# The Kindness of Strangers Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 4, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kindness-of-strangers-thread/484453 "2009-02-04T18:57:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Euryphaessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Euryphaessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euryphaessa)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kindness-of-strangers-thread/484453/101 "2009-02-15T15:56:16Z")
One I remember was from maybe 2 years ago. I had gone to the city (about an hour away from home) with two friends of mine to go shopping and see a movie. As we were leaving the theatre, I had a panic attack and since I was the only one with a driver’s license I had to basically just ride it out until I was calm enough to drive without killing us. As I was sitting in my car, shaking and hyperventilating while my two friends kind of looked on helplessly, a woman came up to us and said she was a doctor and asked if I needed any help, medical or otherwise. There wasn’t anything she could do, but I really appreciated the gesture and it did make me feel calmer to know that there was someone knowledgeable around instead of my two dumb guy friends, bless their hearts. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![LilGypsyGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilGypsyGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilGypsyGirl)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kindness-of-strangers-thread/484453/102 "2009-02-15T16:28:26Z")
This thread is KILLING me! I’m sniffling and bawling like crazy, only because a teeny incident happened to me, just yesterday. I am a full-time student (cosmetology) and not working. My SO works full time, but all of our money basically goes to bills to keep a roof over our heads, and our electric on. We watch free broadcast TV, and steal internet (i know, I know) We grocery shop when we can, and usually can only afford to get 3 or 4 days worth of food for the week, and are pretty much scrounging or just not eating the rest of the days, until he gets paid again. Anyway, I had gotten a small tip from a client at school yesterday after a haircut. It was 3 dollars, but the first thought I had was “SWEET! Now I can run across to the AM/PM and get something to eat for lunch! AWESOME!” I was starving, and had never been that excited over three dollars, ever. I grab a cheepie cheezeburger, a soda and a small bag of chips. In my excitement, I forgot to calculate the sales tax. The total was $3.67. The more I scrounged in my pockets for extra change (knowing there wasn’t any), the teary-er I and more frantic I got, and told the guy at the counter to take off the burger. I was just so frustrated at being so broke, and so hungry that I lost it in the middle of the store, complete with sobbing, runny mascara, and possibly a snot-bubble. The guy behind the counter looked at me, smiled, took a dollar out of his own wallet, and popped the four dollars into the register. The only thing he said to me was “See you later, have a great day!” I was so grateful, I cried all the way back to the breakroom at school. Being broke (literally without a pot-to-piss-in) is the worst feeling ever. If I am EVER in a position to help someone out once we get back on our feet, I will. And I’ll never forget that guy at the store and his dollar. Thanks, AM/PM Guy. I owe you a dollar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kindness-of-strangers-thread/484453.md?page=5)