Inspirational Archives - Stuff Happens

To The Stranger In The Walmart Parking Lot, Thank You For Saving My Life

A woman is grabbed by her husband and being pulled through a parking lot. But then a quiet man does something that ends up saving her from a long, abusive relationship. And thank you Jenny for sharing your story to our website.

Read on below…

You likely don’t realize that you saved my life, but you did.

I was too scared to call out for help. If I called out for help and it didn’t work, he’d be even angrier at me. This was my survival instinct kicking in.

As my husband dragged me in a headlock through the parking lot towards our car, I struggled to escape his grasp, hoping someone would notice and care.

You noticed, and more importantly, you cared enough to do something.

My husband is a large intimidating man. You are an average, somewhat timid looking man. As you held the hand of your little son, it must have crossed your mind that intervening could be dangerous and would certainly be uncomfortable.

“Hey! You can’t do that dude”.

Your voice stopped not only my husband in his tracks, but several other nearby patrons. My hope of rescue began to build.
“F*ck off bro, this is my wife”.

My husband quickened his pace. The car was 15 feet away. Fear sunk back into my heart.

“I don’t care who she is, you can’t do that.”

My husband was extremely irritated at you. Perhaps even considering assaulting you. But then he started to feel the spotlight that was falling on him. More patrons were paying attention, some in their cars rolling down their window, some stopping in the parking lot to assess the situation.

It was enough. It was all I needed. My husband let go of me, got in the car and was gone. You went on with your day, surely unaware of the impact you just made on my life.

What you didn’t know is that I’d been trapped in the abusive relationship for years and that my husband had become absolutely unhinged in the last couple of days, showing levels of violence and anger I’d never seen in him.

What you didn’t know is that for the previous 32 hours he had kept me from my phone, my computer, my car, and any contact with anyone.

The only reason he risked taking me in public was because the income tax refund was in my name and he wanted me to cash it for him. I honestly expected him to kill me afterwards.

Minutes after you saved my life, I borrowed another stranger’s phone and called the police and my mother.

Finally, I am free. Thank you, stranger.

Update from Jenny: Wow. And thank you to all of you kind strangers! I can’t begin to explain what all of these supportive comments and private message mean to me. I hear your kind advice and it is so very much appreciated. I feel so much stronger now and ready to do this!!

As for the hateful messages I’m getting, you can’t bring me down. Yes, I realize I screwed up by staying all those years but the important thing is I’m out now.

This Little Girl Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity. Wow.

A young girl was shopping with her mom for Christmas when she noticed a sad little boy. What happened next will bring joy to your heart.

I was doing some last-minute Christmas shopping in a toy store and decided to look at Barbie dolls for my nieces. A nicely dressed little girl was excitedly looking through the Barbie dolls as well, with a roll of money clamped tightly in her little hand. When she came upon a Barbie she liked, she would turn and ask her father if she had enough money to buy it.

He usually said “yes,” but she would keep looking and keep going through their ritual of “do I have enough?” As she was looking, a little boy wandered in across the aisle and started sorting through the Pokemon toys. He was dressed neatly, but in clothes that were obviously rather worn, and wearing a jacket that was probably a couple of sizes too small. He too had money in his hand, but it looked to be no more than five dollars or so at the most. He was with his father as well, and kept picking up the Pokemon video toys. Each time he picked one up and looked at his father, his father shook his head, “No.”

The little girl had apparently chosen her Barbie, a beautifully dressed, glamorous doll that would have been the envy of every little girl on the block. However, she had stopped and was watching the interchange between the little boy and his father. Rather dejectedly, the boy had given up on the video games and had chosen what looked like a book of stickers instead. He and his father then started walking through another aisle of the store.

The little girl put her Barbie back on the shelf, and ran over to the Pokemon games. She excitedly picked up one that was lying on top of the other toys, and raced toward the check-out, after speaking with her father. I picked up my purchases and got in line behind them. Then, much to the little girl’s obvious delight, the little boy and his father got in line behind me.

After the toy was paid for and bagged, the little girl handed it back to the cashier and whispered something in her ear. The cashier smiled and put the package under the counter.

