason, neither of us broke eye contact, and for those few seconds he made an incredibly goofy face, to which I responded with another goofy face. For the rest of the time we were in there, he and I didn't even look at each other again.

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#13 Partner in Crime

At the St. Louis Zoo, there’s a fountain that had five spouts to drink from that always had water running. When I was about ten, I discovered that by covering up one of the spouts with the water coming out, the other four rose a bit. The set up was nearly perfect. We walked by the fountain and my younger sister went to drink out of the center one.

I immediately walked to her right and raised my hands to cover the two spouts on that side. I couldn't help but be sad that there was no one to cover the spouts on her left. Then it happened. A boy across the path saw what I was going to do and ran over to the other two spouts. Then he silently looked at me and mouthed "one, two, three." We both covered the spouts and the water in the center one shot straight into my sister's face (it was beautiful). Then he took off to his family and I ran away from my sister for my life.

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#14 No Strings Attached

I’ll never forget this one time when a complete stranger gave me 300 dollars with no strings attached. I met him and his wife in Oklahoma City while on a road trip across the country. I was alone at the time and seated near them at a restaurant bar. I didn't ask for any money and don't even know his name, but he ruled.

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#15 Helpful Ladies

My grandfather passed away (my only real father figure). He was in VA assisted living and then just got sick one day. We were expecting him to go back. I held it together at the hospital, then cleaned out his room so another vet could get in ASAP. At one point, I stopped for food and there was an older gentleman with his grandson. He made a comment my grandfather always used to say to me and I just broke down. Then these two middle-aged ladies ushered me over to their seat and I cried for longer than probably the rest of my life combined.

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#16 Road Rabbit

I used to drive from Toledo to Dayton quite a bit, straight shot down 75. I would often leave closer to midnight and always would find a "rabbit,” somebody driving over the speed limit that would take the police attention. A couple of times, I found people that were riding along with me. We would share the burden of speeding, switching what car would be up front every 20 miles or so. I never knew any of them but the shared understanding was very comforting. It was always sad when one of us took off on an exit. It felt like I was leaving a friend behind.

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#17 Incorrect Tickets

I was a cashier at a local grocery store chain about a decade ago. A guy bought some lottery tickets off of me. He asked for some certain things, but I put it into the system wrong. I told him that I could change it out and it wasn’t a big deal, but he just sort of shrugged and said it was alright. He came in the next day and handed me two hundred dollars. Turns out he won $20,000 off of the “incorrect” tickets I had sold him. I never saw him again.

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#18 Red Balloon

I was in the US Navy at the time and we pulled into port in Norway. We had a couple of days to explore and I went to the closest city, Bergen. While in the main square area of town, just down the road from their fish market, there was a small boy. He was maybe three years old and with his father. The boy had a large red balloon but it was windy and it got away from him. His father made a grab for it and missed, but obviously couldn't run after it and leave his kid.

It was blowing generally in my direction and I made a quick dash for it and managed to catch it. I then crouched down and held it out for the boy. He looked like he was about to start crying but immediately brightened up with the kind happiness only a child can have. He took the balloon and his father just gave me a small smile and a nod. I returned the smile and nod and we went on our way. This moment always sticks out to me.

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#19 Christmas Spirit

It was the night before Christmas Eve at about 8:30 pm. My mother was trying to sell our place since we’d moved a few blocks away with my new stepfather. The driveway needed to be clear and there was about a foot and a half of snow to shovel. I was still pretty young and it was definitely going to be a big job.

I trudged over there with my shovel and just started the first row when a random guy in a snowplow turned in and cleared the whole driveway in two minutes. He was wearing the red plaid jacket and toque combo — the classic Canadian look. I was worried as we hadn’t hired a snow removal guy, but he just waved, said, “Merry Christmas” and drove off. Thanks, snowplow guy. You taught me a thing or two about the Christmas spirit.

