Sometimes the most random everyday encounters force us to stop and rethink the truths and perceptions we have ingrained in our minds.  These encounters are educationally priceless.  They spawn moments of deep thought and self-reflection that challenge the status quo and help us evolve as sensible individuals.

I believe the 50 stories listed below perfectly fulfill that description.  Of the thousands of stories that have been submitted to website MMT in the last eighteen months, these are a few:

What do you think?

1. Today, after a 72 hour shift at the fire station, a woman ran up to me at the grocery store and gave me a hug.  When I tensed up, she realized I didn’t recognize her.  She let go with tears of joy in her eyes and the most sincere smile and said, “On 9-11-2001, you carried me out of the World Trade Center.”  MMT
2. Today, at the age of 70, my grandfather graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree in business studies.  He’s been a successful business owner most of his life, but he told me he earned his degree to fulfill a promise he made to his mother before she lost her battle with cancer 50 years ago.  MMT
3. Today, my mom is a healthy 54 year old who successfully owns and operates a popular bakery downtown – a goal she had all her life.  15 years ago she was diagnosed with cancer.  In the face of death, she quit her store clerk job, opened the bakery, started chemo therapy, and succeeded on all fronts.  MMT
4. Today, after I watched my dog get run over by a car, I sat on the side of the road holding him and crying.  And just before he died, he licked the tears off my face.  MMT
5. Today, as a young ‘up and coming’ lawyer, everyone in the firm was congratulating me for winning my first big case this morning.  And all day long all I could think about is how I used a technicality in the law to help a murderer walk away a free man.  MMT
6. Today, on our 50th wedding anniversary, she smiled at me and said, “I only wish I had met you sooner.”  MMT
7. Today, after 2 years of separation, my ex-wife and I resolved our differences and met for dinner.  We laughed and chatted for almost 4 hours.  Then just before she left, she handed me a large envelope.  In it were 20 love letters she wrote me over the last 2 years.  There was a post-it note on the envelope that said, “Letters I was too stubborn to send.”  MMT
8. Today, when I slipped on the wet tile floor a boy in a wheelchair caught me before I slammed my head on the ground.  He said, “Believe it or not, that’s almost exactly how I injured my back 3 years ago.”  MMT
9. Today, someone else’s tragedy provided the miracle my family had prayed for.  Thanks to this stranger, my dad will have a heart.  It’s so odd to think that an accidental death just saved his life.  MMT
10. Today marks the ten year anniversary of the day when I slapped him and screamed at him remorselessly for not letting me in the bathroom after we ate breakfast.  That moment also marks the positive turning point in my battle with Bulimia.  I think he saved my life that day.  MMT
11. Today at 7AM I woke up feeling ill, but decided I needed the money, so I went in to work.  At 3PM I got laid off.  On my drive home I got a flat tire.  When I went into the trunk for the spare, it was flat too.  A man in a BMW pulled over, gave me a ride, we chatted, and then he offered me a job.  I start tomorrow.  MMT
12. Today, I was working in a coffee shop when 2 gay men walked in holding hands.  As you might expect, heads started turning.  Then a young girl at the table next to me asked her mom why 2 men were holding hands.  Her mom replied, “Because they love each other.”  MMT
13. Today, after the funeral, I went back to my parent’s empty house – the house I grew up in.  As I gazed around in awe of all the great memories we made in it, I noticed an old photo of my parent’s in their 20’s sitting on the coffee table.  In my father’s handwriting, across the back was written, “In this moment, we were infinite.” MMT
14. Today, as I walked away from the airport gate alone with my head held high and eyes beet red from crying, I knew at that moment what it meant to be a military wife.  MMT
15. Today, a lady walked up to me in the gym and asked me to give her some workout pointers.  She said, “You look incredible!  Watching you gradually tone-up and progress in here has become my primary inspiration to get in shape.”  It made me smile because I’ve struggled with my weight since I was 15.  MMT
16. Today, my grandpa died.  As I was crying and telling my grandma how sorry I was, she said, “Let’s stop being so sad and instead celebrate the 80 wonderful years he was alive… 60 of which he spent with me.”  MMT
17. Today, as my father, three brothers, and two sisters stood around my mother’s hospital bed, my mother uttered her last coherent words before she died.  She simply said, “I feel so loved right now.  We should have gotten together like this more often.”  MMT
18. Today, my richest friend growing up filed for bankruptcy and one of my poorest friends growing up purchased his second vacation home.  MMT
19. Today, I pulled into a small gas station in the middle of the desert in New Mexico and realized I had left my wallet at my girlfriends house 5 hours away.  I had no money and barely enough gas to make it another mile down the road.  The only other person that stopped for gas was a burly looking trucker.  I was a bit reluctant, but I asked him for some spare change for gas.  Instead he filled my tank and said, “Someone did this for me a few years ago.”  MMT
20. Today, I was all dressed up and waiting on my blind date to arrive.  He never showed up.  It made me feel ugly.  I thought he may have seen me from a distance and bailed.  Then as I left the restaurant alone, I heard a little girl ask her mom if I was a princess.  It made me smile and it MMT.
21. Today, while I was driving my grandfather to his doctor’s appointment, I complained about hitting 2 red lights in a row.  My grandfather chuckled and said, “You always complain about the red lights, but you never celebrate the green ones.”  MMT
22. Today in downtown San Diego, I watched a blue collar Mexican man get harassed for being Mexican.  It was a blatant act of discrimination.  And the man actually began crying.  As he left the office building, he took off his jacket. His t-shirt underneath read, “I love the USA!”  MMT
23. Today, at a jazz club in San Francisco I saw a man and woman enjoying a drink together.  The woman was a dwarf and the man must have been 6 feet tall.  Later in the evening they went out onto the dance floor.  The man got down on his knees so they could slow dance together.  They danced the rest of the night.  MMT
