Many People Don’t Realize These Things Are Anti-Poor

People who have never been poor in their lives sometimes don’t realize how people who are poor live in a whole different world from the rest of us. It can be easy to close your eyes to it, ignore it, think the government is taking care of people, when you and the people you love aren’t living inside the experience day-to-day.

When you start to delve into the truth, though, it can make your head (and heart) hurt – so if you’re ready to educate yourself on the reality of being poor in the developed world, here are 13 things you might not realize hurt more than they help.

13. Amen and preach.

The inability to bankrupt student loan debt.

The bankruptcy system was created to encourage economic innovation and growth by providing a safety net to entrepreneurs who take a risk and fail.

So why is higher education — a calculated risk that you’ll become a more productive higher-earning taxpaying citizen — not considered as honorable a pursuit as entrepreneurship?

Today we also have ‘consumer bankruptcy’ that goes beyond helping risk-takers, and allows people to spend indiscriminately and get a bailout.

If we permit consumer bankruptcy (there are valid reasons for it) then loan debt deserves to be even higher on the list of priorities for a society. Instead, we take young adults at the peak of their working career and imprison them at the bottom of the economy, mired in debt. From a purely business/economic standpoint it’s foolish that we allow this; never mind the moral problems with it.

12. This should not be a thing.

When, and IF, you find a REAL grocery store (not some bodega) try and figure out how easy it is to get to that store without a car.

This right here! I grew up in one of these areas, the nearest real grocery store was a 30 min freeway drive or nearly an hour or more on the bus.

These Carnecias (butcher shop) and Bodegas were all over the neighborhoods. A lot of what they sold was either from Costco or other grocery stores and at a high price no less.

It sucked going to them since we didn’t have a car and they were the only option. There were lots of liquor stores as well, it was a food desert and the last time I drove through my old neighborhood it hasn’t gotten any better.

11. All opportunities are not created equal.

The GRE and other standardized tests.

The GRE is like 130-150$ to take… I had to borrow money from my folks to take it.

10. That’s not so good.

‘Charity’ clothes bins.

Contents get sold in bulk to poor countries for a very low price so they can be sold locally.

Things is, local traders that make clothes can’t compete with the volume and low price and get wiped out.

9. Our justice system is nothing of the sort.

The greatest injustice isn’t that the rich have access to good legal representation. It is that the poor do not.

The Common Law legal system is adversarial by design. If you show up under-equipped, then you are going to have a bad time.

In theory, the duty of the prosecution is to merely present evidence that supports each and element of the offense(s) laid out against the accused. This also includes providing evidence that does not support any element of the offense(s) laid out against the accused.

The criminal justice system, again by design, is meant to give the benefit of the doubt and the advantage to the defendant. Because the power of a state is so overwhelming against any private individual (even people like Jeff Bezos can instantly be brought down by the sheer might of the SEC), and the consequences of loss of liberty so dire, the system is designed that each and every element of an offense must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt; that, is, a fact finder must be sure. A defendant rarely has the burden of proof and it will almost be to a lower standard of balance of probabilities (or preponderance of the evidence), meaning more likely than not.

The problem with the American criminal justice system is that your prosecution authority is elected. In theory, it sounds great to have the prosecution represent the concerns of the people and be accountable to them. In practice it means you have a prosecution service whose entire mandate is based on convictions to satisfy the public, not justice. Justice isn’t about public opinion.

8. A great injustice.

Requiring references and experience for every entry level job. essentially you need to have had enough money to do an unpaid internship at some point for connections etc.

This is one of the greatest injustices. You could be the “model” poor kid, working hard and getting good grades trying to work your way up. Only to hit this barrier. Heck, I had those internships and the entry level jobs still wanted “5 years of experience”. I was 21, so they expected me to be working in a corporate environment when I was 16?

Also, the obsession with college degrees. Convinced an old co-worker of mine to interview a kid for tier 1 tech support. She wasn’t going to, even though his tech knowledge seemed solid on his resume. Just because he didn’t have a college degree. I pointed out we weren’t paying well enough for a college degree anyway.

He ended up nailing the interview and was hired. To this day one of the best guys I have ever worked with. Getting the job at our company allowed him to afford Junior College and then get a degree from our local state university. So now he has the degree that was originally going to hold him back.

7. And also the bail bond system.

what’s really sad is how it used to make convictions. You spend 30 days in jail unable to make bail and waiting for a trial, then the prosecutor offers you a guilty plea for 30 days of time already served. Whether or not you’ve committed the crime, it’s a no-brainer to take the deal and go home, rather than stay in jail fighting and risking a much heavier sentence.

So you take the deal, and now you have a conviction on your record. Well, what happens the next time you have a run-in with the law? Now you’re treated as someone with priors.

It’s all self reinforcing in a way that enables constant harassment and incarceration of poor/minority communities.

6. That should not be a thing.

Requiring full time availability, but only offering part time hours.

5. Thank goodness for libraries.

Having everything online at a click of a button is a wonderful convenience for many of us, myself included. For others, it’s an insurmountable barrier. The is a huge, huge population out there slipping through the gaps of the system simply because they don’t have regular access to internet and mobile phones.

Public libraries have been holding it together by a thread for years as the only point of online contact for millions, and now they’re been cut way back. Budgets are slashed, libraries closed, equipment outdated – and even if they are able to access a computer, a lot of people don’t have the first idea how to use one.

It’s not just “clueless old fogies” either, it’s including impoverished people of literally all ages and backgrounds, especially in rural areas. Book online, apply online, register online, learn more online, contact us online – so many businesses, services, utilities, news sources, job opportunities, etc are now 100% digital, and it’s simply not accessible.

It’s also one of the many, many reasons it’s an astonishingly a$sholish and tone-deaf thing to judge people living in poverty who have “fancy” smartphones. It’s almost impossible in this day and age to live without some kind of internet connection unless you’re already established/comfortable.

4. They’re not for teenagers, that’s why.

Saying that minimum wage jobs are for students. If they’re for students then why do they hire adults in the first place?

3. That’s awful.

Well a lot of benches in cities are designed to stop homeless people sleeping on them so they are forced to sleep on the floor.

Also there’s a lot more anti homeless architecture just look around your city and you’ll see some of it.

2. It’s getting harder and harder.

The push to be cash-less.

1. They should be free.

Anything that’s required by the government and entails a fee. Things like IDs should be free to get, then a small fee if you lose it before it’s time to renew it or you need rush processing.

Along those lines, laws that aim to eliminate something by making it more expensive. Sin taxes and “Saturday night special” laws are a good example.

Learn something new every day – and when you know better, do better.

Tell me what you’re doing these days to broaden your educational horizon. I want to hear about it in the comments!

The post Many People Don’t Realize These Things Are Anti-Poor appeared first on UberFacts.

September 23, 2020

People Share Stories About When They Caught Their Significant Others Cheating

Getting cheated on is one of life’s ultimate betrayals.

If that sounds dramatic, it’s because that’s what goes down when this sort of thing happens: it’s full of drama, crying, fighting, etc. DRAMA.

And it’s also very hurtful to the person who is the one that gets left in the dark.

People were asked to open up about how they caught their partners cheating and how it made them feel…

Here are some tales of heartbreak from people on AskReddit.

1. The nanny…and some weed.

“My ex husband and his family smoked a lot of pot, still do.

His sister, kids, and nanny were visiting from out of state for a few weeks. When it was time to fly home they left their stash at my ex MILs house because they didn’t want to take it on the plane. My ex asked if I would pick it up because I was nearby. Stupidly I agree.

I don’t smoke and I was willing to carry it in my car for him. To my surprise I found a note from the nanny to my ex saying she was in love with him and she was so happy for the time they had together. Obviously she thought he would get the weed instead of me.

While it was incredibly painful at the time I am definitely living my best life 15 years later.”

2. She confessed.

“My best friend was friends with my gf and her roommates. Word got to my friend about her bringing some dude home after a party and my friend eventually spilled to me.

