In life, some people need a helping hand. Nowadays, you’re lucky if you got one because everyone’s struggling. However, there could be reasons why those good samaritans are slowly vanishing.
Have you ever experienced being super sincere and feeling badly wanting to help someone? When suddenly, a bad karma happened to you that made you feel unappreciated and berated? Well, check these stories out!
1. Waited For Trash
Some years back, I was a dirt poor student. Really struggling to find the money to pay the rent and buy food and textbooks.
It was getting late in the day, and I was rushing to catch my bus when I noticed a handbag sitting in a grassy area where we would hang out during lunchtime.
I opened it and rifled through the purse and found about $500 in cash as well as some ID. That was so much money for me. I was so tempted to just keep walking.
I kept thinking how much that money would help me out, and then my conscience kicked in, and I thought that the woman who had lost her bag might need it just as much as me.
I sat down with the bag next to me and waited. I figured she would panic when she realized what had happened and be back soon.
Twenty minutes passed. I had missed my bus. I was wondering what to do next when I spotted someone hurrying in my direction.
She was dressed in designer clothes. It's really fancy stuff. All my clothes were bought from a thrift shop. Anyway, she let out a tirade of offensive stuff.
She called me a bleeping thief and said that she was going to call the police, and there I was trying to explain that I had been waiting for her to come back and I was keeping it safe.
She kept berating me, snatched up her handbag, and walked off, still swearing at me. I kind of regretted not taking the money.
Leapnhope
2. Not A Thief
I was walking in my neighborhood and noticed a wallet in the gutter. It was washed out of a drain, with no cash or credit cards, but there was some kind of immigration ID card that looked halfway official.
Figured someone might need it back. The address was relatively close and not far out of the way. When I knocked on the front door, a child no older than 3 answered it.
She just stood there blankly. The mother was asleep on the couch in a back room but soon made her way to the doorway. When I explained why I had bothered her, she became immediately suspicious of me.
She asked me my name, and I told her. She asked me for my phone number, and I gave it to her. She took her wallet and went through it.
“My money is gone.” Yeah, no crap, lady, was all I could think of, but I just stared blankly and returned her dumbfounded look with one of my own.
“Someone stole this out of my car two weeks ago. I put my purse in my car before I went to bed so I don’t forget it.” Oh god, this lady was so stupid. I could have stolen her damn kid before she knew what the hell was going on.
I listened to her mastermind some garbage about how I must have had a hard time sleeping or living with myself. I fished the wallet out of the gutter because I ‘knew where it was.’ She was going to call the cops.
I told her to go ahead and started walking down the road to my house. I said you have my name and number. They can come find me if they can get past a conversation with you.
They never came. Before I got outta sight of her house, my cell rang from an unknown number. I answered the phone... Hey, Dummy, I see you peaking. And waved to her in her upstairs window.
THE_HORKOS
3. Weirdest Accusation
When my family and I were on a 4th of July vacation, we were hanging out on a beach. My dad sees a girl splashing and screaming for help out in the water.
Apparently, these two girls, who were probably somewhere around 12, got caught swimming too far out. One girl got ahold of a buoy, and the other was starting to panic. He runs into the water and swims over to her.
He gets ahold of her and starts to swim her toward shore, but she is panicking and struggling and trying to push him under to keep herself up.
The girl’s family was in a boat not far away. They see the commotion and come rushing over. They thanked my dad and asked if he wanted a ride back to shore.
When they get into the boat, her dad asks if she's ok, and she tells them, "He was trying to look down my swimsuit!". It was a very quiet ride back.
My father is a Vietnam Navy vet on vacation with his wife and kids, building freaking sand castles. When he recently told me this story (I was young and only vaguely remember it), he said to me, "What the fudge am I trying to get a peek at? An 11-year-old's squirrel crap?"
AlexDavis101
4. Queen Of Betrayal
I gave a girl I was dating my spare phone when she lost hers, and she couldn’t afford another one for a few weeks. When she gave me the phone back, she forgot to freaking delete her dating app, and I saw all the crap she was doing on there.
Flirting with everyone, exchanging numbers and Snapchat usernames and messages implying she was sending out spicy pics to them and wanted to make out, etc.
Yeah, I gave her my phone to use to make sure she could communicate with her family or just in case she needed to contact anyone or use it for anything like emails, directions, Uber, etc.
And also so I’d be able to talk to her throughout the day. Instead, she cheated on me. On my phone. I gave her a phone so she could cheat on me. Smh.... I mean, I know she was probably doing it anyway, but damn, on my phone?
