One of my favourite plays is A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. This is part of the dramatic closing scene where Blanche Du Bois (Vivien Leigh) is taken away to a mental institution. "I've always depended on the kindness of strangers." is a dramatic and important phrase in the text.
There is a significant difference between the kindness of strangers to that of a friend. Perhaps more meaningful due to no expectation. I recall an instance on the New York subway when I was feeling sad one day. Stood on the platform I was fighting back the tears, then I suddenly found a hand gently touch mine, subtly a girl of about my age slipped a tissue into my hand and then turned away. This was a genuinely inspirational act of kindness and such a personal experience to me. Yet I cannot picture the girls face, she will always remain a true stranger remembered only by me, by her kindness.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxGN29njs3Q
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