Any act of kindness, no matter how big or small, has the power to change someone’s life. This is especially true when dealing with young children, who are still learning and processing life. If someone shows them some kindness, that can absolutely be enough to stick with them and impact the rest of their lives.
Something that you may consider to be too small to do anything can turn out to be a massive help for someone else.
These young boys, ages 9 and 13, recently set up camp at a local Taco Bell in Mobile, Alabama to sell some homemade cookies. They clearly were looking to make a buck as they needed help. Their clothes were visibly old and wet.
They probably weren’t expecting much when they walked into that Taco Bell that day — they probably thought they’d make a couple of bucks to get by — but then a hero came along, seemingly out of nowhere.
Army Lt. Col. Robert Risdon was walking into that same Taco Bell for a meal and that’s when he noticed the struggling boys.
Risdon was stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia at the time. He is also the father of two children.
When he noticed the boys, he overheard them talking to the staff and explaining that they were selling the homemade cookies in order to raise money for the local church.
When he overheard this, Risdon didn’t even hesitate. He walked right on over to the two boys and asked them if they had anything to eat that day.
The two boys looked up at him with sad expressions on their face. They went on to say that they were quite hungry.
So with zero hesitation once again, Risdon told them to order whatever they wanted off the menu.
A Taco Bell customer named Jason Gibson saw the whole thing go down so he decided to film it.
Gibson couldn’t believe the good deed that was taking place right before his eyes.
“I was in a taco bell tonight when two kids came in trying to sell home made desserts for money,” he said.
“I over heard a soldier ask the kids if they were hungry and told them to follow him to the counter, he would buy them dinner. Had to video it and share. Our troops are always taking care of us. Thank u LTC Robert Risdon please please share this….I heard the little one say I want to be just like u when I grow up and saluted him,” he added.
Once they ordered their food, the two boys were so incredibly happy. So happy in fact, that they began to dance around as they waited for their order.
And Risdon also took the opportunity to have a conversation with the two boys which turned out to be just as important as the warm meal they were about to enjoy.
A video of the good deed hit the Internet and went viral, with plenty of people praising Risdon for the good work he did.
When Risdon discovered video of the moment made its way to the world wide web, he had this to say:
“I’m kinda embarrassed and humbled by the praise and don’t need it. I am a believer that we live in the best country in the world with the best people and that acts of kindness happen every day.”
Remember how we said that good deeds that may be simple to us can go a very long way for others? Well, let this be a perfect example of just that!
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