Who is the best person you have ever met?

[davidmc1158_v1legacy]

At the request of a fellow escapist in the "worst person" thread, I decided to ask everyone who was the best person you have ever met?

I'm going to start with a previous boss of mine. She was a devout Christian and I am an agnostic with atheist leanings, yet we became good friends. She concentrated her religious beliefs into the "make the world a better place" arenas and her willingness to put herself out on a line to help others was admirable and more than a little amazing. She refused to allow anger to cloud her judgement and would never speak poorly of others, even if they had done her a bad turn. She would just dust herself off, count herself a little wiser for the experience and move on.

If I were more religiously inclined, I think I would probably nominate her for sainthood.

So fellow escapists, who sits high on your admiration meter today?

 

[Pappytech]

Best person I've ever met, huh? Let me think for a minute...

Well, I think I've been lucky enough to have a pretty wide selection to choose from. High school teachers who did everything they could to get me and my classmates into the best colleges, the adult volunteers who kept my Boy Scout troop running (since most of the actual Scouts were kind of assholes), my friends who spent summers and off-semesters volunteering at camps or in foreign countries. Though to be honest, it's a little hard to pick out any one event in particular that would make that person stand out.

If I had to pick just one person, I'd probably go with my old pastor. Granted, I'm sure he has his negative moments too, but from what I personally know about him, he's pretty fantastic. He spends a lot of his time simply driving around town, from residences to the hospital to the prison, to either comfort, pray for, or simply talk with anyone that might need an open ear. And when I say "a lot of his time", I mean exactly that; he's often out for more than twelve hours at a time doing this stuff. Then of course there's the volunteer organizations downtown that he regularly visits and helps out at, the mission trips he helps to organize and go on, and the fact that he makes a point of connecting with the youth in the church.

He's a good man, simply put, who does good things not just because they're expected of someone in his position, but because he earnestly wants to do them. So here's to Pastor Bob.

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

My Mum (d'awwww, BLERGH #loser etc.)

She has to put up with me, on a daily basis. Deserves some credit.

I'd probably say one of my closest friends is the best person I've met. His infectious positivity and charisma tends to wash off onto nearby people and I only really see him as a positive influencer. He has a keen intellect, but doesn't lord it over people who don't understand and he holds a strong sense of morality.

He'd be my serious candidate.

Honourable mention to mother dearest.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Four people come to my mind-

This guy I met during the first few weeks when I started uni. I was pretty much got thrown into making new friends part and in the bar doing so. Anyway I met a guy (one of my flatmate became friends with another and just got lump together) and we just chatted about cartoons (Samurai Jack, Powerpuff Girl, Batman: TAS and etc) for 2 HOURS! Seriously there is no one I had talked to that long purely on cartoon nostiglia. Sure I may had lost contact on him but I do remember he was studying politician so he pretty guarantee my vote should he be elected into something.

My previous manager.
She was quite an old manager and she took the chance to hire me when my work experience had ended (overally she liked me but in saying so I probably did a better impression than this lazy staff). I mean I was unemployed for a while and yet she took me on thus breaking my unemployment cycle. I hold her as high regard as she was an cheey woman so enjoyed a few laugh. She never once got annoyed with me (I made a quite a few mistake during the first few week). Instead of telling me off, she clearly explain what to do and reinforce that should I get stuck, asked for help then to do it alone. Anyway she passed away from cancer so I do feel regret for never once telling her how grateful I am toward her for hiring me in the first place.

The previous deputy manager and the current manger (supervisor).
The deputy manager (and his girlfriend) is the only person who I had alot in common compared to the staff I worked with mainly because they are into video games like me (he actually only a year younger than me) so I'm more talkative around them.
The current manager was the supervisor who got promoted temporary cos the last manager (not the one I've mention above) had to go back to the othe store she was in. Anyway the previous manager (above) pretty much mentor him to become the supervisor in the past so he too is a friendly guy to worked for who doesn't get crossed either. I also respect him that he is more by the book with it come to company rule and is way more of a hard worker than me (he used to lived in the next town over so he had to catch the bus which a couple of times he had to walked back home which took him two hours to get back when the bus service was unavailable.)

 

[King of Asgaard]

I'll be pedantic and name my brother as my first choice. For 19 years he's been my best friend and a loyal companion. I couldn't have asked for a better brother.

 

[L. Declis]

Probably my mother, although my girlfriend comes a very close second.

I was raised in a single parent family, and my mother gave up her dreams of raising horses to get a more stable (pun not intended) job to better raise me. She has always given me a lot of trust and respect, and despite our relative poverty (I only recently managed to learn how much she makes), I never wanted for anything. I always had the latest console, the latest Final Fantasy, we had internet in our house before anyone else in the village, etc. Sure, I never went on any field trips, and thank the government for free school dinners, but looking back, I had a frankly amazing childhood and it came down to her, and I know now how much she must have struggled to get all the numbers to meet.

She's always been very supportive of me, even during my teenage years when I was... less than pleasant to be around. So I love her dearly and will always be thankful for it.

 

[Caiphus]

Outside friends and family: my old economics teacher and rugby coach back in secondary school. Thoroughly cool, nice man. Tough, and supportive. Turned up to class with a concussion once; that was fun. All-round inspiration and yeah. Now I'm doing an economics degree, probably thanks to him.

But of course my parents are both wonderful people and I'm lucky to have them. My father has worked hard so that his heir, which would be me, could live comfortably without lifting a finger. A gift that I have enjoyed immensely. And my mother has put up with the collective shit given to her on a daily basis by me and my two siblings, and somehow hasn't kicked any of us out yet. So yeah. Lucky me.

 

[Artina89]

My mother. No matter how much of a bad day I have had, I can rely on her to brighten up my day. She gives me encouragement when I need it, and is never afraid to give me some home truths, no matter if I want to hear it or not. I love her to bits.

My former housemates during my last year at uni- I loved living with them. We were all of quite varied backgrounds, religions and political leanings, but we always got on well and had a good time. We never fought in the year that we all lived together and we would always bake and/or cook food for each other. We were basically like a little family.

My best friends. I have one from Manchester, one that lives in Montreal, Canada and an American that lives in Nottingham. No matter how much time has passed when we see each other, it is like no time has passed at all. I always have a great time when I go to see them.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Probably my dad, the hardest-working, most optimistic and honest person I know. Not too many other people can put up with having to wake up at 5am to deliver the morning paper while also holding a second job with a major advertising agency and still remain energetic without coffee or some other vice. Just today we went car shopping together and he was very helpful and supportive. Of course it helps that he used to sell cars as well and has developed opinions good and bad on both brands and dealers that I trust more than my own judgement.

 

[username sucks]

I think the overall best person I ever met was someone on Imgur. She hardly told me anything about herself, so all I know is her username and that she's in college, but her actions speak for themselves.

She practically saved my life. I was in a very bad place in life, and I had recently attempted suicide. My mind was an absolute mess, but this stranger reached out to me and helped me through it. I didn't ask for help, she could tell just by the way I talked in a chat. She had no reason to help me, yet she took a guess and reached out- I didn't ask for it, she reached out to help me. I didn't believe that there was anyone like that.

And still, I only have a username.