What is your most positive interaction with a complete stranger?

[Calebark]

What is your most positive interaction with a complete stranger?

Keen to hear some wholesome stories.

[swordkillz]

So it was the last day of school for the year on the 15th of December 2017. Our school let us off early at the end of 3rd period so we just went rambles. My group of mates and I decided to go to the cinemas to watch the newest Star Wars movie (George St Cinemas - Events) that just came out the day before. As we got into the cinemas, two young couples (say around 20 ish) sat in our spots which were assigned to us on our tickets. After having a friendly exchange of information, we realised they were in the same row as us, so we essentially had like a full casual discussion and let them lovie-dovies do their thing. They talked alot about their past HSC life, uni chill days at bars etc. whilst giving us advice on life in general. In the meanwhile, our friends and I were like machine guns, pew pew pew'ing random stuff about trivia and general knowledge to them. Awkward situation, but nevertheless one of my most positive interactions with a complete stranger(s).

[VinnyD]

I enrolled in a 'Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety' course in order to teach kids how to swim. I turned up to the course figuring that the majority of people were around my age- this wasn't the case  . We had to do a practical and teach, in groups, the fundamentals of floating. One of the adults who enrolled in the course could barely stay afloat for 10 seconds, however at the end of it, i ended up teaching him how to float correctly. It was one of the most rewarding experiences because he was so much older than me- yet he seemed so happy when he could stay afloat for more than 10 seconds

[peterpiper]

I was feeling really sad. I argued stupidly with a friend, and hovered forlornly around a semi-lit lake, drifting between apologising and total overwhelming embarrassment (the whole thing blew up from a misunderstanding which led to me being all paranoid which led me to mistrusting my friend completely. However irrational she kept suggesting I was being, it felt reasonably comprehensible and justified to me until I realised I was completely in the wrong). The place was crowded with people, but there was a patch of grass that was secluded which I eventually settled on for about ten minutes before getting up and refusing to look at my phone again (We were texting back and forth and I had stubbornly refused to return calls). It was about 11pm. There was a music thing going on at the time, it was pretty cold as well, and some girl in her early 20's approached me and asked me if she could buy me some ice-cream at one of the stalls set up a few yards away. She bought vanilla ice cream for me even when I told her it wasn't necessary if she only just wanted my company, and she bought chocolate ice cream for herself. She said ice cream was for everyone and if we find that we had nothing to say we could just eat ice cream. I said I was a fast eater but this didn't seem to have stopped her from going to the ice-cream stall. We sat around where I had sat, talked and mostly exchanged pleasant small-talk to pass the time. She proceeded to tell me about how the skirt she was wearing then was the "best 50$ I've ever spent" and enthused about eating more ice-cream and the possibility of not fitting into the skirt after the night ended. Then I told her about what happened between my friend and I, and she gathered just as much. She told me about how she had a boyfriend, and how it was mostly fun at the beginning. They'd have really cool times with each other, they met through a mutual friend, and it seemed like a "happy coincidence", "meant to be", "fate". It was great, then they moved in and things got a little more serious, only to sour towards the end when they fought over literally anything. It was everything they've already heard of before. Looking back, she said, on the nights when it seemed really bad between them, like nothing was going to improve, what she really wanted was to apologise before the night ended, because usually when she or he (her boyfriend) did, it would be better in the morning. On the nights she didn't, it was always going to be worse. They're not together anymore and they haven't talked since the day they broke it off. She asked if I could take her to some place where she was meeting up with a couple of her friends. We went there, and she asked if I'd like to meet some of her friends (who were apparently big on one of the bands that were playing that night). I declined and said I should probably get back to my friend before midnight and it was my friend who listened to this sort of music. She smiled and asked for a hug and we did and parted ways. I texted my friend and we ended up having a really good time together with a couple of random drunk people. I didn't see her again before the night was over, but I sometimes think about it and it helps clear my mind a bit.

[brenden]

-snip-

Love this.

Two stories come to mind - not because their the nicest interactions, but because they come up in my Facebook memories every year (lol).

A long time ago, when catching busses was still a super nervewracking experience for a young teenage Brenden, some guy got off a bus on the other side of the road, looked at me a moment longer than normal, then started crossing the road. Thought I was about to get stabbed but (this was before Myki), he just goes, "hey man do you have a ticket?". I didn't, so he handed me his, which was a daily ticket. I dunno why but at the time I thought it was flat out the best thing that had ever happened.