She said “I really don’t want to tell you this and I know this will crush you, but I can’t keep this from you.” After she dropped the bomb I was like “Hell no! That would never happen!” and then I confronted by gf about it that night who broke down and confessed everything.

I stayed with that girl for another 7 months and God bless my friend for sticking by my side and supporting the whole way. When I finally ended things, my best friend was still there to support me and care for me.

Also haven’t dated anyone for longer than 6 months since that happened 7 years ago…”

3. A broken heart.

“I walked in the door to her coworker on the couch, obviously uncomfortable and clothes messy and her locked in the bathroom.

I wanted to pummel him then and there, but he was a trained MMA fighter, and I would’ve left the house that night with more than a broken heart. I just left.

They started dating the next day.

Sucks. It took a while for me to get trust back in relationships.”

4. I’m not dumb.

“Wife was acting unusual for a few weeks.

She would want to spend time by herself on the weekends and when she came home at night from work she would often sit in the driveway for 20 minutes on the phone.

I’m not dumb.

I bought a voice activated digital recorder and stuck it in her car. I knew what I needed to know in less than 24 hours.”

5. Round and round it goes.

“She confessed to her mom… Then mother in law called her other daughter and told her…

Sister in law then called me and told me, she let me listen in on a three way call to her mom and tried to convince mom to tell me but she refused which basically confirmed it.”

6. The last to know.

“June 1, 2018. Normal day. A Friday.

My husband had kissed me goodbye and gone to work. I was cleaning the house for company who was coming to stay the weekend. The doorbell rang. There was a man at my door who introduced himself as the husband of a woman who my husband worked with.

He was there to tell me that my husband and his wife were having an affair. He had busted them about six months prior and had told his wife that she had to end the affair. He thinks that she did end it…for about three months, but then they started up again.

When he found out they were at it again, he called my husband (because he knew if he confronted him in person, he’d be in a jail cell for what he’d have done).

On the phone, he told my husband to leave his wife alone or else he would come and tell me everything that was happening. Apparently, my husband thought that he was bluffing.

So I was literally the last to know. My husband never came home again. He got an air b’n’b and a lawyer. The divorce was December 21, 2018.

We had been together for 24 years. Still hurts.”

7. Where could he be?

“I owned a house with my fiancé.

I woke up in the middle of the night and he wasn’t in bed. I went searching. His truck and another vehicle were in the driveway. Then, I went upstairs and found the guest bedroom was locked. After barging my way in… I found him with another woman in bed.

That bed happened to be my childhood bed. He forced me out of the room… literally grabbed me by the neck and pushed me out and closed the door back. I knew I couldn’t do anything at that point, so I called his parents who lived a few blocks away.

His dad showed up and another fight broke out. I ended up leaving and staying at his parents until dawn. I moved out that weekend and let the house foreclose. 9 years later.. it’s finally off my credit report.

I’m happily married to an amazing man and we own a beautiful home together.”

8. What a creep.

“The husband of one of the women he was cheating on me with called me at work.

At first I didn’t believe him and hung up. How could the man i spent the past 8 years with, had 2 beautiful babies with, suffered together the loss of one of those children do something so hurtful?? Still a part of me had doubt. He had affairs in other relationships and we had a rocky patch early in the beginning where I suspected an affair but didn’t have proof.

I told my boss I felt sick and had to leave early and I called this guy back and found out that my ex and his wife along with one of their friends were all sleeping together for about a year. He had confronted my ex and told him that he was going to tell me but my ex convinced him to wait a month since my mother had just died.

I took my time coming home and confronted him and told him to pack and leave. Since I’ve pieced together a lot of what happened and all the lies he told me where if I was in a different headspace I might have caught on to the affairs earlier.

I also found videos hidden on one of our computers and found out he was having booty calls in our apartment while I was at work and he was watching our daughter.

At that point it put the headstone on any possibility of reconciliation.”

9. Unhealthy.

“Very unhealthy relationship. He was emotionally very abusive and I was in a terrible place with my mental health.

I found out at the ultrasound to determine the gender of our child. He was late and I was noodling on Facebook waiting to be called.

He was tagged in some photos in my news feed from a gig he’d been at on the previous weekend. Random lass was in all the photos of him and they were all over each other. Also they were making out in the background of one photo.

He turned up after I was called in. While the technician was printing the images I told him I knew. He went off and on about how I was making it up, he’d never do that, obviously I was lying to compensate for cheating on him and so on. When I pointed out there were photos he stormed out and left me there.

My Dad had turned up during the appointment (anticipating that he’d react badly if we were having a girl, which he did, that was scattered through the cheating denials) and took me home.

I considered us broken up at that point and stopped all contact except texts related to the pregnancy.

Mostly I was relieved. I had concrete evidence that it wasn’t in my head and I finally managed to escape that relationship.”

10. Business trip.

“He went to Hawaii for a business trip without his wife and kids. Like a good wife, I packed his clothes before he left and unpacked his dirty laundry when he returned home.

I found a tiny pair of white cotton panties (no lace) in his suitcase. He had recently dropped a lot of weight (>100 lbs) and played it off that he had bought them for himself …. they had no label and were simple bikinis so theoretically could have been men’s as well.

It did sort of explain the pretty brunette that followed him off the plane at the airport and kept looking at my kids and I at the luggage carousel (what an *ss to make his side piece come face to face with his wife and kids).

I made sure he wore those panties at least once a week for the remaining few months we were together (I set out his clothes everyday and he couldn’t protest).”

11. A sad story.

“I was married.

Out of the blue while at work I get an email that says (husbands name) ‘s wife.

When I open the email it lists off a name and says (husbands name) married to her. Check on Facebook

(English was not the first language, this was overseas)

So I do and what do I see? Tons and tons and tons and tons of pictures of a woman with my husband. The woman and her kids with my husband. The woman and her family with my husband.

I was stunned to say the least. It was October 6th 2017, 7 months after I almost died from an ectopic pregnancy. Yep we were trying at that point to have kids.

After work I went home and started throwing all of his stuff in the dumpster. He was out of town at the time so I had plenty of time to do it. Spent all of Saturday and Sunday throwing EVERYTHING he owned in the dumpster.

A month later I moved to a new apartment and waited until then to tell him I was divorcing him.

He then killed himself a few months later.”

12. An eye-opening experience.

“I was 8 months pregnant with our second child at the time and he wanted to go visit his brother for the weekend. I asked my doctor if it was safe for me to travel and she said it would be fine.

I told my husband I could go but he said he was really hoping to just have some time with his brother, I understood because a new baby really makes it hard to spend quality time but I asked if he could take our older son (3yo at the time) so he could see his grandma and cousins.

He said they were planning on drinking and whatnot and wasn’t sure it would be a good idea. (They’re country boys so think shooting, drinking and whatnot) I agreed and he left for the weekend. After he left I get a call from his best friend telling me that he’ll be in town for the weekend and he wanted to meet up, not weird he called me because my husband was terrible at answering his phone.

I told him unfortunately my husband was visiting back home, bad timing. His best friend then said ok, I’m going to call you back. And hung up very abruptly. Turns out my husband and his wife had been caught by him a few months previously and he gave them a chance to make it right…I don’t know why.

He didn’t tell me but threatened to if they didn’t stop. Well, they didn’t stop and he told me. I think the worst part was that my husband’s family knew and never once thought to tell me. These people were my family for 5 years and nothing.

It’s been almost 10 years now and I’m so much happier but it was definitely an eye opening experience.”

13. A strange look on her face…

“My ex was a big drinker and I wasn’t.

She would frequent this bar close to our place pretty often with friends. I rarely went because I just wasn’t a fan of bars or her drinking friends. One night she went out with a couple that I didn’t mind that much. I was bored at home so I decided to head over for a little bit.

As I walk in I see my ex sitting at the bar with the couple. The bar was packed and as soon as I made eye contact my ex she had this strange look on her face. She turns to this guy sitting next to her, and he immediately gets up and leaves.

