Man Sees Homeless Lady Eating from Dumpster and Recognizes Sweetheart He Lost 53 Years Ago — Story of the Day

A man is frozen in place when he sees his first love dumpster diving for food 53 years after they broke up.

The impact was shocking. Unexpected. Painful. It was heart-wrenching and devastating when William recognized Amanda as the woman who was dumpster diving in search of food in an alley in San Francisco, California.

It was a glorious, colorful autumn day when they’d first met. Amanda was 17, and he was 18. He was sitting on the campus of their university when she came up to him and offered him a cup of coffee. “Hi, I’m a part of a campaign that helps the disabled. Can you please buy a cup and contribute to it? It’s just $2,” she asked in her gentle voice.

William didn’t like coffee. He never had. But when she offered a cup to him and looked into his eyes while he tried it, it was the best thing he’d ever tasted. This had been their first encounter, and after that, they began meeting often. Eventually, these encounters turned into friendship and then into love.

He was an introvert, reserved and internal, while she was wild and extroverted. It was a match made in heaven; she grounded him, and he was a breath of fresh air for her. But then fate intervened, and a simple misunderstanding separated them.

William saw Amanda with another man. He didn’t even wait for her explanation and accused her of cheating on him. Amanda stayed firm and declared that there was no need for an explanation if he trusted her. The consequences, of course, were not favorable, and the two college sweethearts parted ways.

After the breakup, Amanda didn’t contact William even once and threw away all the letters he’d written to her. He never approached her either, and they both became engrossed in their respective lives. Amanda stayed in California after graduation to start her business, while William moved to Austin, Texas, to work as an accountant at a reputable firm.

A few years down the line, William was transferred to the California office of his firm, where he fell in love with a woman named Carrie. They got married soon after and welcomed two beautiful daughters named Ava and Sophia.

By this time, Amanda had been married to a man named Trevor, who by all accounts wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t good for her either. Trevor was loving and caring at first, and...