Another time, I was sitting at Monash, writing a birthday blog (habit of mine between 17-21), which was always a pretty 'reflective' experience. I was sitting against a wall with my laptop, probably pretty deep in thought, and a stranger just interrupted me to ask if I was okay (I was). She was really lovely, never saw her again.

Oh, another time (randomly coming back to me)... It was the Essendon vs North Melbourne elimination final in 2014. We sort of looked better than Essendon all game but somehow went into half-time 30 points down, the good news being that Essendon was like the worst second-half team that season and North was one of the best. We won the game (our first final win in like, a decade), and in the sheer jubilation afterwards I was arm in arm with a SUPER RANDOM mother fucker. I have no idea how it happened because like - don't touch me - but we just yelled the anthem together. It was pretty fun.

OH OKAY THIS ONE TAKES THE CAKE. I was ashamed of this story for ages but I look back on it fondly now. I was hiking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, 2009. The highest point of the hike is 5400m above sea level. The final day is like, enormous, because you sleep low enough to not die from altitude sickness, walk up the mountain, then walk back down low enough to, once again, not die of altitude sickness... so you end up walking from like 4900m to 5400m above sea level, then back down to a safe sleeping altitude. It took us like, a stupid amount of time. Maybe 14 hours or so. I was 14 and weak at the time and I was fucking HECTIC fatigued. Every 10-15m or so I'd tell Mum we should stop and sleep (potentially delirious) and I'd sit on virtually any boulder we came across. WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN some RANDOM MOTHER FUCKER just WALTZES along with nothing but a fucking BACKPACK and a BOTTLE OF COKE. I was like "dude what the fuck, you are hiking a mountain with a backpack and a bottle of coke", and he was like "yeah dude I'm sort of thirsty hey" (but he was Nepalese so he definitely didn't say that). So I gave him like a litre and a half of water which he absolutely fucking guzzled. Then he saw that I was out on my feet, removed the 15kg pack from my back as I protested but literally didn't have the physical strength to like, stop him, he puts it on his back, gives me his (mostly empty) backpack, and then we finish the descent together. His favourite English phrase was "every rose has its thorn", and his name was Lopsang.

#lopsangmysaviour

edit: flat out my favourite thread rn

[K888]

Don't know if it was the best interaction I've had with a stranger, it was pretty weird but still positive.

Happened in February 2017, I had had hip surgery a few weeks before so was on crutches. Was at Southern Cross station catching a train home but had time to kill so went and got a Boost. Was standing in the line, just staring off into space, when this nice guy in a business suit comes up to me and says "excuse me, I hope this doesn't seem weird but I saw that you're on crutches and was wondering if I could pray for you to help your healing" or something like that. My first thought is just "what the fuck" but I managed to get something out like "oh, that's so sweet, thanks so much but I had surgery so I'm already on my way to healing! Thanks so much though" and he's like "sweet, have a nice day and good luck" and like it was super weird and I responded the way I did because a) I was just weirded out and b) didn't have the heart to tell him I was an atheist, but it was super nice nonetheless and made me feel a bit happier for the rest of the day.

[EEEEEEP]

So this was back when I couldn't drive.

It was a long day, I was pretty tired and in a pretty shitty mood. I fell asleep and missed my stop and as a result... was at the end of the bus loop (which is about a solid 20 minutes drive from home).

Dead phone, finished water, and all...

The bus driver drove me back home (even if he could just go home). The sheer amount of kindness to go out of his way.. and not dump me at the of the road (which some bus riders do) was nice. I still haven't forgotten it to this day.

[AngelWings]

Here's a story that happened probably a month ago. Unlike the other stories here, it wasn't what people did for me, but the look of gratitude in a stranger's face when I helped them:

Recollection

My friend and I had just finished a fancy celebratory lunch after all the chaos from uni assessment. I was seeing my friend off at a bus stop by a train station and saw this fairly big guy (not a dig at him or his body size, I'm just putting this into perspective) walk past. I, being basically the total opposite, began to notice that this man looks like he's not faring well in the sweltering heat, with the temperature being at least in the early 30-somethings. He was lugging his singlet around as if he was a lost child that was searching for something and feeling rather hopeless.