I felt something strange right away, but I brushed it off as me being irrational. I stayed for like an hour and headed home. I couldn’t shake the feeling I had though so I checked one of her friend’s Facebook page to see if there was any connection that existed between my ex and this random dude. Sure enough he was friends with one of my ex’s friends.

I knew his name now and that I wasn’t as crazy as I thought. I sat on the information though. The next weekend she goes out drinking again and still had not returned home at 4 am.

I tried contacting her multiple times and I got no response. I woke up to her coming home at 7 am and jumping in the shower immediately. I decided to check her phone while she was in the shower, and she kept all of the messages with this same guy. Some pretty telling information in the text thread.

While she was still showering I grabbed a fresh pair of clothes and headed to my best friends house. 20 minutes later I get a phone call with her going ape sh*t about me leaving and not saying anything. I laughed at the projection, told her that if she wasn’t moved out by Monday the police would be there to force her out.

She wasn’t on the lease and her parents lived 10 minutes away from me. That was that.”

Have you ever had a partner cheat on you before?

What happened? How did the whole thing go down?

Tell us all about it in the comments.

We look forward to hearing from you!

The post People Share Stories About When They Caught Their Significant Others Cheating appeared first on UberFacts.

September 23, 2020

People Share What They Think Screams “I’m Much Wealthier Than I Look”

Rich folks are an odd group. Some of them like to flaunt it, and some of them like to keep it a secret from the world for one reason or another.

It’s like when you read an article about a woman who lived in a run-down shack with 75 cats and no running water and you later find out she was worth $10 million. Weird, right?

But, that’s life!

What screams “I’m way richer than I look?”

Here’s what AskReddit users had to say.

1. Interesting…

“Unique or somewhat odd collections of things most people don’t collect.

I worked in a high-end whisky store for many years, and the number of shabbily-dressed men from overseas who strode in to spend $5,000 – $10,000 on whisky for their collection was staggering. They were always chatty, knowledgeable, and above all casual.

One man in particular had been collecting for decades, his wife was fully supportive (she had her own collection of rare items, he implied), and he enjoyed traveling the world to pick them up as an excuse to go someplace. Conversations often went like this:

Customer: “I see from your website you have the [rare bottling from 1967]? Do you have any in stock now?”

Me: “We do, yes. It’s downstairs. In fact we have a few of that vintage, as well as the [1953, 1966, and 1972]. Would you like to know the prices?”

Customer: “Oh, great. I think that fills a couple of gaps in my collection. And if not the guys and my wife will enjoy cracking one open. Can you package them up for me please?”

Me: “Would…would you like to know how much they are, sir?”

Customer: “Can you ship them all to my place? In fact, if you have discounts for bulk items, I’d like to know what other vintages you have.”

And so on.”

2. I had no idea!

“I went to dinner with a GF and her parents. After we ate, the owner came out and asked how the meal was and then we left without a bill ever coming to the table.

On the way home I asked GF about it and she said her dad had “tabs” at all the restaurants he liked to eat at.

As we were leaving the valet brought the cars around and I mentioned I liked his Tahoe. I asked what year it was and he kind laughed and said whatever is the newest one.

I didn’t know he owned a car dealership in another city.”

3. Booking the fancy rooms.

“I work at a luxury resort.

People call to book rooms with me all day and they aren’t cheap. I can tell when it’s obvious a young couple who had to scrape together the dough for the cheapest room.

But every once in a while I’ll get a call from someone who casually calls and asks to book the biggest room without asking for the price. They know exactly what they want and the price means nothing to them.

2.5k a night? No biggie. Here is my card number.”

4. The old man.

“I had reason to frequent a small but popular marina at a certain Gulf Coast city.

I encountered one old man often, enough we greeted each other with random chit chat. Lovely gentleman. He wore a crumpled old hat, a grease spotted tee shirt, cut off jeans, and worn deck shoes. He always puttered around the largest yacht in the marina, about 60′ long.

He would polish the chrome, wash the deck, clean the life preservers. I didn’t assume he was the maintenance guy because he had such self confidence. I never saw him actually take it out.

I got up the nerve to ask security who he was; he owned most the commercial real estate in the city.”

5. Don’t talk about it.

“They avoid any discussion of money.

When paying for anything they like to do it privately/quietly/before anyone else is aware, so you end up walking in and out of places feeling like you haven’tpaid, almost as if money doesn’t exist.

They don’t flaunt it.

Source: I was dating a girl and didn’t realize she and her whole family were rich until her dad picked us up for dinner in a brand new Mercedes, proceeded to pay for everything during our trip, and our Christmas presents were first class flights to the US (from Australia) for a ski holiday…

That’s around AUD$10-15k (US$7-11k) per person. He also financially supports his other daughter at Cornell University/living in the US.

I grew up poor (and still am, lol)… But I never realized how poor until I met that family.”

6. Had no idea.

“Oh God. I dated a rich girl in high school but didn’t realize it until it was time to meet her dad.

She had me meet them at a restaurant that there was absolutely no way I could have afforded the tip, let alone my meal. It was awkward (for me, at least) assuming I wasn’t going to pay anything when the check came.”

7. A good friend.

“One of my good friends made a bunch of money in oil and then invested it in tech companies that ended up doing extremely well.

2 years out of college he was a multimillionaire. He’d still go out to drink with us like normal and would pick up the tab for dinner and drinks for a group of 8 to 12 of us without a second thought.

He didn’t flaunt it or anything, just wanted his friends to have a good time without worrying about money while he was around.”

8. Join the party!

“The type that nonchalantly offers you a spot in their luxury box at a game or concert, or covers your course fees at a golf outing even though you barely know them.”

9. This one, right here.

“Wearing a T-shirt and jeans in a room of people wearing suits.

My company CEO does this all the time.”

10. Did you sleep in that?

“Back in high school I used to do rowing, and at the rowing club there was this guy who wasn’t great at socialising, was a little awkward, but he was friendly so I didn’t mind him.

We often went out on the same boats and would talk to each other (as much as was possible while rowing), and at the end his dad would always pick him up afterwards wearing sweatpants, slippers and a hoodie.

You might understand why, then, I didn’t believe my friend when he told me that they were one of the richest families in the world. I looked them up, and sure enough, there they were, worth an estimated 15.5 BILLION DOLLARS.

Now whenever I see someone out in public looking like they’re wearing what they slept in I always assume they’re mega rich and don’t car about a thing anymore.”

11. No idea.

“Not knowing prices for common household items/foodstuffs.

Either they’re getting the super deluxe version and don’t know the standard price or they haven’t done their own food shopping for years.

To clarify, it’s not about knowing the exact price of a product (most don’t), but having no real conception of even a ball park figure.

Being used to buying vastly more expensive things, they guess what they believe to be “cheap”, yes, like Bill Gates’ appearance on Ellen.”

12. No brands.

“Really rich people don’t wear clothes with a big brand on display because they don’t make free publicity for anyone.

For clothes they have specific shops who could tailor them high quality clothes, purses or shoes anytime.”

13. You’d never know.

“My boss drives a $2,000 Mercedes from the 1980’s, usually wears jeans and sh*tty clothes at all times.

No jewlery or watch, owns a $150,000 used house.

He’s worth $2 billion.”

Now we want to hear from you.

What makes you think someone is way richer than they look when you see them?

Tell us all about it in the comments.

Thanks!

The post People Share What They Think Screams “I’m Much Wealthier Than I Look” appeared first on UberFacts.

September 23, 2020

These Kids Are Having Meltdowns for Silly Reasons

One of the perks of being a small child is getting to say how you feel all of the time, and everyone still loves you for it.

Sometimes they even think you’re cuter or funnier after you lose your sh%t, which never happens after you pass a certain age.

So don’t feel too badly for these 10 unhappy kiddos – after all, they’re just pitching a fit about their feelings, and we’re just totally jealous.