I paid for my purchases and was rearranging things in my purse when the little boy came up to the cashier. The cashier rang up his purchases and then said, “Congratulations, you are my hundredth customer today, and you win a prize!” With that, she handed the little boy the Pokemon game, and he could only stare in disbelief. It was, he said, exactly what he had wanted

The little girl and her father had been standing at the doorway during all of this, and I saw the biggest, prettiest, toothless grin on that little girl that I have ever seen in my life. Then they walked out the door, and I followed close behind them. As I walked back to my car in amazement over what I had just witnessed, I heard the father ask his daughter why she had done that. I’ll never forget what she said to him.

“Daddy, didn’t Nana and PawPaw want me to buy something that would make me happy?”

He said, “Of course they did, honey.”

To which the little girl replied, “Well, I just did!”

With that, she giggled and started skipping toward their car. Her toothless grin said it all. Apparently, she had decided on the answer to her own question of, “Do I have enough?”

I feel very privileged to have witnessed the true spirit of Christmas in that toy store, in the form of a little girl who understands more about the reason for the season than most adults I know!

SHARE if you think this little girl understands the Holidays more than most!

Colorado Woman Comforts Teenaged Walmart Cashier. The Reason Is Absolutely Heartbreaking.

PUEBLO, Colo.– A woman’s heartbreaking post about her shopping experience at Walmart has more than 21 million views on Facebook.

“No matter where we or, no matter what we’re doing. We are there for a reason.”

Facebook user Paige Yore said she was at the store waiting in line for about 20 minutes when she witnessed a young cashier having a hard time. As she stood there irritated, a female customer began yelling at the young man.

“You suck at customer service. I don’t know how you ever got hired here,” said the female customer. Yore tried helping the woman bag her groceries so that she could get her out of the store.

After the woman attempted to pay for her purchase, her card declined. According to Yore, the woman really began yelling at the boy as if it was his fault.

“Maybe you should just step aside and let us cash out. This young man is obviously having a bad day,” Yore told the woman.

She was right.

The young cashier stopped in his tracks and began crying. He came from the bagging area and began hugging Yore. He told her that his mother committed suicide that morning. He said he had to work because he has to pay rent and bills.

“This woman is yelling at me and I don’t even have a mom anymore,” said the young man.

Yore began to cry and told him to hang in there.

“Life is so hard and it’s going to be OK.”

The rude female customer stood there absolutely humiliated.

Yore said she gave him all of the money out of her purse.

“That just showed me that no matter what, even if you’re customer service sucks, even if whatever happened, somebody is rude to you, don’t jump down their throat because they are fighting a battle that none of us knows about,” she continued. “We have to be thankful to be alive and treat other people like you want to be treated.”

Police Officer Said He Won’t Answer The Call When You’re In Trouble. Wait Until You Read Why.

A police officer wrote this letter explaining why he couldn’t perform his duties as a law enforcement officer. The reason why will surprise you, and make you think twice about the job hardworking cops do.

“Today, I will not answer the radio call that your boyfriend has come home drunk and is beating you again. Today I will not answer the radio call that your 16 year old daughter, who is very responsible, is four hours late coming home from school. Today I will not answer the radio call that your store has been robbed or your house has been burglarized. Today I will not stop a drunk driver from killing someone. I will not catch a rapist or a murderer or a car thief. Today I will not answer the radio call that a man has a gun or tried to abduct a child or that someone has been stabbed or has been in a terrible accident. Today I will not save your child that you locked in a car or the child you were to busy to watch who went outside and fell into the swimming pool, but that I revived. No, today I will not do that.

Why?

Because Today I was killed by a drunk driver while I was helping push a disabled car off the highway. Today I was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop to simply tell someone that they had a taillight out. Today I was killed in a traffic accident rushing to help a citizen. Today I was shot and killed serving a warrant on a known drug dealer. Today I was killed by a man when I came by to do a welfare check because his family was to busy. Today I was killed trying to stop a bank robbery or a grocery store robbery. Today I was killed doing my job.

A chaplain and an officer will go to a house and tell a mom and dad or a wife or husband or a child that their son or daughter or husband or wife or father or mother won’t be coming home today. The flags at many police stations were flown at half-mast today but most people won’t know why. There will be a funeral and my fellow officers will come, a twenty-one-gun salute will be given, and taps will be played as I am laid to rest. My name will be put on a plaque, on a wall, in a building, in a city somewhere. A folded flag will be placed on a mantel or a bookcase in a home somewhere and a family will mourn.