Usually, a person would look away and not help, thinking he's a beggar who kind of deserved his fate. Nonetheless, we made eye contact once he'd completed a few laps past me several times over the course of a few minutes with sweat dripping off him everywhere. The guy looked pretty desperate in a fairly normal looking way. Not one that appeared to have done any wrong besides probably forgetting or losing his wallet somewhere and looking really dehydrated. The eye contact was partially accidental, but nonetheless he predictably proceeded to ask me for a dollar or two for a drink.

I looked at him for a second, squarely looking at his eyes for less than a millisecond and believed that the man was honest in his request. I opened my wallet discreetly in my small bag and added simultaneously two words: "I'll see." His eyes flashed with thankfulness as I awkwardly scrounged around my wallet, searching for a gold coin to give the man. Once I successfully grabbed a $2 coin, I gave it to the man, he nodded with a thankful glance and left.

A few minutes later, the same guy came back, now holding a cold open can of coke with a straw in his hand. He saw me and held his hand out to shake. Not wishing to be impolite, I hesitantly shook his hand with one firm shake. With one last nod and a muttered "thanks" under his breath, accompanied with some typical grateful line to the effect of "You're a lifesaver.", the guy left in the direction he appeared to be heading to begin with. I remembered something I've seen online - one of those Thai ads that say to be kind to others and pay it forward. Those last three words, I shouted behind him, hoping that, at least, he could help another in need one day, but I have no idea if he heard me or not.

So somehow, I found myself doing one random act of kindness last month. I just don't know how the heck I roped myself into doing it and whether that guy ever will help another person in need. Either way, I don't think I'll forget that grateful look in his eyes.

 

[peterpiper]

Here's a story that happened probably a month ago. Unlike the other stories here, it wasn't what people did for me, but the look of gratitude in a stranger's face when I helped them:

Recollection

My friend and I had just finished a fancy celebratory lunch after all the chaos from uni assessment. I was seeing my friend off at a bus stop by a train station and saw this fairly big guy (not a dig at him or his body size, I'm just putting this into perspective) walk past. I, being basically the total opposite, began to notice that this man looks like he's not faring well in the sweltering heat, with the temperature being at least in the early 30-somethings. He was lugging his singlet around as if he was a lost child that was searching for something and feeling rather hopeless.

Usually, a person would look away and not help, thinking he's a beggar who kind of deserved his fate. Nonetheless, we made eye contact once he'd completed a few laps past me several times over the course of a few minutes with sweat dripping off him everywhere. The guy looked pretty desperate in a fairly normal looking way. Not one that appeared to have done any wrong besides probably forgetting or losing his wallet somewhere and looking really dehydrated. The eye contact was partially accidental, but nonetheless he predictably proceeded to ask me for a dollar or two for a drink.

I looked at him for a second, squarely looking at his eyes for less than a millisecond and believed that the man was honest in his request. I opened my wallet discreetly in my small bag and added simultaneously two words: "I'll see." His eyes flashed with thankfulness as I awkwardly scrounged around my wallet, searching for a gold coin to give the man. Once I successfully grabbed a $2 coin, I gave it to the man, he nodded with a thankful glance and left.

A few minutes later, the same guy came back, now holding a cold open can of coke with a straw in his hand. He saw me and held his hand out to shake. Not wishing to be impolite, I hesitantly shook his hand with one firm shake. With one last nod and a muttered "thanks" under his breath, accompanied with some typical grateful line to the effect of "You're a lifesaver.", the guy left in the direction he appeared to be heading to begin with. I remembered something I've seen online - one of those Thai ads that say to be kind to others and pay it forward. Those last three words, I shouted behind him, hoping that, at least, he could help another in need one day, but I have no idea if he heard me or not.

So somehow, I found myself doing one random act of kindness last month. I just don't know how the heck I roped myself into doing it and whether that guy ever will help another person in need. Either way, I don't think I'll forget that grateful look in his eyes.

 

It's often bewildering how something so small can mean so much to someone else. Like you know it's common sense - you see someone who's homeless, you know it's shit and the person could do with some money, but when it happens there right where you are, where you're in a position to become a benefactor, just only briefly in what would appear to be a tiny fraction of their day - you can't help but feel so incredibly dumbfounded by the multitudes of meaning something ordinary can produce.