10. Never flush their toilet.

Rookie mistake.

Image Credit: Cheezburger

9. You could have asked.

I never kill bugs (because I am a chicken).

Image Credit: Cheezburger

8. It’s part of him.

Maybe he wants to keep it forever.

Image Credit: Cheezburger

7. That’s a complicated problem.

But he has a good imagination?

Image Credit: Cheezburger

6. They never want help, either.

That would require listening.

Image Credit: Cheezburger

5. Wait until she hears about polish remover.

It’s going to blow her little mind.

Image Credit: Cheezburger

4. She’s just curious about what goes on in there.

Probably not the best time to bring up the cat.

Image Credit: Cheezburger

3. Society is a pain, girlfriend.

We all gotta sign those social contracts, though.

Image Credit: Cheezburger

2. Yeah that’s going to end badly.

And not for the cat.

Image Credit: Cheezburger

1. HOW DARE, MOTHER.

It’s called sensory input!

Image Credit: Cheezburger

Poor kiddos and their still developing brains! They don’t really know what they need to cry about… but they soon will when they get older, right?

Share a story like this from your house – we need more!

The post These Kids Are Having Meltdowns for Silly Reasons appeared first on UberFacts.

September 22, 2020

Amazing Chance Encounters People Will Never Forget

We usually don’t expect a perfect stranger to be there in our vulnerable moments or to change the way we think or view the world in the span of a single conversation.

That’s exactly what happened to these 14 people, though, and the stories will warm your heart.

14. A sweet start.

A couple days ago I had mine.

I stepped outside the shelter to smoke a cigarette and met a 31 year old guy doing the same thing. I (21M), started talking to him about going to jail soon. He shared with me his experience in different jails and prisons and assured me the one I’m going to is pretty laid back. We even have one of the same charges and grew up in the same area haha. He then gave me a $20 bill and went to bed.

Anyways, besides this settling my mind, giving me money to buy a charger, and wanting to change so I’m not in the same place in ten years, that wasn’t his biggest impact. He up and left two days later and told me where he was going. He gave me a big bag of chips and a banana because he knew I was hungry and that it was my second month of being homeless.

Not long after I left, I went too the door to see if the box and charger I had been sneak charging my phone on was gone. He kept it up there for me to use and had to have known it. You just don’t leave those kinds of things out. But he did.

Well shout out to you man, I’ll always remember, appreciate, and try for you

13. Focus on yourself first.

So, a couple months ago, I had a really awful breakup and decided to go see a longtime friend play at a bar. While there, I met this older lady. She asked if my friend and I were dating and she jokingly said that I must be a groupie then because I traveled nearly an hour out of my way to see him.

She then told me that she had been an actual groupie back in the 70s, although she never got famous for it. Our conversation which started out very light hearted ended up turning into a very deep but sweet conversation about love and relationships. I told her about my situation with my ex and how I was still kind reeling from it. She knew how I felt, as she had been there before with plenty of men.

She told me, “Even though it hurt a lot when these guys would break my heart, I never wished to take it back. I always used that time after a break up to reflect on myself. I would learn how to love myself, and learn what kind of love I was worthy of.

12. Sounds like a good parent.

I can’t remember the exact topic of conversation but this always stuck with me.

“Your mental disability may explain your behavior, but it will never excuse it.”

It changed how I view everything.

11. Definitely life-changing.

I had to go to the ER with a terrible migraine – my family has a history of Arnold Chiari Malformation so any bad headache I’m quick to get checked out (it turned out to be a bad ear infection).

At the time I’d been smoking basically since I was 18, about 6 years, and had smoked off and on in my adolescence. I had at this point heard everything about why it was bad for me and it just never registered. I couldn’t bring myself to care.

Went to the ER, was going through triage. My nurse was a tall man with the geeky stickers on his scrubs and name badge. He gets to the question about smoking. I don’t know what it was, but something about how he explained why I should quit flipped a switch in my brain. I think just because of how earnest he was. Like it wasn’t just a script to him. He put down the clipboard and looked me dead in the eye and like “Look here’s why you need to quit”. I was not even there for something related to smoking and he still took that time.

A few weeks later I smoked my last cigarette. I have been smoke free for 5 years now. I still get dreams about it (which are obnoxious because I’ll feel guilty in my dream for smoking and then wake up and be made that my subconscious is making me feel guilty). And I attribute a lot of my success to that one guy.

10. A little kindness.

I was 16 on vacation in Portland, Oregon. I was there for the 2016 Rubik’s Cube National Championship. The day before i had to compete we were at a hibachi restaurant and there was another family sitting across from us at the table. We started chatting about why we were there.

He said he was visiting his family from China, where he moved there from Portland after meeting his wife. I told them about the competition. When he heard about it he asked, “You plan on winning?”

I said no because I average around 40 seconds a solve, and to win a major competition like this you need to average 7 seconds or less to win.

He raised his glass and he said “Well anyway, godspeed solving tomorrow. Hell, godspeed in life, too.” And clinked glasses with me and my dad.

As a naturally nervous person 3,000 miles from home at a competition, you can imagine how nervous I was before competing even if it was just for fun. The godspeed in life thing resonated with me, too, as I had 3 deaths in my family right in a row on top of an abusive (now ex) girlfriend.

Not the most profound impact, but I still think about it from time to time.

9. That’s a good night.

Chatting with a complete stranger at a bar about some random stuff. Both drunk and desperate. We see two girls. “I speak to the blonde you go for the dark haired one?” Let’s do it man! The stranger said. The blonde is now my wife and mother of our two children.

Thank you kind stranger. I hope you are doing well.

8. A random inspiration.

One day I was going for a job interview downtown. It wasn’t anything absolutely wonderful but it was certainly something to wear a suit. This specific building had a ground level with various places to eat and even an old timey shoeshine place. The old man was friendly and chatted while I waited (it was raining so my shoes got kind of messy). I told him I was going for a job interview upstairs and at the end when I went to pay refused payment. When I insisted he told me that he does it for every young lawyer so they can get a job and pay him in the future.

…well I wasn’t a lawyer and told him that. He responded that maybe I should be. In all seriousness I was going to the interview to convince myself not to go to law school because it seems like the typical white guy thing to do and I assumed everyone just suppresses the desire or talks themselves out of it because of debt. but that conversation ended up being the final straw and the next day I started studying for the lsat.

7. Sometimes they show you the wrong way.

A friend brought an older friend or cousin or something (don’t remember) to a school dance when I was 14-ish. I was sad because my crush was with someone else. This dude told me “Think like a dog: if you can’t eat it, or f*ck it, piss on it and walk away.”

I knew right then I never wanted to be like that guy.

6. Advice for all.

A super senior (65 m) suddenly entered my hostel room (without knocking obviously), took a picture of him inside, talked to me about his college life and drinking stories in that room because it used to be his room back in the days.

Before leaving we just sat on the stairs at the entrance, after a minute’s silence he said: “DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME”.

Whenever I was wasting a lot of time in my college days, even today, those words cross my mind and I become alert.

5. A modern day wizard.

Jerry felt like a modern day wizard. I was flying back from New Zealand in coach. The douche bag seated beside me at takeoff complained constantly until they moved him up into the middle cabin with larger seats.

The seat beside me in an exit row was now vacant. I felt a tap on my shoulder. “Hey little sister, would you mind if I sat in that seat?” He was at least 6’3” and I knew he wasn’t comfortable squashed behind me. I welcomed the move.

He moved up and we started chatting. He was in New Zealand with his wife, but she was flying first class with her company. I had gone down alone. Without saying a word, he knew I had gone down for some soul searching. He had all kinds of sage advice for living and loving.

He talked about “the tv static” of modern life, and making sure to put in the effort to turn it off. I was coming off a month of adventure and going back to the grind, and I wasn’t really in a happy place in my life. I had bought the trip as a gift to myself as a jump start for a new life.

