(I am driving down the motorway and my oil light comes on. I drive to the local petrol station and realise I have no purse. I decide to ask if I can get my boyfriend to pay over the phone.)

Me: “Excuse me, I was driving down the motorway and my oil light came on, and I have left my purse at home. Can I please get oil and pay over the phone? I can’t go anywhere without it.”

Cashier: “No.”

Me: “Oh, okay. Is there nothing you can do? I didn’t bring my purse with me.”

Cashier: “No, we don’t have any way to accept payment over the phone.”

Me: “Okay, thanks.”

(I left the petrol station and a woman, who was inside at the same time, found me and gave me the money to get oil. She told the cashier off for not helping me. I got her information to repay the money straight away. I am so incredibly thankful to her!)

(I work in Switzerland as a nanny. I’m an American, and although I know some German, it is still difficult for me. I am riding the bus home late one night, and miss my stop. It’s a small village, and none of the other bus stops are anywhere near my house. I stay on the bus until it gets to the next train station, hoping I can catch a different bus or train home. I flag down a train conductor, as they all speak English.)

Me: “Excuse me. I just took the bus from Chur, but I need to get to [Village]. Are there any other buses or trains going that way tonight?”

Conductor: “No, there aren’t any more trains or buses going that way until tomorrow morning.”

(One of the bus drivers overhears us, and approaches.)

Bus Driver: “You need to get to [Village]? I just drove the bus through there. You should have said something.”

Me: “I’m really sorry. I’m not very familiar with the route, and my German isn’t very good.”

Bus Driver: “Come with me. Tell me where you need to go, and I’ll drive you there.”

(So, the two of us got back on the bus, and he drove me back to my village. We chatted on the way over, and he even offered to drive me all the way to my house, but the narrow roads wouldn’t have allowed it. This kind man took an extra half hour out of his night to help me, even though it meant he’d be getting home well after midnight.)

(My husband and I live in a small rural town and haven’t spent much time in the city, and when we are there we usually drive so we never deal with buses. However, our daughter was born eight weeks early and we were airlifted to the nearest capital city without our car. The day I’m discharged we spend the rest of our day in the NICU, then get on the wrong bus and end up at a shopping centre. My phone is flat so I can’t look up a schedule, and I’m about ready to cry because I had to leave my newborn for the first time in days. We see a bus pull up that we THINK is the right bus.)

Me: *stepping onto bus* “Excuse me, does this bus go to [Suburb]?”

Driver: “It does, but I’m on a loop and I’m headed in the opposite direction for a while before I turn around. You’ve just missed the direct one.”

Me: “That’s okay; we’ll just ride along. How much for two tickets, please?”

Driver: “It’s [amount], but I can only take cash at the moment. The PayPass is down.”

Me: “Oh. Sorry for wasting your time. We don’t have any change on us.”

(We start to get off the bus. As I turn, my sleeve rides up and my bright blue, very distinctive hospital parents’ bracelet is visible. As we step off the bus, the driver yells after us.)

Driver: “Wait!”

Me: “Yes?” *thinking he’s going to yell at me for wasting his time, already having tears rolling down my face*

Driver: “Jump on. No charge.”

Husband: “What! No, we couldn’t—”

Driver: “I mean it now. Get in this bus or I am not leaving this stop.”

(Shocked, we get into the almost empty bus and take a seat. We stay in the bus for a while with people getting on and off, and by the time we reach our stop, we’re the only two on the bus. During the ride we’d dug through my handbag and found some small change that totalled up to almost the right amount for the fare. As we go to get off, my husband tries to hand it to the driver.)

Driver: “Nope. No way, mate.” *he reaches into his back pocket and takes out his wallet, pulling out a photo* “Here’s my little one back when she was a NICU baby. She just started Uni up the road. You take care of that little one now. They’ll be grown and out the door before you know it.”

(To that bus driver: thank you for showing us so much kindness on a day when we really, really needed it. I still think about you whenever I look down at my happy, healthy toddler.)

(I’m on the bus on the way home from work early one evening, not feeling the best because of mild food poisoning. This ride takes almost one hour, A few minutes away from town I doze off. A while later I’m woken by a man gently shaking my shoulder.)

Me: *sleepily* “Um, hi, what’s going on?”

Man: “Oh, nothing to worry about, but we’re coming up to [Name] bus station and wanted to tell you in case you had to get off there.”

Me: “Oh, okay, I’m actually getting off at [end of the line] station. But thank you so much, mate.”

Man: “No worries, love.”

(He and his friend got off at the station and waved at me as we pulled out. He didn’t have to wake me but it was very nice of him to do so.)

(My husband comes home from a hospital stay after nearly dying. He is still very tired and weak. I am with him most of that time, except when I am at work, so I am pretty exhausted myself. I am walking through the store, talking to him on the phone about what we can afford.)

Me: “Okay, I checked at the pharmacy. If we hold off on buying [Medicine #1] until our paychecks hit tomorrow, we can afford to get some fast food so I don’t have to cook. The kitchen is still messy from the other day, anyway. They can’t fill [Medicine #2] until tomorrow because of insurance, and they only had a little of [Medicine #3]. They will get more of that on Tuesday, but they only had enough in stock to last until Sunday. I’ll have to head into [Bigger City 40 min away] sometime tomorrow to get some at the [Store] there. Crap, that means I need to get gas; well, I’ll cook after all tonight. It’s not that big a deal.”

(I am also type 1 diabetic, and as I get to my car, I realize my blood glucose level is low. I have to eat some sugar and wait until my glucose comes up to be able to drive. As I’m staring into space, barely awake, there’s a tap at my window. A scruffy, dirty, tired looking man in his late 20s is standing there with a gas can.)

Man: *with a heavy backwoods accent* “I heard you on the phone earlier, and I seen you sitting here eatin’ them sugar pills, so I figured I had a minute. I got some extra [Medicine #3] from when my blood levels was low, and I just won $50 on scratch offs when I was thinkin’ about that, so here. Y’all can have these.”

(He hands me a prescription bottle with just enough of the exact right dosage of the right medicine to make it to Tuesday and starts to put gas from the one-gallon gas can into my car.)

Man: “I know how much hospitals’ll charge you, and sounds like you just need a little help to get through till tomorrow. This ain’t much gas, but it’ll get you home and this way you won’t have to drive to [City]. Oh, and here’s some coupons for [Christian fast food chain] if y’all wanna get dinner from there. Have a blessed day!”

(Stunned, I could barely stammer out a “You too, sir,” before he got in his dented 80’s pickup and left. Thank you, sir, for helping a stranger out in time of need! I hope to pay it forward someday!)