This sort of reminded me of something I did, which I haven't thought about in years, but it went down something similar to yours (apologies for unintentionally following your story with mine but I think it's in spirit of this thread, so I'll share it anyway I hope you don't mind). I was just outside state library, sitting on a bench near QV/the tram stop there with two other friends. There was a homeless woman going about in the backdrop asking for spare change - and I don't think she was successful in getting more than the two twenty cent pieces I later saw in the palm of her left hand. She probably got up that morning and decided she needed to beg, which god knows how long she's been able to find that strength, let alone sustain. A little after she came up to two of my friends, and my friend on the left said she only had credit card and couldn't help her, and the other didn't say anything, signalling that likewise she couldn't help her either. Then she asked me, and I did have a couple of notes (a twenty, a ten and two one fivers). I was about to just give her the five, but then as I took out my wallet, I knew she saw that I had more than the five. It was after school, the end of the week (Friday), and I was like why the fuck not, so I gave her all my notes. I had literally no need for money then, because we were about to all head straight home for dinner. And she literally sobbed all over. She couldn't hold it back, and kept saying thank you and some other unintelligible string of sentence amidst her sniffling. She asked for a hug, which I gave (also hesitantly, but more out of the fact that I was shocked by what was happening), and then you could tell she had felt self-conscious right after doing so, walking off, and looking back a few more times before we couldn't see her anymore as she entered QV. She wanted to say more, that much was obvious, but the fact that I was a stranger to her, she probably felt it was breaching an unsaid social code or something and had made a mental note of some kind to restrain herself. Still, the more I think about this, it was as though she had no idea what she was feeling until that moment happened: when something of a burst, like hope flashed, and in a few seconds rushed in her veins, incomprehensible emotions, which moments before she would not have been able to acknowledge or even suspect of being capable of releasing let alone experiencing. I knew it was something big for her when I made the decision to empty out my wallet, but the response just took me by surprise. I really had no idea even when I kept on repeating to myself, 'this means a lot to this person' 'I think I'm doing good by her'. But to what degree, I couldn't give you a rough estimate. I don't know if I'm the only one who feels this way after something like this, but I was just dumbstruck and even now were that to happen to me again, I'd probably respond in very much the same way. There was just so much that was happening. I felt helpless really. No authority, nothing.

[snowisawesome]

Dropped a $1 coin on the road by accident and a stranger picked it up for me. I said thank you and even offered her some blueberries in return. She really liked the blueberries and thanked me, turns out she was on the same bus as me, and we talked throughout the whole bus.

[Calebark]

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading all of these stories! I can't seem to pick my favourite. I have a lot of stories, so I was struggling to pick one of mine... anyway, here it is:

So late 2016 I was still homeless, and being the idiot I am I hadn't secured a place to sleep in time, so I just walked to a local park which is a bit of a hotbed for homeless people. It's well-lit, covered (to protect from rain), and there's a tunnel in it that's super warm to sleep in. Anyway, I went there, and I was the only person there, so I went to the tunnel part. In there was a plastic bag containing a few muesli bars, an empty water bottle (there was a water tap nearby), apples, and some Smiths chips. There was no note, and it's entirely possible that somebody just accidentally left it there, but I like to believe that a fantastic stranger out there left it there specifically for people down-on-their-luck to find.

[elysepopplewell]

Someone came to mind as soon as I saw this in my unread posts.

Her name is Helga.

I was travelling down Positano (Amalfi Coast) on a very very very packed bus on a very very very windy road with two girls from England who became my best friends and one girl from Seattle that we'd picked up a long the way. One of my best friends was really motion sick on the way down, and pretty well collapsed out of the bus into a pile of vomit going down the windy and steep hill, so all four of us got out and waited with her. We waited about 45 minutes for the next bus to come by, and when we got on I made an effort of pushing to get on quickly so that Emily (sick friend) could sit down. So Em and I raced to a seat because I'm starting to feel really sick too. But then a lady much much older than us got on and obviously I'm going to move for her. So I move next to the window and put Emily on my lap and the older lady sits.