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#20 Random Newborn

I got on the train headed out of NYC to visit family for Thanksgiving. A woman in her 70s sat directly across from me. She had a newborn strapped to her chest and was singing in Spanish. After riding the train for about 20 minutes, she signaled for my attention and I took my headphones out. I bent towards her, she gestured to the baby and asked, “You take?”

I held her infant (her grandchild, I presume) while she got herself organized to feed and change the baby. After she was done, she gestured for me to help her strap the baby back on. She waved goodbye when she got off the train and that was that. It’s weird to know there is some random newborn that I've held and will never know.

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#21 Traveling Nomad

While out for a long walk to take some photos in Wellington, New Zealand, I stopped to drink some water. I then got to chatting with a guy sitting on the park bench. He was homeless in that he didn't have a permanent residence, but he considered himself more of a nomad. He would tour around the country and had made his way from the UK to New Zealand over the course of a few years.

He went on about how he used to work in London, got sick of his corporate job, and went travelling with the remainder of his savings, never looking back. He eventually burnt his savings and was happily stranded in New Zealand. I still remember his initials were D.G., and he asked if I wanted to take a photo of him. I'd taken hundreds of photos of landscapes, animals, and people, but his one was my favourite from the day.

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#22 Hold My Puppy

Back when I rode the bus everywhere, I was at the bus stop outside the mall and this guy came up to me. He asked, “Will you hold my puppy while I run inside and find my wife?” He then produced this little white puppy. So, I held it while he went inside; the puppy was so soft. The guy then came back with his wife, took the puppy, and I got on the bus.

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#23 Something Special

I was standing in a notoriously long line for a particular ride at Disney World. We noticed this girl wearing straight up stilettos and a small knit dress in the middle of November, who progressively got more and more unsteady on her feet. Her boyfriend was also growing less interested in supporting her or keeping her warm, even mentioning how he suggested a different outfit for a theme park.

It was only a matter of time. Sure enough, apparently while trying to lean on the rope railing, this girl absolutely ate it. Nobody laughed, but she was fine. However, I immediately made eye contact with a guy who just uttered, "Oh my god" in the most hilarious way I've ever heard. I lost it and we shared something special for the rest of the wait time in that line. I will never forget him.

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#24 Riding With Strangers

I was going to a university party with a friend and there were a few people with cars there. My friend knew them, we all started chatting and they offered a ride to a bar. The party was kind of weak so we were like, "Sure, why not?" The twist: Inside the car, I realized my friend thought I was the one who knew them.

Yes, we were inside a car with a bunch of strangers who weren't even from the university. I already had noticed those people were already near their 30s. After a moment of holding firmly to my organs (Brazil is a violent place), we arrived at the bar and ended up having a pretty good time. Those people were really nice and even paid for some of our drinks. I never saw them again.

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#25 Girl Code

The day I found out my grandmother had a stroke and would never walk or talk again, I was away at college. I finally broke down in a bathroom. A girl came in and asked if I needed a hug. I was crying so hard that I really didn't get a look at her face. I cried on her shoulder for about 10 minutes and then had to pull myself together and leave for class. I never explained myself and she never asked. I never recognized or spoke to her again. I wonder if she sometimes saw me on campus and wondered what was up and if I was okay.

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#26 Raise Your Fists

Back in the late 90s, we drove a dark blue 84 Volvo wagon. I hardly ever saw another car like it back at that time. One day at a grocery store, we saw another couple in the exact same car. I rolled down the window and raised my fist in the air. The other driver saw what I was doing and raised his fist. Solidarity!

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#27 Paper Cranes

One time, I was on the bus home and this girl sitting next to me was making paper cranes. Before I got off the bus, she stopped me and gave me the crane she was working on. She also smiled at me. I still have it and I think about it a lot. Side note, I carefully unfolded it and didn't see a phone number or anything, but it’s a great memory either way.