I was feeling a bit down on post vacation blues and Jerry made me feel so hopeful. He wasn’t a complete stranger after the 14 hour flight, but he started as one. I’m forever grateful to Jerry.

4. All of the tears.

I’m a waitress. I’ve worked in a smaller restaurant the last few years. It was the only restaurant like it in the area so we got quite busy. Especially on Sundays. So we had a no take out rule for Sunday. There was a huge blackout across my city a couple years ago due to a big storm. I’m pretty sure it was a tornado or extreme winds that knocked down the power lines. But somehow this little cafe was one of the only places that was up and running in the area so we were unbelievably busy.

We had a lady come in and she placed a takeout order and the new waitress I was working with apologized and told her that we didn’t do takeout on Sunday. This woman nearly dropped to the floor with defeat. She said her power has been out for days, that she has nothing to give her kids for dinner and ended up leaving while crying.

Once I found out what had happened I chased her out to ever car. I apologized over and over again and told her that this other waitress was new and that she was right; we don’t do takeout on Sunday. But I explained to her that I was going to do it for her.

I took her order, went back inside and talked to the best cook we had and he agreed to the takeout order. I went back outside to tell this lady that it wasn’t a problem at all and that it wouldn’t be long. She was so appreciative but she was so embarrassed having cried inside that she didn’t want to come in to pay so she gave me her credit card and told me to give myself a $20 tip. I told her it wasn’t necessary but she insisted.

But I decided that I didn’t want to really charge this woman. I had told the other waitress that I wasn’t going to charge her and proceeded to go outside to give the woman her food and her credit card back. I told her I didn’t charge her for it and that I just wanted to do anything I could to help. She dropped everything and cried. She hugged me and thanked me endlessly. And I was so happy to help.

After this woman had left, a table of mine came up to pay for their lunch. It was an older couple. Probably in their 60’s I’d say. And this man began to talk to me about how incredible what I just did was. He told me that regular people don’t normally do things like that and that made me think. I hadn’t thought about it as me going above and beyond. I was just doing what I thought was fair; what I thought was the right thing to do.

He told me a story from when he was young and had nothing. How he spent most days defeated and broken down. He went on to tell me how an act of kindness changed his life; that he had faith that people did actually give a shit. And that seeing what I just did for that woman brought him right back to that moment someone had reached out to him.

He went on to tell me about his life and I was enthralled listening to his stories about growing up and earning a living doing the craziest jobs. But, somehow, kept coming back to me doing this nice thing for this woman. He wouldn’t let it go. He seemed almost shocked. On his way out he gave me a hug and told me to never stop being the kind of person he saw that day. He reminded me that the smallest thing can change somebody’s day, month, or life.

I will never forget this man. Or this day. He really did make me feel like I had made a big impact on this woman. And now I find I’m looking for ways to make people’s days better and brighter. I try everyday to make somebody smile. And it’s all because of that man.

And he tipped like $100 which made me cry. He had just changed my day too

3. The good kind of drunken yelling.

I first moved into college, and was unsure what it would bring because high school was rough for me. I was ugly, awkward, got picked on and had made no good friends. I didn’t want college to be the colossal failure high school was.

As I was walking down the sidewalk, I heard a girl yell down from a fourth-floor balcony, “Hey! You! Hello! You’re beautiful and I hope all your dreams come true!”

Little did she know her drunken balcony shenanigans would instill in me a small spark of confidence I had never felt, and helped to grow the inner confidence in me that now has grown tenfold.

It was almost as if, in my disbelief and worry, I’d received a sign saying “you got this, everything will be okay, go get after it”

2. It’s the little things.

When I was a kid we didn’t have a lot of money, so we often shopped at thrift stores. What I loved about that was that you could get 10 books for a dollar, so I would plant myself in front of the book section and make piles of which one I wanted to get and then decided after I’d gone through them all.

One day an older lady saw me sitting with my piles and asked if I liked to read. I told her I did and showed her a few of the books I found that I liked. She smiled and then pulled a dollar out of her purse, handed it to me and said, “Promise me that you’ll keep reading.” I was so happy and immediately stood up and said that I would. She smiled and walked away and I went back to my piles able to pick out an extra 10 books to take home.

It was just a small act of kindness for her, but for me having a random stranger encourage my love of reading and making me promise to never stop definitely had a lot to do with my continued love of reading. This was over 20 years ago, but I still think of her whenever I buy a new book.

1. Something to hold onto.

I was about 15 and crying on a step downtown because social anxiety was really a struggle for me. After a while, a girl of about 20 stopped just to ask me what was the matter. It took a lot, but I just opened up to her as she gently held me on her shoulder and wiped my tears away.

As I smiled before we went our separate ways, she promised me that things would get better. I was skeptical at first, but I always remembered our words whenever I was feeling sad.

I really think she might have saved me from suicide. Leah, thank you again. I will truly never forget you!

I’m inspired to be more aware of others in public now, how about you?

If you’ve got a story like this, please share it with us in the comments!

The post Amazing Chance Encounters People Will Never Forget appeared first on UberFacts.

September 22, 2020

People Talk About What They Would Do If No Moral Compass Held Them Back

There are some people in the world who live without, or ignore, their moral compass. Most of them are probably in jail, alone, or on their way to both, though.

The rest of us listen to the voice in our ear telling us the “right” thing to do, though – but if we didn’t, these 14 people have some ideas on what they might do instead.

14. Ba-dum-ching.

I’d be a lawyer.

13. I suppose, but there’s a cost.

I’d have sugar daddies pay my rent and tuition.

Seems like such a life hack…

12. We all need time to grieve.

Not that anyone will see this, but I just need to tell anybody.

I’d be leaving my family to deal with my father’s death so that I can go and be in my own home, by myself, and completely switch off and actually grieve.

But they need me.

11. This seems likely.

Dead.

I’d be really really dead.

10. If you’re not worried about the risk.

Cutting drugs.

I know some drug dealers and one of them offered me a job cutting/measuring and packing cocaine and heroin but I turned it down.

I would either have to cut it at their place, which is always at risk of being busted while I’m there, or at my place – which I just refuse to do – I have cats, I’m not risking them licking some of that shit up.

It’s just not worth the risk, and also I don’t really want to have a hand in someone else’s addiction. I don’t do drugs or even drink, because I grew up with a heroin addicted mother. I don’t want to do that to someone else’s kid.

9. An all-too-common tale.

Getting laid.

Since I do have a moral compass though, I’m sticking it out in my dead bedroom relationship, hoping that one day, when he’s not so stressed out from work, he might actually notice me

8. Eh, it’s probably not worth it.

Cracking on to a married guy I know.

7. That sounds major.

Probably joining the neighbor in f*cking his wife while Doom soundtracks are blasting in the background instead of listening to it from the neighborhood while smoking.

6. This one makes me sad.

Honestly, having s*x with a woman. I don’t know if I’m gay or bi or what but… I know I’m with a man but I really really really want to have s*x with a woman.

5. Also…

Looking for the nearest attractive person to have s*x with.

Also burglary.

4. There’s some kind of story idea in there.

Just not give a f*ck about anyone and stop being nice, if you’re stupid I’ll punch u.

Modern medicine has gone too far, if natural selection don’t cut it anymore, I will.

3. How mature.

Exactly the same.

Even if I didn’t have a moral compass, I’d still have a brain and sense of self-preservation which means anything that I’d be more willing to do I still wouldn’t due to the consequences.

2. That escalated quickly.

Invading Poland.

1. I, um…I guess we asked.

Realistically, due to my poor impulse control and my hyper sexuality thanks to my Borderline Personality Disorder and PTSD.

I’d probably rob as many places as possible, have s*x with prostitutes, go back to being an ecstacy addict and hunt down and kill old friends and family who have broken my heart.

Some of these just break my heart (and others are like…yep!).

What would you give as an answer to this question? Share with us in the comments!

The post People Talk About What They Would Do If No Moral Compass Held Them Back appeared first on UberFacts.

