Making the world a better place doesn’t always take some gargantuan effort or a life-altering sacrifice. Sometimes all it takes is lending an ear and being someone who makes the world a little less lonely for others.
And that is something we can all do.
Farris Leonard decided to be one of those people when he sat down for lunch at Lanes Ferry Dock & Grill in Rock Point, North Carolina. He was eating his lunch in the crowded restaurant when an elderly man asked if he could sit down.
Not only did he invite the man to sit down but he went the extra mile just to make sure he and the man fully enjoyed their lunch along with some engaging conversation.
“Today I went to Lane’s Ferry Grill to eat lunch. Great staff and food. I needed a real bacon cheeseburger. Place was packed. Now the rest of the story…” he explained in a post on Facebook. “As I sat alone with one seat open an elderly gentleman caught my attention and pointed to the chair and motioned if he could sit down. I replied sure.”
As it turned out, having a conversation with this man would take a little more effort than a traditional conversation.
The man was hard of hearing and couldn’t hear or speak very well. So, he would write notes in order to communicate. To hold a conversation with him meant passing notes back and forth.
“He was filling out his order sheet and one of the staff came to say to me that the gentleman communicated by passing notes because he couldn’t hear or speak well. They asked if he could sit there,” he explained. “I responded we had already worked that out. As we sat and passed notes, we filled up both sides of his paper, I only wondered the things he had seen.”
Turns out Farris’ kindness was rewarded with a historical storytime session.
“Well, he met JFK, in the ’40s he went to Arizona and it was 120 degrees. Yes we wrote about the weather. What a great lunch,” Farris wrote. “I tell this story that may seem insignificant, only to share just how significant it was.”
Farris’ only hope was that he would make that man’s day a little bit brighter and he definitely succeeded.
“As I sat there I wondered if and hoped that I was making a better day for this 93-year young gentleman. But then it hit me and it gave cause to write my final note to him which said, ‘Sir I want to thank you for letting me sharing lunch with me. I must go now but I want you to know that you made my day a better day. Take care of yourself.’ You should of seen his eyes and smile as he read it,” Farris recalls. “He embraced his heart and gave me a handshake that was real. We hugged and took a picture.”
Farris wrote about the incident on Facebook in hopes that others would follow his lead.
“This story is not about what I did but about what we all can do,” he explained. “With a little time, a lot of compassion and not being about ‘me’ and ‘I” so much, we could help make and be in a better place. Passing notes with this gentleman was priceless.”
And it looks like his plan might be working.
“We have seen him in there before and the staff took great care of him.. He was all smiles!! We should all take time like you did today!!” one commenter said.
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