Bettyj6
5. Thrown Kindness
My friend loves going and handing out sandwiches to the homeless. Usually, it's a little bag with a water bottle, sandwich, and chips.
One time, he gave one to a gentleman by a convenience store, and as he was driving away, he saw the guy straight up just throw it in the trash can.
Really broke his heart. He told me he even contemplated going back out and pulling out the bag, but he didn't. He still does his runs, but not as often anymore.
ObiMemeKenobi
6. Cold Soul
There is a homeless woman who stays in my neighborhood often. I saw her sitting on a bench on a freezing cold day sometime after Christmas (as a teacher, this is a time I often get 20 gift cards).
I never go to that donut store, and I had a 25$ gift card. I pulled over my car in the snow, walked over to her, and wanted to give her the gift card because it was freezing and the store was up the block.
I figured, as a customer, she could get a hot drink and stay warm inside for a while. I briefly introduced myself and asked for her name, and then I handed her the card with a smile and said I have an extra one of these.
That the donut shop is up the road, she should go warm up. It's a cold day. She looked at me...took the card...threw it on the floor...stomped it in the snow... and said screw you. I love New York.
[deleted]
7. Tip Mistake
So, I was at a fast-food store. No one was there but me, my two friends, the waitress and the cook. My point was that it was a slow hour.
My bill came out to between $6 and 7 dollars. One friend's bill was around $8, and the other's was between $10 and $11. The $8 tab friend tipped $1, while the $10-$11 didn't tip at all.
Being a server myself, I especially felt bad and tried to pick up the slack on my tab. Plus, I was making a bit more money than I needed to at that point, so I tipped $12.
The waitress scoffed and sarcastically made a big deal about it. "OHHHH, thank you! So Much!" I replied, "Uh, you're welcome."
"Do you see this, Michael?" she said, looking back at the cook and waving the receipt. "This lil girl took it upon herself to bless this poor Waffle House waitress with some extra cash since she's over there makin' big money on the beach."
I hadn't said anything about my financial situation, but apparently, my coming in wearing my work shirt was enough to provoke her anger.
I awkwardly nodded; she rolled her eyes, and then my friends and I proceeded to leave. As we were walking out to my car, the waitress and the cook, Michael, came outside for a smoke break. She was still carrying on very loudly.
I think I caught her on a bad night. Otherwise, I just don't understand the reaction. I'd be stoked if someone tipped me 200%, especially if another guest didn't tip and the other left under 20%.
JazzySeaOtter
8. Instant Regret
In 2009, I was in a technology store buying a laptop. I was giving up a very well-paid job to become a teacher and blowing a bit of my savings on a great laptop to use.
There was an offer for a free printer with every purchase. I didn't need a printer because I had one at home. Well, that’s what I thought.
Another guy was in the store for a printer and looking at the exact model in the offer. So I bought the laptop and gave him the printer. Made his day. He got a free printer and went about his day.
When I got home, I found that my printer was incompatible with OSX. So I had to go and buy a new one. Guess which model I bought?
[deleted]
9. Couple Of Headache
One time after work, I pulled up to a gas station in a pretty bad neighborhood. It must have been about 10 pm. This pregnant woman and her baby daddy pull up next to me in a beaten-up car with the interior all ripped to shreds.
She tells me that they just had their car stolen and that they just got it back, but the carjackers tore up the inside. She asked if I could give her money to get some food to eat for the night. I told her I didn’t have any cash, but I’d buy her something to eat if she really needed it.
So we went inside, and she started grabbing a bunch of stuff as I went to pull some cash from the ATM. What I thought was going to be a few dollars in food almost added up to $20 by the time she was done.
I’m not a confrontational person by any means, so I don’t have the guts to tell her no. So she brought the food to the register and asked about the price of another item that she was looking to grab.
At this point, the girl at the register knew what was up and started to ask questions, but with a hostile tone. The two women then get into a LOUD argument right in front of me.
Internally, I started to flip out because I was too stupid to just say no to the lady, and now this had gone way too far. The manager came and escorted the pregnant woman out, and I started to walk to my car.
She looked at me and asked about the cash that I pulled out. I told her I was sorry and that I couldn’t help her anymore. She started screaming at me, telling me I was a horrible person because I let a “dumb witch” convince me not to help a pregnant woman out.
Her baby daddy then started asking me over and over, “Why can’t you help her out? She’s pregnant, man. You’re not going to help us out?” I just kept saying sorry and rushed to my car. I was so freaked out by the whole thing that I just drove home in silence.
Masukified
10. New Karen Unlocked
It's raining like hell. I'm getting on the medium-distance bus out of central Sydney, and there's a queue. I'm near the front because I've been there for ages, and I sit by the window halfway up a double bus (it's two coaches, basically). I'm in a black leather jacket with my hood up (rain), and I can't be bothered to fix it.