We talk with her in italian for a bit until we realise we aren't really understanding each other properly. She's not italian. We weren't italian. So she said, "do you speak English?" And we said, "yes! It's our native language." She said, "I'm German but I speak English better than I speak Italian" so we were like, oh my god LOLLLLLL we are so silly. So we talk for a bit and I'm talking about how I'm travelling and I named a few countries on my list.

Then: cue Helga.

Helga is standing next to the older lady and reaches her head around into our conversation and says, "Hi, I'm Helga. I couldn't help but listen in. You want to travel around Europe? Maybe come to Germany?"

And I was like, Yeah totally, I'd love to go to Berlin and Munich but I'm open to all of the above and more. And she smiled and kept talking to us about our goals and plans and dreams and all the rest. Then she spoke to her friend in German and then came back to me and said, "This is crazy" and she's laughing, and says, "But I would be happy to host you in my home in Berlin. If you'd like to come." And I was laughing too because like, dammit Helga I met you two minutes ago, but yes I'd absolutely fucking love to stay at your abode in Berlin.

So my phone was DEAD - so she wrote her email on the back on my bus ticket and a week later I emailed, and said, Hi it's me the Australian girl from the bus, does the offer still stand, etc.

She was SO delighted to hear from me and she couldn't wait to host me.

When I went to Berlin (LOL CRAZY BECAUSE YOLO ITS FINE I'LL JUST FLY TO BERLIN AND STAY WITH A PERSON IVE TALKED TO FOR ALL OF FIVE MINUTES) she actually had two apartments right next to each other, and let me stay in one by myself. She arranged for her younger colleague to take me out for Berlin night life (spoiler: I came home at 8am and Helga was my biggest supporter - honestly my spirit animal). And she drove me to museums and cooked for me.

She lives alone, she's maybe in her 60s? She is a little mysterious and she's FANTASTIC. I stayed with her for three days and we've emailed ever since. I cannot wait to see her again.

She emailed to tell me she's retired now and she's about to live her life continuing to travel. She's already travelled TO OVER SIXTY COUNTRIES so you can see how she is honestly gooooooals.

Anyway - she's one of the most fantastic, vibrant, exciting, intelligent people, I have ever ever met.

I want to be Helga.

Edit: Came to a cafe this morning to do heaps of work and be super productive #newyeargoals but instead I'm here reading all of your fantastic stories with this big ass smile on my face because isn't this the kind of thing that just makes life fantastic??

[vox nihili]

Someone came to mind as soon as I saw this in my unread posts.

Her name is Helga.

I was travelling down Positano (Amalfi Coast) on a very very very packed bus on a very very very windy road with two girls from England who became my best friends and one girl from Seattle that we'd picked up a long the way. One of my best friends was really motion sick on the way down, and pretty well collapsed out of the bus into a pile of vomit going down the windy and steep hill, so all four of us got out and waited with her. We waited about 45 minutes for the next bus to come by, and when we got on I made an effort of pushing to get on quickly so that Emily (sick friend) could sit down. So Em and I raced to a seat because I'm starting to feel really sick too. But then a lady much much older than us got on and obviously I'm going to move for her. So I move next to the window and put Emily on my lap and the older lady sits.

We talk with her in italian for a bit until we realise we aren't really understanding each other properly. She's not italian. We weren't italian. So she said, "do you speak English?" And we said, "yes! It's our native language." She said, "I'm German but I speak English better than I speak Italian" so we were like, oh my god LOLLLLLL we are so silly. So we talk for a bit and I'm talking about how I'm travelling and I named a few countries on my list.

Then: cue Helga.

Helga is standing next to the older lady and reaches her head around into our conversation and says, "Hi, I'm Helga. I couldn't help but listen in. You want to travel around Europe? Maybe come to Germany?"

And I was like, Yeah totally, I'd love to go to Berlin and Munich but I'm open to all of the above and more. And she smiled and kept talking to us about our goals and plans and dreams and all the rest. Then she spoke to her friend in German and then came back to me and said, "This is crazy" and she's laughing, and says, "But I would be happy to host you in my home in Berlin. If you'd like to come." And I was laughing too because like, dammit Helga I met you two minutes ago, but yes I'd absolutely fucking love to stay at your abode in Berlin.

So my phone was DEAD - so she wrote her email on the back on my bus ticket and a week later I emailed, and said, Hi it's me the Australian girl from the bus, does the offer still stand, etc.

