From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankar Vedantam. This is my unsung hero, stories where one person reached

out to help another in a time of need.

I do not know the full name of my unsung hero.

She came straight up to me, she looked me in the eyes and she smiled.

So whoever you are, thank you so much.

Today's story comes from Sandy Renner.

My unsung hero is a checker at a neighborhood grocery store.

Couple of years ago, I had just left my husband

after 40 years of marriage and was pretty fragile and I went to the grocery store, got to the

front and I just could not remember the pin for my debit card.

So it was holding up the line and I just sort of burst into tears and said,

I'm getting divorced. And she took my hands in hers and just looked me right in the eye and said,

just breathe with me, it's going to be okay, it'll get better.

And because I could calm down enough I remembered my pin.

And then periodically I'd go to the grocery store and she was the sort of person who knew everyone

and was kind to everyone in those brief

seconds as you're going through the checkline.

So it made a difference, it helped me keep going,

and I will always appreciate it.

Sandy Renner of Seattle, Washington. If you'd like to make a contribution to help us make more stories like this one, you can do so at support. Hiddenbrain.org. Again that's support dot hidden brain

dot-org. I'm Shankar Vedantun. See you soon. You're going to be. you're