The bus fills up around me, and a middle-aged dude sits next to me. Opens a book, I think. People are standing, and the seats are all full. Bus departs.
If you're heading north, there's this 90-degree turn that's rough on standers. A woman about 6 feet from me (big girl, older, can t tell with Aussies how old) nearly buckled over from the lurch of the carriage.
I stand up, click my fingers, look her dead in the eye, and point at my seat. I'd say I smiled, but I bet that'd look creepy as hell. I shuffle out past my neighbor.
He doesn't seem to flinch about it. She lumbers so she's between me and the space for the seat, spits in my face, like hucks a freaking loogie, phlegm and all. "Freaking chauvinist pig... the world would be better off without you." Then takes the seat.
jonslashtroy
11. The Wrong Way
I was backpacking in Peru and met this girl who said she’d been traveling around for like a year or something by herself and planned on continuing.
She made it clear she had a tight budget, but she was fine. When we got to our destination, we were about to part ways to head to our accommodations but exchanged numbers to meet up later.
I suggested we all go out to dinner, and I’d pay. She kindly declined (like anyone does, not meaning it but out of politeness), and I said, “Oh no, no, I don’t mind at all.”
And then she said in a very firm tone that she could pay for herself. I was so caught off guard and confused by her cold reaction that I didn’t realize until after the exchange that she thought I was offering to pay because I felt bad for her or was trying to be charitable.
I just had a ton of extra cash and wanted to go somewhere nice, and knowing everyone else was on a tighter budget, even the people I was traveling with, I offered to pay because I didn’t want to eat at some sketchy, dirty restaurant. I wasn’t being charitable. I was being selfish.
ebbtoflow
12. Life In Danger
I was driving through a road where there were not any buildings or anything, kind of deserted where the speed limit is 50, and I saw a dog run into the middle of the road.
Well, I let the dog into my car because there was no one around and no buildings, so I thought it was lost. I drove a bit to some businesses up a hill to a parking lot and called the number on the collar.
The owner was in that parking lot and yelled at me, saying she worked at one of these businesses and let her dog wander around. I apologized for picking up her dog off the street.
beanbagbean
13. Foolish People
I was at Magic Mountain with friends and noticed an obese man pushing his wife in a wheelchair. We passed them at the bottom of a very tall hill, and he asked how much further to the top in between gasps of air.
He looked like he could use some help, so I offered to push her in the wheelchair to the top for them, and what happened next took me a while to figure out.
She LEPT out of the wheelchair, and the obese guy hopped in and said, "Let’s go!" One of my friends says, “Wait, do either of you actually require a wheelchair?”
This started a shouting match with the lady about how well they don’t, but it helps to get around the park, and people let them skip lines (I guess to shops/bathrooms, etc.).
We refused to lug either of them up this hill if they didn't need it, and now they start calling me a bad person for going back on my word.
Then they BOTH start walking away from us, just pushing an empty wheelchair. Super strange encounter that left us with questions for a while.
HushTheWise
14. For Free
Gave an emergency grocery loan to my cousin, who has four kids. I drove to his work and delivered $500 into his hand. He was no stranger, after all.
He said he was in a crunch, and his paycheck would be a week late, but when he gets it, he’ll be able to cover “things.” He thanked me profusely, saying he knows he can always count on me.
A week passed, and I contacted him. The dude was stunned. I’m like, you said you were paying me back this week. He said with a straight face...”I never ever said I was going to pay you back!” As I thought about it, he was right.
Sinnik22
15. Cycling Scam
A friend was waiting at a bus stop in Germany when a cyclist wiped out in front of her. She ran over to help the girl, and after a while, she was okay.
She asked for my friend's phone number so that she could give her an update later in the day. A couple of days go by with no message, but then she gets a letter from a lawyer saying she has to pay for medical expenses and repairs to the bike.
My friend wrote back saying that she only went over to help the girl who was lying on the ground. The lawyer asks if she was in the bike lane, to which she replies, yes as that was where the girl had fallen.
The lawyer says she was the cause of the accident because she had been in the bike lane. She had to pay or go to court. Being foreign and afraid of what would happen, she just paid. And cried a lot.
[deleted]
16. Worst Compliments
My friend and I went out with our cameras and took a bunch of photos. A week later, we were going through them in our free time during our yearbook class.
I kept complimenting her photos and saying, “Wow, I love this shot! What a unique angle!” Etc. She was oddly quiet, and I thought, “Maybe she’s just being humble?”