There will be no cries for justice. There will be no riots in the streets. There will be no officers marching, screaming “no justice, no peace.” No citizens will scream that something must be done. No windows will be smashed, no cars burned, no stones thrown, no names called. Only someone crying themselves to sleep tonight will be the only sign that I was cared about.

I was a police officer.”

Understand, our police officers put their lives on the line for us every single day. They’ve got a tough job to do to maintain public safety and hold accountable those who break the law. Share this if you agree.

Woman Does The Best Thing Ever For A Helpless Man At Walmart

Morgan Wheeler Facebook — Morgan Wheeler / Facebook

We all move through life differently. Some prefer to do as little as possible, others live at full speed. This means many times people may simply make eye contact and smile to others as they walk by. But in this case of this story, it means taking time to truly help someone and have a real impact for good. What 21-year-old, Morgan Wheeler does will make you proud…

I walked out of Wal Mart today and got in my car. As I began to pull out, I had to wait for a man in a wheelchair to pass by. As I watched him, I noticed that he was missing his right leg from the knee down and was wearing, what appeared to be, old, government issued, combat boots. He was (from my guess) in his late sixties/early seventies and seemed to be stopping to take a break. He had not realized that I had started my car and was attempting to pull out, so when he saw me, he waved in an apologetic manner and rolled forward three more times and took another break.

I backed up my car the inches I had previously pulled forward, put it in park, turned off the engine, and got out. I walked up to him and introduced myself. I asked him if I could assist him with his shopping today, and he, quite grumpily, said that he was doing just fine and was not getting much anyways. Me, being as stubborn as I am, insisted and proceeded to push him and tell him a little about myself. He interrupted me and said that he only needed help to the door, to which I picked up where I had left off before he interrupted me. I told him about Fayetteville, and my horses, and my nephews (I had parked a good ways away from the doors). And when I reached the doors, I continued to push him and talk.

We reached the produce area and I asked him to tell me about himself. He reluctantly looked at me and began telling me that he lived in Lincoln County, and that he just recently lost his wife. I asked him if he was a veteran, to which he replied that he was- but with pain on his face, so I changed the subject and asked if he had made a shopping list. He handed me a list with only four things on it: peanut butter, soup, bread, and bananas. So we began shopping and I continued to talk… hard to believe- I know. Once we had gotten the items he needed, I asked if he needed the essentials: milk, eggs, butter.

He told me that he might not make it home, without them going bad. So I questioned how he got to the store. He told me that he did what he was doing in the parking lot until he got to 119 and then hitch hiked with a trucker to the parking lot. So I called a taxi for him and grabbed the essentials plus a few other things and put them in the cart.

After placing a gallon of milk in his cart he was crying. People were passing by us, looking sideways at him. I knelt down and asked him what was wrong and he replied, that I “was doing far too much for an old man that I barely knew.” I told him that where I am from, and from the family I was raised in, we help one another, no matter the task and that I had never met a stranger. I also told him that he deserved everything I was doing for him because he fought for my freedom and sacrificed so much.

We made it to the check out line and I paid for his groceries, against his request. When we got outside, we waited for the taxi together. He thanked me over and over again and appeared- to me- to have been in a much better mood than when I found him. When the taxi arrived, I helped him load his groceries and wheelchair into the taxi and asked the driver to take him home and help him into his house with his groceries. I gave him the only cash I had on me- $44, also against his will. I told him thank you for his service before closing the door. Tears formed again and he thanked me one last time and said, “God bless you.”

I returned to my car, and could not help but cry. This is the world we live in today. How many people passed him and would have continued to pass him while he struggled? How many people are willing to give their money to Vanity Fair to read all about Bruce Jenner and not help a veteran pay for his groceries? Today was a truly humbling experience for me, and I consider myself extremely blessed to have the capability of understanding what is truly important in this world. THAT man was a HERO, and far too many will say otherwise. I am sorry that this post was so long, and if you have read it to this point, I hope you are as humbled as I was.

Bless the men and women who have fought for our right to view the wrong people as heroes, and thank God for the people who know better.

Share this…so today’s generation understands how we should treat our veterans.

He Was Overwhelmed With Grief When His Best Friend Died, Until An Old Man Told Him THIS.

