Woman tracks down stranger who hugged her in saddest moment of her life

[demmiblue]

Source: Freep

<snip>

All she knew is that the woman looked to be in her 30s and had short black hair streaked with purple.

And that this mystery woman was incredibly tender and compassionate with Mott when she was at her grief-stricken worst in the middle of a store aisle on the morning of Black Friday. You know the scene: Typical behavior on the High Holy American shopping day after Thanksgiving is to stampede directly to some cheap plastic thing and trample everything and everybody in the way.

But Mott was graced by a more serene fellow shopper at 6:25 a.m. in the middle of Mills Fleet Farm in Ankeny, just as she received a devastating phone call.

Mott wasn’t there on a shopping spree; she only needed a pair of dog beds for her German shepherds, especially her decrepit 12-year-old pooch, Killer, whose bones ache on her hardwood floors.

That’s when the call came in from the nursing home on the south side of Des Moines where her mom lived.

“Angel, honey,” said the nurse on the phone, “your mom passed away.”

<snip>

“Hoping you nice people can help me find a lady. I was out shopping on Black Friday at six in the morning at Mills Fleet Farm in Ankeny. In the middle of shopping I got a phone call that my mom had passed away. I sat down on the shelf in the aisle and must've bawled for several minutes. Some nice lady with black hair (I think) and purple highlights, sat down with me and hugged me for about five minutes. She cried with me. I would just like to thank her very much. Not one person stopped to see if I was OK. But her and her sister did and I appreciate that more than they'll ever know! My mom was my best friend. I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest. She was only 57. I'm only 31, I still need my momma!”

Read more: http://www.freep.com/story/news/humankind/2016/12/14/woman-tracks-down-stranger-who-hugged-her-saddest-moment-her-life/95139480/


Never underestimate the power of a smile, a kind word or a hug for someone in need. We never know just how impactful these things can be. Random acts of kindness, senseless acts of beauty.

[angstlessk]

1. Those dern thing that get in your eyes at stories like this.

[mopinko]

2. i have softened up a lot as i have gotten older.

tho this woman, i most likely would have done the same. no way i would walk past someone sobbing and alone and not ask if i could help.

this story reinforces my feelings, tho, about what is possible.

i am the daughter of an alcoholic, and never enabled an addict if i could help it. i assumed most of those out panhandling have an addiction. i know it is not all, but i wasnt taking any chances.

but a strange thing happened.
i accepted and kinda forgave my dad. i am 62, and have been angry at him all my life. but 5 years ago, i fell into this little farm, which wouldnt be if it werent for the things he taught/gave me. it really caused me to look at a lot of the things that he gave me, and i realized it was huge. especially after talking to my sisters, who didnt have the same experiences.

so, i have softened, and keep a couple singles handy when driving around town. i hand them out to most of those i see on the corners. (tho i sometimes dont give to those who are on a god trip. if your sign is trying to make me think that god wants me to help, go try the direct line.)

a couple weeks ago i was getting gas at a local station, and heard a woman crying. she approached me for change.
tho i would have given her the change in my pocket anyway, i couldnt not respond to the fact that she was crying.

i asked her how she got there, and she told me she had no place to go. she was trying to scrape up $20 for the night at a boarding house. if i had had it on me, i would have given it to her. as it was i only had a few bucks in cash, and i gave it to her.
i asked her if she wanted a hug, and she totally broke down and said yes. i hugged her for a few minutes.

i dont know how much good it did her. but i do know how much good it did me.

[gvstn]

4. I've softened up too.

I will go ahead and enable an addict. I figure if you're out on the street you might need a drink or drug once in a while to get through the day. Buying food would probably be better but until you walk in another's shoes...

[barbtries]

5. me too.

i don't know their story.

[bdamomma]

3. wow

it is nice to see that there are some people who are capable of being kind to others.

[MontanaMama]

6. Thanks for sharing this.

It is a comfort to know that there are still humans that walk among us. I always tell my son, if you can do nothing else, at least be kind.

My mother died the day after Thanksgiving 2009. I recall being shell shocked on that black Friday 7 years ago and I was at her side when she passed. I can't imagine getting that news in the middle of a busy store. I'm sure it was an awful moment. My condolences. <3

[AtheistCrusader]

7. Reflect for a moment the rarity of not just the kindness that happened in the article but

the use of the term 'tracked down' in a positive context.


How rare even, is that? Tracked down for a positive reason, rather than retribution or hate..