And so I kept going on and on about how good the photos were so that she knew I meant it. It turns out, those were MY photos, and I spent 30 minutes complimenting my collection of images in front of my friend.
It was so embarrassing, especially because I was mostly saying nice things to make her feel good (not because the photos were all that amazing) and because I wanted to become closer friends with her (I felt pretty lonely in high school). I still cringe.
[deleted]
17. Huge Bait
I was working at a gas station. The buses only ran during the daylight hours on the weekend, and a woman was crying in the parking lot because she had gotten stranded after buying supplies for her relative's baby shower.
I was running into the city anyway, so I offered her a ride. This is back in the day of car GPS. Mine was a little out of date, and I couldn't find the address she gave me.
It took over an hour, two trips through a very expensive toll, and getting lost in one of the less fantastic parts of Richmond before I got her back to what turned out to be an extended-stay motel.
I got home bone tired but feeling good that I at least tried to help someone. I was off the next day, but my manager called me to tell me that a guy showed up saying he needed my contact information and that his girlfriend had left her purse in my car.
No, she didn't. My manager declined, and the guy pitched a fit and left. The next day, I got a phone call at work. Someone wanted to report my name was doing illegal things in the parking lot and had taken his girlfriend to a bunch of ATMs, trying to force her to get cash out.
The next call insisted that I was actually the lesbian lover of his girlfriend and had berated her and taken her purse to get money and that he had seen this happen in the parking lot and had photo proof. He never showed up with the non-existent proof, and I never gave another stranger a ride home.
Sea_Kangaroo
18. Paying It Forward
This just happened to me last night. I was getting food for my wife and myself after a long day of work for both of us. I'm waiting in the endless line of cars at the drive-through.
I finally ordered the two meals and pulled up to the window to pay. The employee stated that my meal had already been paid for by the car in front of me.
I was kinda shocked but happy to receive the meal for free. The employee smiled at me and said, "It's nice that there is still good In this world. The last four cars have paid for the car behind them."
Feeling guilty, I then proceeded to continue the streak and pay for the car behind. I watched as the cheerful employee's smile disappeared as she glanced down at the screen. "Oh my... that will be 53.74, sir."
I almost choked on my waffle fry as I handed the lady my credit card. My 15-dollar dinner just turned into a charity donation for a family of 7. It felt good to pay for their meal, but we will not be eating out for a few weeks.
SoberDeegs
19. Better Luck Next Time
I saw an old lady crossing the street with a vacuum cleaner. I ran up to her and offered to carry it for her. I took it before she could answer and bless her socks.
Lo and behold, she fell down to her knees and yelped in pain. I was obviously clueless up to that moment that she was using it to help her walk.
Her husband was waiting at the end of the street with her cane and saw the whole thing. He came up to me and told me to mind my own business next time. At that point, I just want to know where the vacuum came from.
shrimpspaghetti
20. Store Karen
When I was about 15, some friends and I were at the store, and a middle-aged lady dropped a $100 bill. I'm the only one who noticed.
So I pick it up and go to her and say something like "Excuse me," and she tells me to back off. I'm like, "You dropped-" and she interrupted me and said, "I’m about to drop your arse to the ground if you don't leave me alone," and I'm like, ok, cool...
I informed my friends, and as we discussed what we were going to blow this on, she came down the aisle asking if we saw it, but I told that witch to back off!
RoastBeefDisease
21. The Lone Kid
When I was in kindergarten, there was a girl that everybody made fun of, and they never let her play them. She really was kinda weird; she often pinched and scratched people for no reason.
But I thought that was because she was just desperate to keep them away since they were mean. I felt sorry for her, so I tried to make friends with her.
This went well for some time until a bunch of other kids cornered her one day and called her bad names. I went in there and told the other kids to stop and asked them if they would like to be called that.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, the girl started to attack me! She scratched and bit me in absolute rage, and a teacher had to pull her away.
I was stunned and actually regretted every kindness towards her at once. I did not start to be mean to her but stayed away as far as I could since she scared the crap out of me.
Voodoodolly99
22. Helping A Friend
I had a friend, I'll call her Sue, who had five kids and lived in a rundown three-bedroom house with no curtains or proper furniture. Half the time, the basement would be flooded, full of clothes and random junk.
At one point, her furnace stopped working, and she and the kids were using electric heaters to stay warm. They would all sleep on the cold hardwood floor of the living room and huddle together at night.
I had just come into a little money from my parents' unexpected deaths and told Sue I would pay for a year's rent for a new place for her and the kids to move into.
