Story 1:
I was 18 and had just moved to NYC by myself, trying to adjust to the lifestyle there (having come from a small town in the South). It was my first time using the train, and I had no idea how to buy a MetroCard.
So I’m standing there at the only working machine, with a line of people behind me, trying to buy a card. I was a little frantic because I knew people were waiting. People in the line started yelling at me to “Hurry up!” and “What, are you dumb?” I started to get teary-eyed, which made me even more frantic.
Then, this guy stepped out of the line and told everyone to chill out. He came up, showed me step by step what to do, and paid for a 12-ride card for me. He patted me on the back and told me, “Next time someone yells at you, yell back, and they’ll leave you alone.” In that moment, I didn’t feel so alone.
Story 2:
When I was about 12 years old, I went to a bookstore with my cousins. We bought a few books and then went outside and started reading them. We were all getting stared down by this old man, but after about 10 minutes of him staring at us, he got up from the bench and went inside the bookstore.
So the third person to stop was an undercover officer. Really nice guy—he helped me push my car towards the grass and brainstormed ideas for the situation because he didn’t want to leave me there.
Well, as the cop and I were talking, car number one pulls up, gets out, and hands me a full 10-gallon gas can. I profusely thanked the guy, even offered to get his number so I could pay him back. He refused, just said it was really no problem.
I didn’t ask this guy to spend his money on gas for me, but he did anyway, and I’m thankful he did. Too bad I’ll never get a chance to pay him back.
Story 3:
Story 4:
A few years back, I ran out of gas on my way home from work. I managed to get my car to the median, so I wasn’t totally blocking traffic. I was stuck at this point—no one I could call and no money. I had three people stop and help me.
The first guy asked what was wrong, if I was okay, and if I had any money on me for gas, etc. I told him my car was out of gas, I had no way of getting to a gas station, and I showed him my check that I had yet to cash, so I had no money. He left, and car two showed up.
Car two—I chatted with her for a bit, but she said she couldn’t really help me out, which is all good.
Story 5:
Story 6:
It was Christmastime, and I worked in a toy store in a mall. A teenage girl came in wearing a T-shirt with the logo of my favorite video game on it. I complimented her shirt and asked her where she had gotten it because I had never been able to find that video game on a women’s shirt—only men’s. She told me where she got it, and then she left.I went into the break room to tell my boyfriend to buy it for me for Christmas, and when I came out, she was waiting for me. She handed me a bag and said, “Merry Christmas! I hope I got the size right,” then left. She had gone out and bought me the shirt, and it was the sweetest thing ever.
Story 7:
Story 8:
I was on a date, and he was so sweet. When the bill came, the waitress looked at him and said, “Sir, your card was declined.” He turned pale. I smiled and paid.
As we left, the waitress grabbed my arm and whispered, “I lied.” Then she slipped the receipt into my hand. I turned it over—and in frantic handwriting, there were 2 words: “Google him.” The moment I got home, I searched his name—and my blood ran cold. He was a fraud.Apparently, he had a pattern: he would date women, gain their trust, and then start stealing from them. He had been in prison multiple times for theft, mainly from his previous jobs. One of his ex-girlfriends had even written blog posts detailing every step of their relationship, including how they met—and it was eerily similar to how he had approached me.
I couldn’t be more grateful to that waitress. Her courage, kindness, and quick thinking saved me from something terrible. I realized she had staged the declined card incident just to have an excuse to slip me that message.
She didn’t just serve a meal that night. She served a warning.
Story 9:
Story 10:
I was a freshman, and it rained like crazy on my way home from school. I forgot my umbrella and decided to walk through it.
This old woman, probably in her 60s, walked up to me and shared her umbrella with me. She walked with me until I got home, sharing some life lessons along the way. It was around a 10-minute walk. I wish I could see her again and thank her.