September 22, 2020

People Who Met Strangers They’ve Never Been Able to Forget

Sometimes, it can be hard to remember sometimes how similar human beings are, all over the world. We focus on the ways we’re different, our disparate beliefs and upbringings coming into the mix.

At our core, though, we all have the same desires, We all need the same things to thrive. And in these 12 chance moments, people found understanding and support in total strangers.

12. Just a little perspective.

I had surgery last week because I broke my ankle in 4 places. I, being the restless ADHD-girl I am, went on a wheelchair trip around the hospital the afternoon after my surgery because I was so bored.

The entire time leading up to the surgery(hospital was too busy so I had to wait a week and a half for my surgery) I was incredibly scared and I felt broken, useless and immobile.

I went to the hospital pharmacy because a friend of mine works there, just to see if he was working.

There I had a conversation with a man waiting for his wife’s medication. When I told him I had surgery just 5 hours ago he was truly amazed and told me how it took them 3 hours to get his wife to wake up after her surgery.

He told me he thought it was amazing how strong I was and that I should be proud I was getting around by myself so easily.

That and the fact that the pharmacist was laughing at how hyperactive I was, sitting in my wheelchair talking to all kinds of strangers because I was bored, really made me feel empowered and it’s showing off in my recovery.

I haven’t used any pain medication for the last two days, I’m doing most things by myself cause my bf works full time, and I don’t mind walking around on crutches anymore.

11. Sometimes you just need a push.

I was at my retail job working in the tech area. It was kind of slow so I had the opportunity to really help this older guy out (not thaaat old, I estimate late 50s to mid 60s) with all of his questions and stuff. He was really impressed that someone at the store was actually able to be of help for once and provide in-depth answers and help for tech stuff.

So he pops the question that I get a lot since I look very young (I was 21 at the time but commonly mistaken for 18 or so): are you in college? I decided to be honest and tell him about how I tried community college twice but it didn’t really grab me and I ended up quitting. Long story short, he ends up telling me that I’m way too good for the place I’m at and should get out of there and make some progress towards my dream job.

One part in particular I remember well: he said that he wanted to see me gone from the place in 6 months. For some reason the things this guy said really stuck with me. My family had been telling me for a while to start considering education plans again but I was kind of just coasting along. This guy saying all of that while being a complete stranger really…woke me up some. Sooo I went home that night and told my parents that I was ready to do school again after 1.5 years of being out.

I was out of there by Christmas, which was about 4 months from the time the talk happened.

By February, I had enrolled at a semi-trade school in the Computer Animation program, completed my first 4 months of classes, and was in the process of moving to Florida from Texas. I was doing so well in the new environment, and having lots of fun meeting people with similar interests at the college.

The pandemic has really set me back mentally though, so that’s been a problem. I think I’m coming back out of my depression phase though, so things are looking up at least.

10. A great memory.

It will seem very simple compared to many stories on here, but this summer my boyfriend and I took a vacation together. We paid for a fancy bed and breakfast and when evening came, my boyfriend went out onto the balcony and (being the social butterfly he is) made conversation with our balcony neighbors.

Our neighbors were about 26-28 years old (much much older than us) and they already had a 3 year old kid and a house. We drank, told stories, laughed–it was amazing. I had never made friends with strangers so quickly before, and it’s all thanks to my extrovert boyfriend. It is seriously one of my favorite memories.

I had no cares in the world that night and laughed so hard it hurt to smile. The couple’s relationship was what I envision for my own future, as well. They were totally in synch, made inside jokes between them, and I caught them on numerous occasions speaking to each other through eye contact. It was wonderful to see what a really lovely relationship looks and sounds like.

9. Advice for a lifetime.

First time at Burning Man. I’m struggling to undo the lock I’ve placed on my bike.

An old couple wearing fabulous outfits walk to the other side to get their bikes. The gentleman proceeds to tell me with a smile on his face “Never stop dancing, man.”

He rolled his bike away without losing a beat to his step. I think about that often. Never stop dancing.

8. Kind words help anxiety.

In my first run at a local grocery store(currently back there since I need money cuz pandemic) I was cashiering and it was a busy day. Had more than a couple confusing customers that week who either were trying to steal or just being pains the ass. I hadn’t been doing it for that long at that point and I was pretty nervous after all that happened.

Eventually once again hit another issue at my register and for what felt like the 500th time that day I had to call a manager over to help me. Wasn’t feeling great at that point but I stopped and explained to the customer what the problem was. I don’t remember what the issue was anymore, probably something small like a double scanned item or something that didn’t matter but I also didn’t have the authority to overturn. After I finished apologizing and explaining the situation he said

“Yeah man, whatever you need to do. You know you what you need to do better than I do, that’s why you’re the one back there and not me”

For whatever reason that helped my nerves behind the register a bit and boosted my confidence for a while. I guess just hearing that someone else who had no reason to believed in my ability to solve an issue was all I needed for a little. Seems small but it helped make a difference for me for the rest of the time I had that job.

7. What we leave behind.

Consoled a woman who had a baby with one of the people who lived in my block of flats who’d just hung himself. We didn’t get to him in time as the flat was locked and we had to call the police to break in. Her scream still haunts me.

She kept saying ‘I could have stopped him, I didn’t want to be with him but I didn’t want this, what am I going to tell our daughter’ while I just held her with her mother.

It reminds me that while it seems like the only way out, you leave a scar on everyone in your life you left behind. Especially ones you love.

6. The right place at the right time.

When I was 21 years old I found my dad dead in his house. Even though he looked fairly peaceful I still freaked out and ran out of his house to the only neighbor I knew. I knocked but she didn’t answer. I took a few steps back from her door and looked around frantically while trying to process everything that happened and what to do.

A lady a couple houses down saw me and walked over. She said, “Are you Okay?” I said, “No. I think my dad is dead but I can’t touch him” She brought me over to where her husband was standing outside. She asked where my dad was and I explained which room he was in. Her husband comforted me while we waited for her to returned.

She took me inside while her husband called 911. The two of them helped me to call my mom (my parents were separated but it was still really hard on her) and to find my dad’s siblings phone numbers to notify them. This couple welcomed my mom, sister, sister’s boyfriend, and my aunt in with open arms.

The woman made us cookies and tea. I had never met these people in my life but they helped me get through one of the most challenging days of my life.

5. She made her think.

This one time when i was 17, i decided to leave a family vacation upstate early to go on a trip with some friends for their birthday. So my parents said i could buy and take the train from where we were in northern California back to LA. turns out i had read the ticket wrong, and showed up ten minutes too late for the train. Very dumb on my part.

I realized after my Uber had left, and now i was stuck at this empty train lot in the middle of nowhere until the next train arrived 3 and a half hours later. I sat there for a while before an older woman came and sat next to me at the one bench. She sparked a conversation asking me what had brought me there and we spoke for a long time. Ended up learning a lot about the town i was in, and some touching stuff about family.

The whole situation made me miss my parents and made me guilty i had left the trip early. She got on a different route train about an hour before i left, but the sense of anxiety and uncertainty i was met with in this empty lot was taken away after our lighthearted conversation.

4. What excellent timing.

Called a client to tell her something urgent on a weekend and thought that would be the end of the call. She said she was surprised my office was open on the weekends. I tell her we’re not and that the office is staffed with interns who go through mail and paperwork that has arrived since Friday so we can get a jump start on Monday work since it is time sensitive (investment firm so trades must be done during market hours and non-financial work gets more time to complete). Blah blah blah…

she asks Oh, what’re you studying? I tell her I’m studying accounting. She says “I studied engineering and if I could just give you one little nugget of unsolicited advice, it’s this… get Six Sigma certified, actually.. just get any of those silly certifications that you think mean nothing.”