She found a large house that was just gorgeous, and for 700.00 a month with everything included, it was a steal. Sue signed the lease, and I wrote out a check for 9000.00
Two months later, I got a phone call from the leasing manager that Sue and the kids still haven't moved into the new place. He asked if everything was okay, and I said I didn't know, but I would contact Sue and find out what was going on.
Sue ended up meeting a man within those two months and moved to another part of the state with the kids. The leasing manager said he would he couldn't refund me my money, and I would have to wait for the lease to end to get my deposit back. I never did get my money back.
Sue unfriended me, and we haven't spoken since. I hope she and the kids are doing well now. No hard feelings. Just a lesson learned.
shortcakie
23. Not A New Friend
One night, I came back from busking in Edinburgh. I arrived in a place called Fife, where my home was located in one of the towns there.
It was late, and shops were closing. I stumbled across a homeless man asking for money, so I instead sat with him for a moment, exchanged a few stories, and then went to the shop.
I bought this guy a full bag of all sorts of food with the money I earned busking that night. I met with him again, put £20 in his hand and the shopping bag. We sat and spoke further. I played a couple of songs and then went home, wishing him an easy night.
A week or two later, I went back into that town, he must have spotted me from the crowd and cycled to me, brand new bike (maybe stolen) and new clothes, the first thing he asked was if I could give him money.
I laughed to myself, pretty baffled at the question, so I respectfully told him I had nothing to give and actually had given him the last. So he called me a prick and cycled away. I hadn't seen him again. That was a really big kick in the gut.
[deleted]
24. Not One Of Them
When I was young, there was this very quiet kid in our school. He didn't really have friends, so I decided that I would go hang out with him and just spend recess with him.
It was fine for a couple of weeks; he really started to become a friend. But then, after those brief weeks, his mom came to the school and walked into the class while the teacher was away and in front of everybody.
She calls me and some other people out as the boys who bully him (I wasn't the bully; I was the one actually trying to be friends with him).
Long story short, his mom grabbed me and the other people by the arm and literally dragged us to the principal's office and shouted at us during this time.
Luckily for me, the teacher was in the office and defended me since she knew I was actually one of the people being nice to the guy. It was nice that my teacher stood up for me, and she went down on that mother for treating us like that. (I was 7 at the time)
hasam_
25. The Con Artist
So there I was walking down the street, and this guy came up and was like, “Hey, man, I want to cash a check, but the credit union was closed. Can I use your bank account to cash the check, and you can give me the cash?”
I was at college at that time and didn't know how life worked, so I agreed, cashed the check, and handed the dude the money.
5 minutes after that happened, I realized how big of a dumbass I was... a few days later, the bank called. It turned out I didn't even notice that he didn't put the check in the envelope.
I tried to track him and called the police. The police actually became suspicious of me because they thought nobody could be this dumb.
There was nothing they could do, and I felt really crappy to be interrogated when I asked them for help. There was really nothing to be done, so I lost $400. From that day forward, I never helped random strangers on the street again.
nonamekill
26. Ungrateful One
My friend is poor and lives with his dad and sister. Btw his sister is a witch. I occasionally bring them some food to eat when they can't afford any.
One Thanksgiving, I brought them all leftovers from my house, and they were so grateful. It feels good to help them out when I can.
Well, my friend's sister didn't get enough, I guess, and proceeded to throw a witch fit because she wanted more food. She has anger issues, btw.
She broke stuff and stormed out of the house, yelling and screaming. And my friend and his dad got very upset. I felt like it was my fault, but at the same time, I didn't know what to think. I was just trying to help, but it turned into a clownery.
jbenner67
27. Wrong Method
My old housemate was doing an ML (Mountain Leader) assessment in the English Lake District, where we both lived for quite a long time.
They had been out the day before practicing their navigation skills, and their boots got soaked from walking around the hills.
I tried to dry them out with newspaper stuffed in them on the radiator overnight so they would be dry for their multi-day extended/ assessment.
In the morning, the boots had melted the outside synthetic waterproofing. Both me and I were devastated! Luckily, he understood and appreciated the thought.. but man. Their feet were ruined after that. I felt and still do feel terrible.
SirMonta5
28. Truth Be Told
I was in an awkward situation where I knew a guy friend was lying to the girlfriend he had cheated on his wife with and ultimately trying to win the wife back.
I was friends with his girlfriend and his wife. His wife had left the country-fed up with his ass and his cheating, but they still had a child together.
I also knew this guy was going nuts trying to win her back. So the girlfriend corners me after several months and, with tears in her eyes, begs me to tell her if she's being led on.
I asked her if she remembered finding a jewelry store receipt for a 2c diamond ring. And her boyfriend’s reaction when she asked him (he purchased it for his wife he was separated from) and how he made her feel like a stalker and sneaky.