24. Today, I was the maid of honor in her wedding.  Four years ago she was declared cancer free.  Eight years ago, during our senior year of college, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and told she had eighteen months to live.  MMT
25. Today, I received a gigantic gift bag from one of my friends.  She said she appreciated me being there for her, and that I am one of her best friends.  She is mentally and physically handicapped, and I merely see her for half an hour once per week.  MMT
26. Today, my close friend died unexpectedly in a car accident.  A cab driver saw me crying outside the hospital all alone at 3AM.  He stopped, helped me into the cab, drove me to my house 30 miles away and refused to let me pay him.  MMT
27. Today, I kissed my dad on the forehead as he passed away in a small hospital bed.  About 5 seconds after he passed, I realized it was the first time I had given him a kiss since I was a little boy.  MMT
28. Today I met a 90 year old woman at Kinko’s who was getting her passport photo taken so she could go on a Safari in Africa next month for her 91st birthday.  MMT
29. Today, in the cutest voice, my 8-year-old daughter asked me to start recycling.  I chuckled and asked, “Why?” She replied, “So you can help me save the planet.”  I chuckled again and asked, “And why do you want to save the planet?”  “Because that’s where I keep all my stuff,” she said.  MMT
30. Today, I am thankful that my family has acquired enough wealth so that my parents can afford to live in their own house and send me and my siblings to college.  But I miss the days when we were younger and were all crammed into a 2 bedroom apartment and forced to play board games and eat supper together.  MMT
31. Today, my father’s mistress saved my mother’s life when she ran into our fire-engulfed house and pulled my mother out to safety two minutes before the roof collapsed.  MMT
32. Today, at a funeral reception, everyone had something kind to say about the deceased.  As they spoke through their tears, many of them admitted that they wish they had told John how wonderful he was before he died.  MMT
33. Today, after watching a violent horror movie, my little brother abruptly asked my grandfather how he wants to die.  “Like the sunset,” my grandfather replied.  MMT
34. Today, when I witnessed a 27-year-old breast cancer patient laughing hysterically at her 2-year-old daughter’s antics, I suddenly realized that I need to stop complaining about my life and start celebrating it again.  MMT
35. Today, as they teased me and laughed hysterically, I just wished they could see the world through my eyes.  MMT
36. Today, as I read my brother’s suicide note, chills ran down my spine because I was horrified by the fact that I could relate to everything he wrote.  MMT
37. Today, my son and I were in a car accident.  I came out of it with just a cut over my eye, but my son fell into a coma.  The doctor said if he doesn’t wake up soon his chances of a full recovery greatly decreases.  An hour ago he opened his eyes and said a word I thought I’d never hear again, “Mommy.”  MMT
38. Today, I interviewed a woman who is terminally ill.  “So,” I tried to delicately ask, “What is it like to wake up every morning and know that you are dying?”  “Well,” she responded, “What is it like to wake up every morning and pretend that you are not?”  MMT
39. Today, I was traveling in Kenya and I met a refugee from Zimbabwe.  He said he hadn’t eaten anything in over 3 days and looked extremely skinny and unhealthy.  Then my friend offered him the rest of the sandwich he was eating.  The first thing the man said was, “We can share it.”  MMT
40. Today, I told my mom that I feel like I’m failing with my alcoholism counseling and that I want to quit.  Then she said my 8 year old brother told her, “I really like the new Elliot so much better.”  MMT
41. Today, I met an amazing guy at a local diner during the breakfast rush.  He was sincere and handsome.  We agreed to meet back at the diner for lunch, but he never showed up.  I found out this evening from a mutual friend that he was in a fatal car accident on his lunch break two blocks away from the diner.  MMT
42. Today, for two hours I stood next to a 50 something year old, burly biker looking guy at a Lady Gaga concert while he sincerely sang his heart out.  MMT
43. Today, a boy in a wheelchair saw me desperately struggling on crutches with my broken leg and offered to carry my backpack and books for me.  He helped me all the way across campus to my class and as he was leaving he said, “I hope you feel better soon.” MMT
44. Today, I lost my mom to cancer.  My whole life I wanted to build an empire of wealth.  And now that I’m relatively wealthy, all I want is my mom back.  MMT
45. Today, after telling my grandmother that I didn’t want to risk making such a huge mistake, she looked at me and said, “Looking back on it all, there are so many mistakes I wish I had had the courage to make when I was your age.”  MMT
46. Today, while everyone else was complaining about the overbooked flight, I smiled and joked with the gate agent about my willingness to sit in the belly of the plane with the luggage.  15 minutes later, the gate agent found me sitting in the gate area and hand delivered a first class ticket to me.  She winked and said, “Thanks for being so patient.  As you know, the coach cabin is full.”  MMT
47. Today, the evening news report forgot to mention that I was driving home from work five miles an hour below the posted speed limit and that he was an intoxicated drug addict with suicidal tendencies who deliberately jumped out in front of my vehicle.  MMT
48. Today at 3PM my wife checked herself into an alcoholic rehab clinic all by herself after our son showed her bruise marks and belt lash welts on his backside that she couldn’t even recall giving him.  I don’t even know how I feel right now, angry at her or proud.  My head is spinning, and it all MMT.
49. Today, I swore to her that if she followed through with it, I’d do the same.  And she slowly pointed the gun away from her forehead and toward the floor.  Then she handed it to me and cried in my arms for almost three hours.  MMT
50. Today, a 12 year old boy died in a house fire near my neighborhood.  After he pulled his mom to safety, he ran back into the burning house for his 5-month-old baby sister.  MMT

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