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#28 Kindness Needs No Words

When I was studying abroad in Lithuania, I volunteered at a soup kitchen and every now and again there would be an older lady helping out who dropped off supplies. We would smile at each other and say hello even through the language barrier. One night, I went to Easter mass in the town I was volunteering in. It was warmer during the day, so I didn’t think about bringing a heavier jacket once it got dark.

I was sitting through mass and started noticeably shivering. All of a sudden, I felt someone drape a scarf over my shoulders. I turned around and it was the lady who would drop off supplies at the soup kitchen! Once mass was over, I tried to return the scarf but she refused to take it. I did my best to extend my gratitude through the language barrier, but I’m sure she knew. It was the most beautiful and kindest thing that has ever happened to me. That was the last time I saw her and I will never forget her kindness. It still tears me up thinking about it.

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#29 Coolest Bunch of People

I was out at a beach with my family for a bonfire. The only problem was that we got there too late and there were no more open pits. We sat on the sand for about an hour until a man came up to us telling us that he had run out of logs. Seeing as we had no pit and that they were freezing without a fire, we took him up on his offer and joined his family around their pit. We sat until midnight talking about music from the ‘70s and about our lives. They were the coolest bunch of people I’ve met in a while.

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#30 Revisiting the Home

An older gentleman knocked on my door one day and asked if he could possibly come inside and revisit the home in which he had lived over 55 years ago. It was a pleasure to show him around and to hear his recollection of things that had happened — some of which were eye-openers. I never saw him again because he was visiting from the other coast, where he now lives. Still, I won’t forget the tales he told me tales of the house and neighborhood.

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#31 Shooting Their Shots

I was at a play barn and shot a foam tennis ball out of a compressed air cannon, directly into the barrel of the cannon on the opposite side. The opposite barrel was about 60 feet away. The kid operating the cannon was amazed and shot the ball directly back at me, hitting me in the head. We both looked at each other like, “What the heck?!”

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#32 Hero in the Rubble

When I was 14, I was trapped in the rubble of an earthquake. I spent six hours crawling towards a man whose face I never had the opportunity to see. He was a citizen who didn't leave his name with anyone and never came forward after the fact. It has always bothered me that I will likely never find out who he was.

I’ll also never be able to tell him how much comfort his voice gave me during those horrible hours. When I saw pictures of the space I ended up in, much later, I couldn't (and can't) understand how he was able to stand where he stood for six hours without injuring himself or suffering some sort of emotional trauma himself. He's my hero.

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#33 Ganging Up

I was at this event in a nearby provincial park that offered a shuttle service in and out of the park. They got more interest than bargained for I guess and people ended up having to wait two hours for a ride out of the park. This made some people very angry at these poor rangers who were obviously just kids in their summer jobs. This big dude was just screaming at this young looking girl, just going on about "doing something productive.” The poor girl was in tears, just apologizing over and over again and trying to get to her co-workers, but he wasn't letting her pass.

This really angered me, so I yelled, "What is she supposed to do?" Then this older lady a few people joined in to pretty much shame the dude back to his family. Of course, when the buses finally came, he sat his fat butt down on one of the priority seats despite there being a woman with a walker almost falling down right beside him. The old lady from before swooped in and managed to kick him off and sat the woman down. Awesome lady, I miss you.

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#34 Sketch Artist

One time I was on the bus going to a college class and I felt a tap. I looked up from my phone and this guy was sitting across from me, showing me a notebook. He had been drawing a sketch of me during the bus ride. When we got off, I asked him if I could take a picture of it. I have it somewhere and I think I posted it to Instagram at the time.

I remember he barely said a word. He seemed very shy and I thought it was cool that he showed me the drawing. I like to imagine the possibility that he had to work up the courage to show me, just because of how shy he seemed since he said pretty much nothing. He just kind of nodded when I asked if I could take a picture.

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#35 Everybody Wins

I was on a flight once and my seat was right next to a woman with a screaming baby. I love babies, so I offered to hold her for the woman, who was clearly frazzled and had her arms full. She handed the baby over, I calmed her down and held her for most of the flight. At one point, the mother went to the bathroom and the flight attendant came over.