She said she did. So I just asked if he hadn't given the ring to her, who did she think it was intended for? She thanked me for being such a good friend (despite me not actually saying anything incriminating) and then ran to her boyfriend.
He proceeded to tell her I was a psycho, vicious witch, and I got a bunch of texts from her about how I was trying to ruin her life. I never spoke to her again. He dumped her and recommitted to his wife. With the ring, she found the receipt.
Zemykitty
29. Lying For Help
Through high school and college, I was active on an online board. Even went to a weekend meet-up with some of the members. When social media became a thing, a lot of the board members became my Facebook friends.
A few years after the board became defunct, one of these people posted, pleading for financial help. She had a serious injury, couldn’t work, and was unable to even purchase groceries.
I felt terrible for her and sent $100, which was a lot of money to me at the time. She used it to buy freaking art supplies. I know this isn’t the biggest deal, but I felt so duped.
She’s asked for money for things since (assistance to move to a cheaper location, help with vet bills, etc), and every time, it makes my blood boil. Never again.
fae49
30. Trying Too Hard
A girl in my class was getting ignored and bullied by everyone because of rumors painting her as a whore or something like that. The details are 12 years old.
I hate rumors and didn't think she should be treated so poorly because of stupid crap, so one day at lunch, I went and sat with her where she usually ate alone.
I introduced myself and tried to start the conversation, but she only gave one-word answers. Finally, I just went quiet and ate in silence with her.
I didn't want to give up, though, so I repeated the process for three or four more days. I would say that I tried to befriend this girl for at least one full week of school days.
Until one day, she finally snapped, "Look, if I wanted to be your friend, I would have come and talked to you first. Why do you keep bringing your fugly face around me? Crap, you're so obnoxious. Just leave me alone and stop embarrassing me by making people think I know you."
I wasn't a very popular kid, but I had never been the type of stereotypical unpopular that made people avoid knowing me. Ugh.
That moment stayed with me for years and really messed up my already fragile and tiny self-esteem. She moved a couple of years later, and nobody seemed sad to see her go. I guess the feeling was mutual.
SuddenTerrible_Haiku
31. Random Encounter
In Vancouver, I was on a bus headed to my friend’s house. There are about 5 people on the bus, and I’m at the very back. A man comes up to me and asks if he can make a call on my phone.
I said sure. If he was going to steal it, this guy wasn’t going to get far. So I hand him the unlocked phone with the phone app pulled up so he can find it.
He refuses to type in the number. He makes me do it, so I type it in just to get this done. I hand him the phone, and he lets it ring ONCE. He gives it back to me and says, “Call again.” So I do. He lets it ring one time again, and someone answers.
He starts yelling into the phone. He was absolutely screaming into it. He wasn’t mad. He was just holding a conversation, but it was the loudest voice I have ever heard.
Halfway through the call, we come to a stop, and the bus driver says the guy is being too loud and he has to get off. The guy doesn’t argue but stands up and gets off the bus WITH MY PHONE.
So I had to jump off the bus, practically snatch my phone back from this guy, and chase after the bus again. I missed it and ended up having to walk quite a ways.
And I don’t know who he was talking to, but the number he called called me back about 50 times. I had to block it. And to this day, I get calls from random numbers looking for this guy.
QuidThePQliar
32. Coworker’s True Colors
There was a happy hour event soon after I started at a new job. I went thinking it would be good to bond with my new coworkers.
One of the HR ladies ended up getting completely plastered. As the other female there, I was asked to take her out front and stick her in a taxi, but I couldn't get an address out of her.
I knew she lived close by, so we slowly walked to her place, with me asking her which way at every intersection. I got her home, gave her back the bag I had carried, and made sure she locked her door after she went in, then I went home.
The next day at the office, I was accused of stealing her stuff and ditching her out in the middle of some random street. Like, what??
She tried to get me fired. Fortunately, that didn't happen, but we were enemies for the next ten years we worked together.
Ashelby
33. Unwanted Donation
I was reading an article online about what to give to those in need. In the article, it is suggested not to give money out but to donate to a charity that helps those in need.
It also suggests that winter socks are a good thing to hand out if you want to hand out goods. Well, I went to the store and bought 10 pairs of really nice thick winter socks to hand out in downtown Denver.
There is a large population of homeless people there, so I thought it was the perfect place to go. Let's just say I still have 9 pairs of those socks that I wear every once in a while.
