Young man asks widow eating alone to join him: 'This woman changed my outlook on life'
Words: Hope Schreiber
A man from Alabama, US, noticed that a woman was sitting alone at a restaurant and he invited her to eat with him and his friends — not knowing that the widow would have been celebrating her 60th anniversary the next day.
On Thursday, Jamario Howard and his friends, JaMychol Baker and Tae Knight, went out for a meal at Brads in Oxford, a city in the State of Alabama.
While waiting for their food, Howard noticed a woman sitting alone. "My exact thoughts [were] 'dang I'd hate to have to eat alone,'" Howard shared on Facebook.
After thinking about the situation for a minute, he approached the woman and asked if he could sit with her for a while.
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"We talked for a minute and after a while of talking she told me she lost her husband and that tomorrow would have been their 60th anniversary," Howard wrote.
"I instantly gave my condolences and asked her to come eat with us."
The woman, identified by Fox26 as Eleanor, was more than excited to join the young men.
Together, the group enjoyed their meal and exchanged stories. "This woman changed my outlook on life and how I look at other people," Howard shared.
Howard's parting words on the simple act of kindness were, "The point in this is always be kind and be nice to people. You never know what they are going through," and, he added, to visit your parents and grandparents.
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Many on social media shared the heartwarming story and applauded the young men. "What a gracious, thoughtful thing to do — bless you!! If everyone acted like you, what a wonderful world it would be!" one person wrote.
"That is nice. It is very hard to go out to eat alone, especially on those special days," another shared.
Many others chimed in that their faith was restored and that this is the perfect example of compassion.