I waited for her to continue and she went on to tell me that she works in coal mines all over the world reviewing their operations and helping to increase efficiency and save money, reduce accidents/errors, etc. which is right up my nerd alley.. she tells me that she misses out on a lot of bids for the jobs because she doesn’t have the six sigma certification.. capable sure, successful yes, but missing that silly certification. She goes on to tell me that she calls after she’s rejected from every job to find out why she didn’t get the job (I had no idea you could even do this) and more often than not, she misses out on the opportunities to accountants with Six Sigma certification.

No idea why this conversation lit a fire under my ass but I went into my full-time weekday job and sat down with my boss to talk to her about it. I knew she had a black belt (lol) in Six Sigma so I wanted to pick her brain about it. She says “it’s so funny you bring this up actually because we just hired a Six Sigma guru to teach our staff some of the principles of Six Sigma and we’re going to be starting a challenge in different departments to utilize Six Sigma to increase efficiency and productivity across the organization.”

….. here’s me dead silent.

She tells me to meet with the guru down the hall and pick his brain. So I do. Fast forward.. he approaches my manager about allowing me more autonomy in my low-level nothing position. She agrees and basically lets me do whatever I want. So I just start paying close attention to conversations in other sub-groups of my department and start putting pieces together and blahblahblah long story short — six months later I implemented a process change that not only saved the company $1million annually going forward, it identified a gap in a process that was bleeding about $250k monthly from the company because nobody bothered to ask a simple question of hey, why are you doing that?

Life and career changing for me.

3. The big questions.

I had gotten off work from a graveyard shift and went to my boyfriend’s house to surprise him. However the surprise was all mine when I walked in his room to see him passed out drunk with another woman in his bed. I was devastated. Needless to say I ended it then and there.

I had to work again that night and I was a hot mess. Bursting into tears, face puffy and bloodshot eyes was my look for the whole shift. I had to work again the next night but I had a much better handle on my emotions by then. I slept before my shift and as I was drifting away to sleep a thought, bright as a comet shot through my mind. Everything is going to be ok, this thought assured me.

So now for the weird and life changing part. A woman came in and sat in my section. She sat in what I call the awkward seat. It’s right next to the register and almost no one sits in it voluntarily. I took her order and gave her her food.

A few minutes later i was all caught up on my work and went for a cigarette, stopping to make sure my customer didn’t need anything and letting her know where i was going so she didn’t feel neglected. She said she was fine and i went for my smoke. My mindset at this time was very bleak. I didn’t want to kill myself, but i didn’t want to exist either. I didn’t want to be and could not imagine being able to feel happy ever again.

I come back from my smoke and the lady is still there, waiting to pay. She asks me if she can talk to me and i agree to go outside with her to do so. At this point I’m cringing because i had been having a NSFW conversation with another employee and i thought she was going to read me the riot act, maybe threaten to call corporate on me. However I don’t lack courage so out I went, prepared to face any music that might be coming my way. What she said next shocked me to my core.

She proceeds to tell me pretty much everything that had happened to me over the last two weeks. I did not know this woman at all. Never seen her before in my life. When I asked her how she knew all this she told me God told her. She also said that I was very loved by Him and that my purpose had not yet been fulfilled. Also that everything was going to be ok.

My whole life I had been denying the existence of God. It wasn’t logical to me that one being had control over everything that is. Now I feel differently. I couldn’t even tell the story without bursting into tears. This effect lasted for months, much to my disgust ( I hate crying. I feel like it makes me look weak). I don’t hold to organized religion, but I don’t deny His existence anymore either.

Before we parted ways she hugged me. Her whole body was vibrating. I know it sounds strange but there was no denying it. I’ve never felt anyone do that before or since. Could she have been faking? Maybe but it’s doubtful. There was no motive, nothing for her to gain from doing such a thing. She asked me for nothing. So that’s how I came to believe in God at the ripe old age of 42.

2. I bet she does now.

I was a young, small girl walking back to my dorm at around 2a from the bars, through a dark empty are if campus, when out of nowhere a huge man stepped out of the shadows and walked swiftly towards me.

He stopped right in front of me, made eye contact, and said, “I bet you don’t even have a knife.” He shook his head, and disappeared as quickly as he came.

1. Advice that lasts.

I was coming back home from a holiday, mid ’90s, I was on a train in Sardinia, there was this man with beard aged 50+ I guess and two young guys under 20. I was 25.

He actually wasn’t talking with me but with these two young guys, boy and girl, and he was insisting on the concept of responsibility, being much more important than any other thing any of the guys (to which he was talking) would have met in their lives.

Jobs, hobbies, passions, friends, love, all the things to come would have had their specific and natural ways but the real thing, the common factor would have been responsible behaviours, judgements, actions. Idk if the two young guys even listened to him, but I did, and I recall that moment every now and then thinking how it helped me focus in situations in the following years

Humans really aren’t all that bad, I guess. Not most of the time, anyway.

Tell us your story that fits this list in the comments!

The post People Who Met Strangers They’ve Never Been Able to Forget appeared first on UberFacts.

September 22, 2020

People Recall Chats With Strangers That Changed Them Forever

None of us leaves the house in the morning expecting to accidentally bump into a stranger who we’ll never forget. We expect the people who change our lives to be our nearest and dearest, I think.

For these 13 people, though, it’s those random encounters that are burned on their brains for all eternity.

13. That will stick with you.

When I was younger (around 13 or so) I went to a party with my mother. I say party, but it was basically some old friends of her meeting and talking about life. There was this old lady talking to my mother and at some point my mother left and went to another place in the house.

This old woman told me I was a really cute and smart kid and if she had a granddaughter she would wish that we could be a couple. I didn’t think much of it, sounded to me like she was just being sweet (and a bit silly TBH).

Later my mother told me that woman had a son who had a complete mental breakdown and never recovered and basically stopped functioning like a “normal” person. Due to her son’s mental illness, she would never be able to have grandchildren.

Maybe it didn’t change my life much, but I still think about it sometimes.

12. God bless the hiccup lady.

I was at the grocery store with my dad when I was about 7 or 8. I had the hiccups really bad, like the loud and obnoxious kind. We were walking through the store and a woman stopped us.

She asked if she could buy my hiccups.

She told me that she’d give me $1 for my hiccups. I was so confused, I had no clue what she meant. Apparently I thought about it so hard that I stopped hiccuping! Her magic hiccup trick worked. She didn’t give me a dollar, but she gave me a Jolly Rancher.

Turns out she went to high school with my dad, so he knew she wasn’t some psycho trying to drug me or something, so I ate my Jolly Rancher and stopped hiccuping. That trick only works once, but it’s pretty funny to explain to people when I tell them! Thank you hiccup lady!

11. Wise words that last.

Once a time I was having a conversation with an engineer in a airplane, I had 15 at the time.

We eventually reached the “money” subject.

I asked him how the hell could someone be in debt earning 20k a month, and he told me something that I think to this date: “When you earn 20k you will found a way to waste 19k”

10. That kind of thing really hits you.

In a small convenience store in Lisbon. Check out at the counter and make small talk with the store owner, who immigrated from a poor country to give his family a better life.

I ask: do you like your job?

His response: I never had a choice.

9. There are good people everywhere.

I was eating at Denny’s with my then-boyfriend. He’s black and I’m white. Our server was such a lovely person and had such a joyous personality the whole time.

Well upon receiving our receipt she wrote “Lovely couple. I hope your love grows and blossoms.” That was so beautiful and touching to me, I started crying. She came over and hugged me. I’ll never forget that. Her name was Morgan.

8. You never know the whole story.

I was traveling once. A car trip.

We were parked at a rest stop and giving them dog a pee break when this giant expensive RV pulled up in a spot where RV’s were not supposed to park. Like one of those that cost a half million dollars. A home on wheels that gets a quarter mile to the gallon.

A very fit good looking older man hopped out. Like in his 50s but very good looking for his age. He was tan and had JFK hair. He looked like a caricature of a CEO on holiday.

I thought wow, talk about entitled. He’s taking up like 5 parking spots.