There’s an old story floating around the internet and it’s an absolute gem. While parts of the original have been deleted, this title remains:

“My friend just died. I don’t know what to do.”

However, the helpful responses live on, and one of them was absolutely incredible. The reply by this self-titled “old guy” might just change the way you approach life and death.

I’m old. What that means is that I’ve survived (so far) and a lot of people I’ve known and loved did not.

I’ve lost friends, best friends, acquaintances, co-workers, grandparents, mom, relatives, teachers, mentors, students, neighbors, and a host of other folks. I have no children, and I can’t imagine the pain it must be to lose a child. But here’s my two cents…

I wish I could say you get used to people dying. But I never did. I don’t want to. It tears a hole through me whenever somebody I love dies, no matter the circumstances. But I don’t want it to “not matter”. I don’t want it to be something that just passes. My scars are a testament to the love and the relationship that I had for and with that person. And if the scar is deep, so was the love. So be it.

Scars are a testament to life. Scars are a testament that I can love deeply and live deeply and be cut, or even gouged, and that I can heal and continue to live and continue to love. And the scar tissue is stronger than the original flesh ever was. Scars are a testament to life. Scars are only ugly to people who can’t see.

As for grief, you’ll find it comes in waves. When the ship is first wrecked, you’re drowning, with wreckage all around you. Everything floating around you reminds you of the beauty and the magnificence of the ship that was, and is no more. And all you can do is float. You find some piece of the wreckage and you hang on for a while. Maybe it’s some physical thing. Maybe it’s a happy memory or a photograph. Maybe it’s a person who is also floating. For a while, all you can do is float. Stay alive.

In the beginning, the waves are 100 feet tall and crash over you without mercy. They come 10 seconds apart and don’t even give you time to catch your breath. All you can do is hang on and float. After a while, maybe weeks, maybe months, you’ll find the waves are still 100 feet tall, but they come further apart. When they come, they still crash all over you and wipe you out. But in between, you can breathe, you can function. You never know what’s going to trigger the grief. It might be a song, a picture, a street intersection, the smell of a cup of coffee. It can be just about anything…and the wave comes crashing. But in between waves, there is life.

Somewhere down the line, and it’s different for everybody, you find that the waves are only 80 feet tall. Or 50 feet tall. And while they still come, they come further apart. You can see them coming. An anniversary, a birthday, or Christmas, or landing at O’Hare. You can see it coming, for the most part, and prepare yourself. And when it washes over you, you know that somehow you will, again, come out the other side. Soaking wet, sputtering, still hanging on to some tiny piece of the wreckage, but you’ll come out.

Take it from an old guy. The waves never stop coming, and somehow you don’t really want them to. But you learn that you’ll survive them. And other waves will come. And you’ll survive them too.

If you’re lucky, you’ll have lots of scars from lots of loves. And lots of shipwrecks.

How A Red Bandana Let Parents Know Their Son Was Hero

Welles Remy Crowther was just a kid when his dad told him to always carry a red bandana.

He was six, and his dad, Jefferson, give him a white bandana “for show,” and a red bandana “for blow.” The white bandana was to offer other people. The red one was to do his own business.

By the age of 16, Welles was a junior firefighter. Whether he was helping out with emergencies or playing sports, he always wore a red bandana under his helmet.

He ended up as an equities trader in New York City. His office was on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. He loved his job, but he told his dad that if he sat in front of his computer for the rest of his life he’d go crazy. He wanted to be an NYC firefighter.

On that fateful day on September 11th, 2001, the first plane hit. Welles called his mother and let him know he was OK. That was the last time she heard his voice. And, when the second plane hit the South Building, they knew their son was dead.

It wasn’t until the New York Times released an article featuring the stories of survivors of the attack until they learned something amazing about their son.

The article stated that a man appeared to help, covering his mouth and nose with a red bandana. He helped people to the stairs, looked for a fire extinguisher, and encouraged people to help others. He saved at least a dozen people’s lives that day.

And when his parents read the article, they knew that their son was that man. They knew because of the red bandana.

Never forget.

She Is Asked A Huge Favor By A Dying Friend, The Reason She Can’t Refuse Is Heartwarming.