Nobody wanted them, nobody wanted the hand warmers I had. All they wanted was money. I felt really stupid and haven't tried to give out things again. This was also in the middle of the winter.
popley3
34. Locker Buddy No More
A new girl at school had her school supply bag (big paper grocery bag we were all given) rip open and dropped all her stuff.
I only had a few things in mine, so I gave her my bag and carried my stuff in my arms. She ended up being my locker neighbor and was a complete witch.
She'd walk up in the morning, and if my locker was open, she'd kick it closed. We were in speech therapy together (I had braces and difficulty saying 's,' she couldn't say R).
greffedufois
35. Different People
I've done this a couple of times with mixed results. I usually buy my gas with gift cards. Some things have changed, but you used to be able to buy gas cards at one of the grocery stores for fuel discounts and then redeem them at the same gas station.
Either way, I like it for budgeting and avoiding holds at the pump. One time, a guy was sitting in his car at the pump and asked if I could give him some money for gas because he was stranded there.
I told him I didn't have cash, but I would let him have the balance of my gift card when I was done filling it out. It was only $2-3, but that was enough to get gas to go somewhere if you were stranded and needed to get home or on your way closer.
Before I drove away, I saw him trying to sell the card to other customers. Another time, I gave a lady a full $25 card when she said she was out of gas on her way to work. She offered to pay me back, but I said not to worry about it, and I saw her go get gas with it.
evenifitdoesntmatter
36. Instant Owner
There was this stray cat that wandered my neighborhood. It’s been around for months; we always figured someone must have abandoned it. One morning, my mom heard the sound of cats fighting out front.
She runs to the driveway and sees two cats scuffling underneath her car. Both scatter when she arrives, but the one who hangs around most reappears soon after. The poor thing was limping and holding its front paw up, clearly trying to avoid putting pressure on its leg :(
The next day my mom and I decided to take this cat to see a veterinarian. We were suckers for this fluffy little thing. It’s been around us for a while, so we were actually able to pick it up and put it into an old carrier without it fighting us.
The vet we brought it to was just some old guy’s office in my mom’s old neighborhood. I give the desk my name, and they call us back. We tell this old guy that the cat doesn’t have a name, it’s a stray, its paw appears to be sore, etc.
He disappeared out of the room for close to ten minutes, then came back to tell us that he faxed the state so they could come put the cat down. Record scratch.
WHAT???? Well, since this cat was in a fight with another cat, it could have rabies, and animal control will need to put it down. Holy crap, dude, we wanted to take care of this cat that was in pain, not take it to be gone!
My mom and I took the cat back to our house with us. The vet actually seemed pissed at us/exasperated that we decided to do this.
He pretty much threw his hands up into the air as he was saying, “Fine, but as you know, this means the cat is your responsibility now, and I’m not liable for when it spreads rabies!”
Animal control came for visits to check on the cat to see that it didn’t have rabies. I had to pay a fine for it not having its shots because the vet reported ME as the owner when he tried to get rid of that cat.
Igby lived with our family for another 4 years before she died. (Very young for a cat, but she was always battling health issues — none of them rabies.)
When I went to register as a teacher, I had to be fingerprinted. When my recruiter opened the sealed envelope holding my fingerprint results, she literally did a double-take.
She did that thing they do in movies where you pull your glasses off your face to look more closely at what a paper says and ask me, “Did you fail to inoculate a cat?” So, apparently, I have a record now because I failed to inoculate a stray cat that wasn’t my cat at the time.
ijustwanttobeinpjs
37. Stray Dog
I was driving to an appointment and saw a dog run into a busy freeway entrance intersection. I had a little extra time and knew I was near the county animal shelter, so I decided to try to get the dog.
I pull over, open the passenger door, and call the dog. She jumps right in! She's a very sweet dog and obviously belongs to somebody, even though she has no collar. I take her to the shelter.
They want me to fill out a bunch of forms and insist I pay a $50 fee to "relinquish" her. I tell them what happened... that she's not my dog, I just didn't want her to get hit, and that I really must get to my appointment.
catcog
38. Stuck In The Mud
I had gotten home from work and was passed by a trucker who had lost control on the side of the road and was clearly stuck in the mud.
About two hours later, my fiancé and I left to grab dinner, and he was still there. We felt bad and grabbed some extra food for him.
On our way back, we stopped, and my fiancé walked over to him and offered it. He refused the food and was so angry and rude to us.
It was super uncomfortable! No more random acts of kindness for us! Unless it involves paying it forward to strangers! Gosh.
meow0123
39. Extra Scoops
I volunteered at a soup kitchen. I'd wake up at 6 and go on an hour ride to get there. I worked by distributing food, and I'd try to smile and be as happy as I could because it's kind of a sad place.