She offered me another seat so I wouldn’t be bothered by the baby.  I politely declined and played with the baby the whole flight. I loved it. It was a win-win-win. The mom got a few minutes to herself, I got to play with a baby, and the rest of the passengers didn’t have to listen to a screaming baby anymore.

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#36 A Present

In Osaka last year, our plane touched down at around 11:00 p.m. and we were trying to find our way to our Airbnb. It was drizzling so we were walking in the rain because we didn't want to have to open our luggage to get our coats out. An older guy going the opposite direction suddenly held his umbrella out to us.

We politely declined because he'd have to go out of his way to walk us to our Airbnb. He smiled and held his umbrella out again, saying, "Present." He just wanted to give us his umbrella so that we wouldn't get wet. It was the sweetest way to start off our vacation. Japanese people are some of the kindest, nicest people in the world.

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#37 Helping Out

About 11 years ago, I visited India. I went to a Sikh temple and sat down to enjoy langer (free food served by Sikhs to anyone who walks in). I was served food by this volunteer and we started chatting after lunch and became buddies. Fast forward I was visiting another Sikh temple in the Himalayas. In the kitchen, there was only one volunteer when a large bus filled with people pulled in. I went up to the guy and asked if he needed help and he gladly accepted it. I started serving food to people sitting in the lines and guess who I saw sitting down? My buddy from the first Sikh temple. It was great seeing him and we said our hellos.

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#38 Snowed In

My friend was visiting for the day but it snowed so hard her bus was cancelled. She didn't want to sleep on my floor again, so we took an Uber to my boyfriend’s apartment. The next morning, my boyfriend's car was snowed in and I had to get across the city to go to work. We were struggling really hard, trying to brush off all that heavy snow with one tiny ice scraper. We were getting covered in snow and soaked. Then this guy appeared out of nowhere with his own scraper and cleared off the whole car for us in two minutes. He didn't speak English, but I hope we managed to convey our gratitude towards him.

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#39 Blessing on the Bridge

Years ago, I walked to a bridge with the intention of ending my life by jumping off. I met a guy there who wouldn't stop hovering around me. Eventually, he approached me and told me that "I have bad spirits around me" and that I should keep my head up and not give in to them. He then asks if he could smudge me.

I didn't know what that was, but agreed anyway. He pulled out sage, a lighter, and a shell from his backpack and proceeded to bless me right there. As soon as he finished, a bunch of birds (seagulls, crows and pigeons) came flying in circles above us. He said that they were telling me my life was about to turn around and then he said goodbye and left. My life did change that day, big time. And when my mind occasionally creeps back to dark places, I think of him and it pulls me back.

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#40 Table Mate

I went to a cafe, which was a small place, but popular. I got a coffee and looked around for seats. None. I then noticed an elderly lady sitting by a table. I asked if I could sit down with her and she gladly said yes. We chatted a bit and it was all so lovely. After a while, she left and I never did catch her name or anything.

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#41 WWII Survivor

As a teenager, I caught a bus into town. An old chap took the one free seat next to me and somehow we started chatting. He started telling me how he took part in a battle during WWII where he was one of only a handful of survivors — it was fascinating listening to him, especially being an army brat myself. I wish I could have spent longer on the bus with him and remembered more of the conversation, but it’s lived with me now for 35 years.

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#42 The One That I Want

My touch football team was sponsored by a local bar that does karaoke on the same day of the week that our games are. We went for a visit after our game. I don't sing well, but I enjoy singing and I'm not shy. I wasn't planning on singing this one time but a girl went on stage and asked if anyone would sing that song from Grease, “You're the One That I Want.” I thought, “why not?” and went up.

We absolutely nailed it. People around us were dancing and cheering. We finished the song and both sort of said, “good job” and stuff like that. She went back to her table of friends and I went back to my football team. She and her friends left shortly afterward. That was over 20 years ago, but I still think about that night from time to time.