Laura Ruffino and Elizabeth Diamond were BFFs. Lizzy always said to Laura, “If anything ever happens, I want you to take care of my girls.” Then Lizzy got diagnosed with stage-four brain cancer, and Laura didn’t hesitate to make good on her promise.

This is Lizzy, with her precious daughters

And this is Lizzy and Laura during Lizzy’s brave battle against cancer

Lizzy’s pretty daughters

Laura and her husband already had two daughters, but when Lizzy passed in April of 2015, they welcomed Lizzy’s family into their family, doubling the size!

And despite the obvious financial challenges and circumstantial changes, they couldn’t be happier to make them a part of their family.

Obviously, this has created a financial situation for the Ruffino-Diamond clan, but their Orchard Park, NY community rallied together to raise $80,000 to help out.

If you want to help out the family, visit their YouCaring Page.

This Dad Found A Wonderful Use For Restaurants And Schools’ Leftover Crayons

In 2013, Bryan Ware founded The Crayon Initiative, a nonprofit organization that repurposes old, used crayons into brand new crayons and distributes them to children’s hospitals.

Ware collects old crayons from restaurants, schools, and day cares. He separates them by color and melts them down.

Instead of the typical round shape of most crayons, Ware puts the wax into a triangular shape mold, which is easier to grip for small children and kids with special needs.

The Crayon Initiative has donated more than 2,000 boxes of crayons to children’s hospitals.

“From my perspective, the biggest goal is to give them an escape,” Ware told The Mighty. “I can’t even fathom what these kids are going through. If these crayons give them an escape from that hospital room for ten minutes, we did our job.”

Mom Withdraws From An ATM. What The Hidden Camera Catches Will Warm Your Heart

Watch how this bank turned an average day at the ATM into the ultimate ‘wow’ moment.

They set up a machine that closely resembled an ATM machine, but this machine didn’t just dispense money.

It gave special gifts to their customers that were dear to their hearts.

Watch the video to see what amazing gifts these customers received and their reactions to these splendid acts of kindness.

Please SHARE this awesome video and give your friends a smile.

These Strangers Were Asked The Same Question And It Almost Brought Me To Tears

If you had one wish that would absolutely come true, what would you wish for? Would you wish for crazy amounts of money? Would you want a new house or a fancy new car? Would you try to go the cliché “wish for more wishes” route (good luck…).

When most people are asked about what they would wish for, they have grandiose and often selfish desires. But when these people unknowingly sat next to each other and were asked what they would wish for, the answers were quite different and touching. You’ll be in tears after you hear the difference in their wishes.

People around us are suffering through life, and their wishes are such basic things that we take for granted every day. How much better would our lives be if we could be more appreciative and help others who are suffering instead of always putting ourselves first?

A Waitress Doodled On A Receipt. When She Got On Facebook 2 Hours Later, She Almost Fainted.

Tim Young and Paul Hullings from New Jersey are firefighters that live for their work.

They recently worked tirelessly for 12 hours to clear out a fire. After which, being completely exhausted, they went to a cafe around 6 a.m to request the strongest cup of coffee the barista could muster.

Their waitress that day was Liz Woodward and she just happened to overhear the two firefighters discussing their tiresome battle. Eventually, when Tim and Paul went to pay, they were greeted with a nice surprise. Instead of their bill, they were given this message.

Emotionally, they thanked the kind waitress for her warm gesture. On Facebook, Tim recounts the event: “Such a selfless and kind act. I definitely urge my friends to make a trip out and support the business, and if Liz happens to be your waitress, tip big.”

But the story doesn’t end there. The firefighters learned that Liz’s father, Steve, is quadriplegic and has been paralysed for five years. Liz set up a donation page to fund a wheelchair accessible vehicle so that she can take her father places. Tim urged people on Facebook to donate to Liz’s crowd-fund: “Turns out, the young lady who gave us a free meal is really the one that could use the help…”

Within a few days, she had gathered more than $70,000 – far more than the $17,000 needed for a wheelchair accessible van.
Liz and her family couldn’t be more grateful to the two firemen: “All I did was pay for their breakfast. I didn’t expect anything more than a smile,” says the waitress “It goes to show that you just have to be kind to each other and that even the smallest gesture can change a life.”

This story is proof that kindness pays off – sometimes a thousandfold, good on everyone involved in this.