Since there was an option of getting either two scoops of one food item or one of each in my section (for example, 2 scoops of apple sauce or 1 scoop of apple sauce and a banana), I asked this man what he'd like.
He flipped and started yelling at me for some nonsensical crap and had to be escorted out. I was pretty shaken and had no idea what I did wrong or what he was talking about.
One of the staff told me that he was known for doing that and I should just brush it off. Had a couple of run-ins with more people like that (one got mad because I couldn't give him more than 2 scoops, but that's to ensure that there's enough food to go around), but some are really kind and hopeful.
auraysu
40. The Main Character
I went to a birthday party when I was 6/7 or so, but I only knew the birthday girl because she went to a different school. She had fairy cakes, balloons, a bouncy castle, and some plush beanie baby toys.
She got a new one as a present and put it on her shelf, and the girls were admiring it... I wanted to be nice, too, so I picked up one of the toys and said, "I love them. I wish I had one like this." Then, put it back on the shelf.
The girl starts bawling her eyes out, and I'm treated as a pariah by all her friends for the rest of the afternoon because, apparently, I was trying to steal her toys.
She apologized years later and said I had been pretty cool about it... I don't know, I was stressing it, thinking I'd messed up this girl's birthday.
[deleted]
41. Flying Shoes
On my usual walking/jogging path, I usually saw a man without shoes and torn clothes. He wasn't homeless. He just appeared very poor financially.
I didn't want to give him money (I have been a victim of scams before), but I had a nice pair of shoes I was still using, and I decided to give it away to this man.
This happened 3-4 days ago. The next day, I asked the man if he would like some shoes (already worn by me), and he said yes, and co-incidentally, our foot sizes were also the same.
The following day, I brought the shoes with me when I went for a jog. I saw the guy and gave him the shoes (nice trekking shows that would last the next several years, too). He took the shoes and was full of gratitude.
Today, I saw this guy again. He was absolutely drunk and wasted. He approached me and signaled me to stop. I could smell the alcohol in his breath when he came closer.
He was too drunk, and I wasn't able to understand what he wanted. After trying to communicate for a minute, I resumed my jogging. 10 seconds later, I saw a shoe thrown at me (missed, thrown from behind, landed ahead of me).
I stopped, looked behind, and now came the 2nd shoe.... luckily that missed me too. I turned around to find this guy screaming something which meant, "Why give me old and used? I want new!".
The guy behaved so differently when he was drunk and when he was sober. I picked up the shoes and brought them home. As I said, I was still using them, and they're in good condition.
Trendz19
42. Forbidden Happiness
It makes me sad to think of this :( I was on a charity project in Ghana and gave a kid a toy I had become fond of, which she prized.
I saw her very bruised back the next day at the school, but she wouldn't tell me why she was badly beaten. Her mum brought the toy back that afternoon and apologized for her daughter 'stealing' it.
She promised that the little girl would think again before stealing in the future. I tried to explain, but the mother didn't believe me and thought I was covering for the little girl. She was about 6 :( gutted
onetimeonly12345
43. Bone Risk
In college, during the winter, we had a heavy snowstorm...everyone was walking to class, and I was heading down the outdoor steps to the basement where the class was.
A girl was walking in front of me. She slipped and began to fall. Without thinking, I reached my arms under hers to try to prevent her from falling.
In doing so, I slipped, and my legs went forward under hers. She landed on top of me and literally rode me down the stairs like a sled.
She stood up and walked away. Never helped me up, never said thank you, never asked if I was OK. That hurt so bad, too.
stryder66
44. Two Riddance
Moved a friend of 22 years out of her house with a husband who berates her, placed her in a spare bedroom in my house, bought her clothes, and got her a job and money to buy things she needed.
I took her to doctor appointments and found out 4 months before my wedding to my fiancee, with whom I shared a house, that they were making sweet love to each other while I was at work.
So I lost my house, which was in his name till after the marriage, the $10,000 I put into remodeling it, My jeep, and all the money already spent on the wedding. They now live there together, and the witch does not even work. Hmmmm, I got the short end of that good deed.
capatiller
45. Ungrateful Kiddo
I was a 3rd-grade teacher a couple of years ago. My class went on a field trip to the DC Zoo. I split up my class into groups of 4-5 to go around with each chaperone, and I gave myself a group as well.
It was hot, and I only had 5 kids with me, so I offered to get them frozen ice at $5/each. One student got blue, took a bite, and told me he wanted red instead.
I told him sorry that I didn't have money to throw around like that and to try to enjoy the ice. He threw it on the ground and cried. This child was never my favorite student but after that day.. Wow
pizza143