Elderly Woman Afraid To Cross Street Offers Young Man a Free Lunch if He'll Walk with Her
Remember the film “Pay it Forward” with Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt? The film was a great success, as was the bestselling novel it is based on.
But why did this story do so well? Could it be simply because we love the idea of random acts of kindness or “paying it forward?”
I think the answer is obvious. Stories like this one resonate with us somewhere deep inside. It’s the reason we never get tired of reading about kindness on social media.
One man from Memphis, Tennessee, became a hero to an elderly woman recently. His willingness to help when he didn’t think anyone was watching shows his true character.
According to a Facebook post from Local Memphis ABC 24, a random act of kindness occurred just outside of the Criminal Justice Center in Shelby County.
You read the words “criminal justice center” and you might already have a few feelings that arise. The word “criminal” alone makes me uneasy.
The elderly woman who came out of the building must have felt the same way. She was alone and didn’t want to walk to her car without someone by her side.
From the photo, it also looks like a busy street, so we can also guess the lady felt apprehensive about crossing traffic without a well-bodied escort.
According to the post, this woman “approached a young man, a stranger, and told him that she would buy his lunch if he would… walk her to her car.”
A favor for a favor. Very sweet indeed, but the real clincher is this young man’s response to the elderly woman.
Local Memphis reported his priceless words. “He said, ‘Ma’am… I’ll be happy to walk you to your car and you save your money… you don’t need to buy me anything.”
The entire thing was witnessed by reporter Tish Clark who says she happened upon the pair while doing another story. She says the woman was so grateful and even hugged the man.
We’re so glad she caught their hug on camera. We need more gentlemen like this young man in the world. I have an inkling the elderly lady insisted on buying him lunch anyway, but we’ll never know.
We do know that moments like these happen more than we realize. It brings a sense of comfort and reminds me of a quote credited to Aesop that says, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
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