She was SO delighted to hear from me and she couldn't wait to host me.

When I went to Berlin (LOL CRAZY BECAUSE YOLO ITS FINE I'LL JUST FLY TO BERLIN AND STAY WITH A PERSON IVE TALKED TO FOR ALL OF FIVE MINUTES) she actually had two apartments right next to each other, and let me stay in one by myself. She arranged for her younger colleague to take me out for Berlin night life (spoiler: I came home at 8am and Helga was my biggest supporter - honestly my spirit animal). And she drove me to museums and cooked for me.

She lives alone, she's maybe in her 60s? She is a little mysterious and she's FANTASTIC. I stayed with her for three days and we've emailed ever since. I cannot wait to see her again.

She emailed to tell me she's retired now and she's about to live her life continuing to travel. She's already travelled TO OVER SIXTY COUNTRIES so you can see how she is honestly gooooooals.

Anyway - she's one of the most fantastic, vibrant, exciting, intelligent people, I have ever ever met.

I want to be Helga.

Edit: Came to a cafe this morning to do heaps of work and be super productive #newyeargoals but instead I'm here reading all of your fantastic stories with this big ass smile on my face because isn't this the kind of thing that just makes life fantastic??

You win this thread

[modcraz]

I tried to find my old atarnotes account just so I could comment on this, but old school deleted my email so I've made a new one.

This may not be the most grandiose of stories here, but it means a lot to me. Last year I was going through a particularly rough patch, brought on by stress and crumbling relationships all colliding at once as they often do. I don't know if any of you here are King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard fans but this was just after Sketches of Brunswick East had been released. I saw a post on reddit that was something along the lines of "sketches has been ruined for me", explaining that it was basically the soundtrack to his current unfortunate circumstances as he'd been listening to it recently. Funny thing was, the exact same had happened to me - I'd been binge listening to "Paper mache dream balloon", another one of their albums.

I pm'd him, and it turns out he's from Manchester, has the same name as me and had gone through almost exactly the same stuff as me at the same time. We chatted for a couple of days about all kinds of things in addition to offloading our troubles on each other. We both felt immensely better, and I'm pretty sure it was just knowing there was a human on the other end. Typing out your thoughts so as to be legible requires you to actually realise how things actually are, and makes you collect your feelings together and is a huge relief.

Turns out he had released an album on bandcamp, and nobody had bought it even though it was name your own price. I decided that if I was in his shoes, nothing would make my day more than having somebody pay money for my album i'd released for free. I now follow his band and might even send him some home recordings to collaborate with. It was an incredible feeling that 2 complete strangers could be so instrumental to each other for a short while despite having never been in the same room, and it makes me wonder how many other people have done the same thing.

[Calebark]

I tried to find my old atarnotes account just so I could comment on this, but old school deleted my email so I've made a new one.

This may not be the most grandiose of stories here, but it means a lot to me. Last year I was going through a particularly rough patch, brought on by stress and crumbling relationships all colliding at once as they often do. I don't know if any of you here are King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard fans but this was just after Sketches of Brunswick East had been released. I saw a post on reddit that was something along the lines of "sketches has been ruined for me", explaining that it was basically the soundtrack to his current unfortunate circumstances as he'd been listening to it recently. Funny thing was, the exact same had happened to me - I'd been binge listening to "Paper mache dream balloon", another one of their albums.

I pm'd him, and it turns out he's from Manchester, has the same name as me and had gone through almost exactly the same stuff as me at the same time. We chatted for a couple of days about all kinds of things in addition to offloading our troubles on each other. We both felt immensely better, and I'm pretty sure it was just knowing there was a human on the other end. Typing out your thoughts so as to be legible requires you to actually realise how things actually are, and makes you collect your feelings together and is a huge relief.

Turns out he had released an album on bandcamp, and nobody had bought it even though it was name your own price. I decided that if I was in his shoes, nothing would make my day more than having somebody pay money for my album i'd released for free. I now follow his band and might even send him some home recordings to collaborate with. It was an incredible feeling that 2 complete strangers could be so instrumental to each other for a short while despite having never been in the same room, and it makes me wonder how many other people have done the same thing.

That's a wonderful story -- even better that you became more than strangers at the end also, bonus points for mentioning King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard