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That’s One Amazing Gas Station

, | Hopeless | January 10, 2017

(I have to stop for gas after a long, exhausting week, and I feel I’m about to lose it. I’ve got 60+ miles before I get home. I walk into the gas station to put money on my pump, as my gas tank is on empty. I get through the door, the cold air hits my face, and I lose it. I sob hysterically. I hold up a wall for a second or two when a young man with a trainee badge approaches me.)

Trainee: “Is there anything I can do to help?”

(My story pours out.)

Me: “I was robbed earlier; I am failing a class, and am in an abusive relationship and trying to get out.”

Trainee: “I get off in five minutes. Let me finish what I’m doing, then let’s sit and talk.”

(We sat together in the little cafe almost all evening. I cried and talked, he listened and comforted. I got home, and had strength to leave the relationship. I recovered most of my losses, and moved on with my life. I quit my demanding job, and went back to school full time. I’ve never been happier.)

Rallying The Troops

, , | Hopeless | January 5, 2017

(I am in New York for business from another country. I am walking through central NYC, back to my hotel late at night. I walk past a doorway which has a very large man towering over and yelling at a cowering young woman. Nobody else is around, and being a small guy and a foreigner and in a strange country I just walk past. After a block I decide that I can’t live with myself if I don’t do something, so I turn around and walk back. There’s still not another person in sight. I am terrified. I pull out my mobile and pre-dial 911 but do not hit send, I just leave it in my hand in my pocket. I completely ignore the guy, walk up into the doorway beside him, and address the woman.)

Me: “Ma’am, are you okay?”

Man: “She is fine.”

Me: “Thank you, sir, but I would very much like to hear from the lady herself.”

(The man steps forward and begins to tower over me, but then steps back, glowering at me furiously, hands clenched at his side.)

Lady: “I am okay.”

(I asked her if I could call a taxi or walk her somewhere more public. She once again said she was fine, and I felt as though there was nothing more I could do and that I had pushed the situation beyond what was safe for me. I backed away, and found that there was a crowd of people behind me. I had no idea where they all came from, but we all stood there watching while the lady collected herself and the man calmed down. Someone in the crowd asked if he hit her, and I replied that I had only seen him yelling. The situation looked defused, and we all went our separate ways. I have been back to NYC many times since then and found the people of New York to be cold on the surface, but when it really mattered they rally around. Thank you to all those who stood behind a small guy trying to do the right thing.)

Dollar Of Kindness

, , , | Hopeless | January 4, 2017

(Today is Thanksgiving. Some stores close for Thanksgiving, like the convenience store down the road, but our store is open from 7 am – 10 pm. The phone rings and I answer it.)

Me: “[Store], this is [My Name]; how can I help you?”

Customer: “Hi, I was just calling to ask what time y’all are open until today?”

Me: “We are open until our normal time, 10 pm.”

Customer: “Wow, really?!”

Me: “Yes, ma’am!”

Customer: “Well, this is [Customer]; I live across the road from your store, and I was just wondering how many of you are working today?”

Me: “Well…” *hesitating, not sure how EXACTLY to answer as this question is a little out of left field*

Customer: “I am asking because I’d like to fix y’all a plate of Thanksgiving dinner to thank you for working today.”

Me: “Oh! Well, thank you, that’s very kind of you, but you don’t have to do that! That isn’t necessary, though the thought is appreciated.”

Customer: “You sure? I really don’t mind, since you have to work! What time do you get off?”

Me: “My cashier and I both get off at three, and that’s when the next shift will come in.”

Customer: “Oh, you get off at three? That stinks. Well, thank you for working today, and have a happy Thanksgiving!”

(I was so shocked and happy the rest of my shift. That someone would want to do that for us to thank us for working today, and show how appreciative they are for us working, was just more than I could have expected!)

Convention-al Kindness

, , , | Hopeless | January 3, 2017

(I’m at a comic convention where I have been hanging out with both good friends and casual acquaintances. I bought the train tickets back home beforehand but pretty much everyone I know begins to leave over an hour before my train does. I’m tired after the three convention days and since during this time I am still living in a small village, these events were pretty much the only time I got social. I’m talking with this guy who I’ve met only a few times, always at conventions, so we don’t know each other that well. He and his girlfriend have just talked about leaving themselves.)

Me: “You guys are leaving, too?”

Guy: “Yep. Better do it just before the con ends so that you don’t get stuck in the human mass.”

Me: “That seems to be the tactic for everyone I know here. I’ve still got an hour and a half before my train leaves and I have no idea what to do with that time. And I’ve got a train switch that’s over half an hour.”

Guy: “Where do you need to switch?”

Me: “[City].”

Guy: “Hey, that’s where [Girlfriend]’s parents live! Right next to the train station, too. We’re actually going to drive to their place straight from here and there’s room in the car. Just hop in and come with us. We’ll keep you company until your train leaves.”

(I was so stunned that someone who, at the time, was a casual friend I saw maybe twice a year would not only offer me a ride, but also invite me to hang out with him, his girlfriend, and his girlfriend’s parents, just so I wouldn’t need to be lonely. It’s been several years now and today he’s one of my closest friends.)

When You’re In A Tough Spot, You Find One

, , | Hopeless | December 31, 2016

When I was in my twenties I decided to go back to school. After making a mess of my life and dropping out of high school then bouncing around jobs, I decided to see how it would go if I took some more automotive classes.I suspected it might be something I could turn into a career, though of course the idea of being a student again was intimidating and a little terrifying, and I also had some concerns about fitting in as a woman in a male-dominated industry. On the first night of class I got to campus over a half hour early to make sure I could find parking and, of course, it didn’t help. I circled and circled, getting increasingly stressed and desperate.

Class started at six pm and it was 5:56 pm and I still didn’t have a spot. I was literally crying in my car telling myself that this was a sign from the universe that going back to school was the wrong choice. I decided if I didn’t find parking in the next two minutes I would leave, drive home, drop my classes, and just fake my way through whatever else happened and wherever life took me and that would be the end of going back to school.

Just as I made this mental deal with myself, a car pulled out of a spot directly in front of me. I parked, wiped my face, gathered my supplies, and went inside to class. My butt was in the seat about ten seconds before six pm.

I’ll never know who it was, but I often think of the guy who pulled out of the parking spot right in front of me and wish I could tell him: thank you. THANK YOU. That class went well, and so did the next ones, and the ones after, and the job I got next, and the one after, and this year I was hired and started to teach part-time in the very same program I attended.

If that guy hadn’t left his parking spot when he did, this would not have happened. There’s no way for him to ever find out, but he gave me a life I never would’ve imagined when I was crying in my car that night.