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#43 Lucky Puppy

My son was in a pretty serious accident and I was a wreck in the ICU waiting room. A little girl maybe about 9 or 10 years old was with her family, saying goodbye to her great grandmother. She waltzed right up to me and asked, “Sir, why are you crying ?” I explained my son was very sick. She handed me a miniature puppy doll and told me it was lucky and my son would get better. She was right. He did and I still keep that little puppy on my dresser and think of that sweet child.

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#44 Proudest Moment

I wrestled in high school and after a match, tradition dictates that you walk over and shake the hand of your opponent's coach. You then cross the mat diagonally and shake your own coach hand, crossing paths with your former opponent as you do so. Once, after a match with a kid I'd never met before, I said "round the world" as we approached each other and we high-fived as we crossed paths. We then did the “round the world” high-five thing and high-fived down low behind our backs. It was one of my proudest moments.

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#45 The Right Meds

My friends and I were in France and I was super sick. Our medical student friend couldn't find the medication she wanted me to take and we couldn't speak French. We went to a pharmacy and the pharmacist didn't speak English. Eventually, they communicated only through active ingredient names, and I got the right meds.

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#46 Enjoy the Show

The opening day of The Force Awakens, I went to see it and there was a decent line about ten minutes long. Some loser had brought his daughter to see another movie and walked to the head of the line to complain that he shouldn't have to wait. He got louder and louder and my wife kept saying to me, "Don’t do it," but I finally snapped.

The cashier kid he was yelling at looked like he was about to cry. I stepped up behind the guy and said in a loud voice, "Are you really stupid enough to think that you can come to the movies on opening day of one of the most anticipated movies in history and not wait in line?” He just turned, looked at me, and went to the back of the line. The cashier kid handed me two tickets when I got to him and told me to enjoy the show, which was nice.

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#47 Letting it Out

This was about two years ago when I was in university. I was having some gas pains, so I went to use the bathroom. I was the only one in there, but someone came in shortly after, so I decided to wait until she was done. She apparently was in the same situation as me, so we were both just sitting in silence waiting for the other to leave, occasionally letting out tiny toots.

Finally, she asked, "Can we both just let one rip?" I laughed and said, "Yes, please!" Then for about a minute after, both of us are simultaneously laughing and tooting. We laughed because we were passing gas and passing gas because we were laughing. We finished at about the same time and said "hello" as we washed our hands. I never saw her again. I still giggle every time I think of it.

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#48 All Night Long

I'd locked myself out of my apartment once when I was taking out the trash. It would have been close to midnight. I was a woman in her early 20s, just out of hospital, and had no way to get in. I also had no money, phone, or nearby friends. I don't remember this boy arriving or explaining myself to him, but he sat with me until morning, the whole night. He had limited English, so we barely spoke. He shared a tin of pineapple with me he had in his bag. He was calm, empty of ill intent, and quiet but watchful. He was also friendly with a big, open smile. When the sun came up, he walked on. I'll never forget him or how kind he was to do that. Some people are so in tune with the world, they protect it. I hope he was okay too.

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#49 Are You Not Entertained?

A few years back, my wife and I visited Italica, a Roman ruined city a few miles from Seville. The ruins are glorious and we had them to ourselves. When we emerged from the gladiator gate in the amphitheater, I stalked out into the sunlight, threw out my arms and roared, "Are you not entertained?!" It rang off the old seats in a satisfying manner. Turns out, we weren't alone. I spun to find a Japanese tourist staring at me in wonder, who then grinned nervously, snapped a picture, and gave me a thumbs up. My wife then said, "You're an idiot."

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#50 You’re Being Brave

After I had broken up with my ex of four years, I was looking for a new place to live. I was viewing this place and got there a bit early as the current tenant was still there. We talked a bit (I didn't mention anything about my heartache). As she left, she hugged me and said, "I can tell you are being very brave right now."

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