Even a little act of kindness can completely change someone’s day, not to mention, it can cause a ripple effect too.
But while it doesn’t take much to be kind – it’s amazing to see what some people will do for a total stranger, just like in the story below.
It begins with a man named Denny Kukich settling in for a rather long flight.
As he stated,
“I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat.”
Sharing his story on the “Love What Matters” Facebook page, Denny explained that this particular flight was a long one.
So, he was glad that he’d thought ahead when he chose to bring a book along. Due to the length of the time he’d be flying, he thought he’d probably have ample time for a nap as well.
As Denny was waiting for the plane to take off, he noticed a group of soldiers walking down the aisle.
With so many empty seats, several sat down nearby. So, he started a conversation with one of the gentlemen.
That’s when Denny asked the one soldier seated nearby where he was off to.
He answered by saying they were all being deployed to Afghanistan.
The two of them talked for so long that an entire hour had passed. That’s when a flight attendant announced that sack lunches were available for $5.
Considering it’d be a while before Denny reached his destination, he opted to buy lunch. But then, something happened that he hadn’t expected.
He overheard several soldiers talking about the available lunches.
Denny reached into his wallet to pay for his lunch, then heard a soldier ask another if he’d be getting one.
“No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn’t be worth five bucks. I’ll wait till we get to the base,” the soldier replied.
After he said he was going to wait to get to the base, Denny heard the guy’s buddy chime in to agree.
Denny began looking around and noticed that none of the soldiers were buying the lunch due to the cost.
So, he decided to do something about it. Immediately, he got up from his seat and walked to the front of the plane.
There, he approached the flight attendant and handed her $50. He then politely asked her to give each of the soldiers a lunch.
The flight attendant squeezed Denny’s arm tightly as she started to cry.
With heartfelt words, she stated, “My son was a soldier in Iraq, it’s almost like you are doing it for him.”
She then prepared to hand each soldier a bagged lunch.
But before she did that, she wanted to know if Denny liked beef or chicken better.
He was puzzled, but after the flight attendant passed out the bagged lunches, she gave Denny an incredible dinner that was for first-class passengers only.
Her only comment, “This is your thanks.”
After eating, Denny headed to the restroom located in the back of the plane.
Denny was stopped by another passenger who noticed the act of kindness he’d shown.
This man told him, “I want to be part of it. Here, take this.” With that, he handed him $25. But that wasn’t the end of it.
With a broad smile on his face, he told Denny that he personally wanted to thank him.
Come to find out, Denny’s kind gesture especially touched the captain too. He approached and said in a loud voice,
“I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.”
Although Denny felt a little uncomfortable with all the attention, the rest of the plane didn’t care.
Everyone stood up and gave him a hearty round of applause. Later in the flight, he walked to the front of the plane to stretch out a bit.
That’s when another passenger handed him $25.
As he waited to get off the plane, yet another passenger put $25 in his pocket, smiled, and walked away without saying a word.
When Denny got inside the terminal, he located the soldiers and handed them the $75. His only parting words,
“It’ll take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God bless you.”
It was a small act of kindness that caused a domino effect.
Thank goodness for all the kind people in this world like Denny, and also for all of the brave service members who sacrifice so much to keep us safe.
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Source: Facebook – Love What Matters