Next, a younger blonde woman hopped out. Obviously 15 years younger than him. Obviously his bimbo trophy wife. They stood in the parking lot looking at the rest stop and seemed to be discussing something.

I thought I had them all figured out, you see.

The man went back into the RV. And he came back out…with a wheelchair. A small wheelchair. Hmm, what’s this? Did not fit my narrative.

He set the wheelchair up. Went back in the RV. Came out carrying a young boy. The boy was completely…handicapped. Like his limbs were all contorted and painfully thin.

The man gently placed the boy in the chair and got him all situated and strapped in. Then the three headed for the rest stop.

It just stopped me dead. I thought I knew what was going on. I did not know. I had not the first clue.

There is always at least one thing in the other guy’s situation, that you know nothing about. This story pops in my head every time I think I’ve got someone else all figured out.

7. You gotta put yourself out there.

This isn’t as big of a story as some on here but I’ll share anyways.

Back in my sophomore year of high school, I started getting into edm and the idea of making my own music. I made a few songs (not very good but they were something) and just kept it entirely to myself. I didn’t really do much with it until during my junior year when I finally told my parents that I wanted to be a music producer. They weren’t really happy about that, because up until that point I had mostly just shown interest in engineering, and they thought I was just throwing that away.

Around the end of my junior year, I was up at like 2-3 am listening to some like sad emotional music from HDsoundi and just reading through the comments. There was one that really caught my eye. Another guy was going through the same kind of thing I was. He wanted to make music but was told to just do something else. We started a conversation and convinced each other to upload a song. That was almost 2 years ago now, and I’ve been uploading my music ever since and been gaining at least a little bit of a following. My parents are even ok with it too as long as I have another option to fall back on, and my dad and his coworkers have probably become my biggest fans.

If it wasn’t for that one interaction I probably still wouldn’t have any songs out anywhere, and would just be unhappily keeping it to myself. I’m honestly just really greatful that it happened.

6. Really makes you think.

In a New York subway station, there was a violinist playing his instrument, hoping people might toss donations into his violin case.

When he paused, I asked him if people were generous as there were only a few coins in the case. He said, “If I’m lucky, there’s enough to buy a sandwich, coffee, and a subway fare at the end of the day.”

The poor guy looked starved, even though he played the violin beautifully.

5. More hotel cleaning women should write books.

I was struggling with self harm in high school and once after a long day at a convention and comments from friends was left feeling worthless. I went to the hotel restroom and cried, when one of the cleaning ladies entered and saw me.

She gave me a hug and, while I was embarrassed, it was probably the best response I could’ve received at the time. She told me things would be okay in spite of not knowing what I was going through, and it felt nice to hear that. Gave me enough strength to get through the convention.

4. In unexpected places.

I have severe depression/anxiety. It’s well managed now… but 15 years ago I would take “suicide vacations”. My goal was to get the courage to go through with it. I put myself in a bunch of risky situations.

I talked with various homeless people. I needed some kind of support. And homeless people gave it to me. One guy talked to me for nearly an hour.

I would say… if it wasn’t for those strangers offering random bits of advice… I wouldn’t be here today.

3. We all need help sometimes.

My father had early onset dementia and was driving me nuts not only because of his confusion and , at times, violent behavior but also because my mother and his doctor refused to have him admitted at a daycare.

A guy at school, who had never even talked to me, had gone through the same and one day just came to me and told me “do whatever it takes to get your dad admitted at a care center or he’ll drive all insane. He needs proper care” .

I did, and my mother eventually accepted after my poor dad got home one day beaten up and without his wallet or keys. We never found out what had happened to him except that he was robbed, he was just too lost.

That dude made me feel like I wasn’t evil or ungrateful because I didn’t want to live in constant fear for my dad’s or my family’s life. It’s a terrible disease and it’s perfectly fine to get help.

2. Priceless moments.

I’m late so I’m going to get buried but I figured I’d tell mine. I’ve loved horses since I was little. I volunteered at a local horse therapy place, because my depression was getting a hold on me, and there’s just something so calming about horses.

When I was at this place, they had a bunch of people with physical and intellectual disabilities who got to ride, since it was a horse therapy facility. I learned so much about working with people with all kinds of disabilities, but especially autism and downs syndrome. I even got to experience a kid’s first words, and I’ll never forget the “Thank you Tux”. It was a magical place. .

A bit later I found myself working at a pizza shop. Not really my passion, but it paid enough for my pets, so I was okay with it. There was this adorable little kid who would come in with his mom. His mom and I would talk, I think she didn’t have the biggest support base, but I told her about the place I volunteered at. They would go once a week, and you could see the difference it made for this kid. One day, they came in and the kid was babbling along to his mom, and it was the most amazing thing.

He still needed his communication tablet, but he got better each time I saw him. One day, the mom came up and put a fifty dollar tip in the jar, and I tried to refuse it. She said that as much as the tip was, her son being able to communicate better, and finding a place where he was accepted was priceless. .

I’m crying now, so sorry for any typos, but I still see him every so often around town. Before COVID, the first time I saw him outside of work, he gave me the biggest hug, which was a huge deal for him. He really changed my outlook on life, and showed me, even in a dark place, just how much I can help others. And that is priceless.

1. A life-saving encounter.

In 2005, a complete stranger stopped biking past me on a bridge and sat with me for over 2 hours listening to me as I was basically there to commit suicide.

I had been kicked out of university and my parents were absolute trash (have been no contact with them now for over 2 years) so I never was able to tell them. The only way out that I could see was to kill myself.

This complete stranger in his 40s must have also had kids and realized what I was about to do. He listened, he held me, he cried with me… Mostly importantly, he saved my life.

Humans can be so awesome sometimes – which is good to remember.

If something like this has ever happened to you, tell us about it in the comments!

The post People Recall Chats With Strangers That Changed Them Forever appeared first on UberFacts.

13. Amen and preach.

12. This should not be a thing.

11. All opportunities are not created equal.

10. That’s not so good.

9. Our justice system is nothing of the sort.

8. A great injustice.

7. And also the bail bond system.

6. That should not be a thing.

5. Thank goodness for libraries.

4. They’re not for teenagers, that’s why.

3. That’s awful.

2. It’s getting harder and harder.

1. They should be free.

1. The nanny…and some weed.

2. She confessed.

3. A broken heart.

4. I’m not dumb.

5. Round and round it goes.

6. The last to know.

7. Where could he be?

8. What a creep.

9. Unhealthy.

10. Business trip.

11. A sad story.

12. An eye-opening experience.

13. A strange look on her face…

1. Interesting…

2. I had no idea!

3. Booking the fancy rooms.

4. The old man.

5. Don’t talk about it.

6. Had no idea.

7. A good friend.

8. Join the party!

9. This one, right here.

10. Did you sleep in that?

11. No idea.

12. No brands.

13. You’d never know.

10. Never flush their toilet.

9. You could have asked.

8. It’s part of him.

7. That’s a complicated problem.

6. They never want help, either.

5. Wait until she hears about polish remover.

4. She’s just curious about what goes on in there.

3. Society is a pain, girlfriend.

2. Yeah that’s going to end badly.

1. HOW DARE, MOTHER.

14. A sweet start.

13. Focus on yourself first.

12. Sounds like a good parent.

11. Definitely life-changing.

10. A little kindness.

9. That’s a good night.

8. A random inspiration.

7. Sometimes they show you the wrong way.

6. Advice for all.

5. A modern day wizard.

4. All of the tears.

3. The good kind of drunken yelling.

2. It’s the little things.

1. Something to hold onto.

1. They’re always right behind you!

2. Advil is now holding you up.

3. Not the same anymore…

4. I’m a youngster now!

5. I can’t see anything!

6. Where are the prunes…?

7. Does this look familiar?

8. Not another one!

9. What does this mean?

10. Isn’t this fun?

11. Keep it coming.

12. That’s life!

13. This is now reality for all of us.

1. You’re gonna need it!

2. A free microwave!

3. Yeah, that was nice.

4. Let’s end this.