Man With Cerebral Palsy ‘Touched’ by Waiter’s Act of Kindness
By NICOLE PELLETIERE3 hours ago Good Morning America
Man With Cerebral Palsy ‘Touched’ by Waiter’s Act of Kindness (ABC News)
Lee Bondurant of Raleigh, North Carolina, was “touched” last month when a stranger offered to feed him after learning he has cerebral palsy and is unable to use his hands.
The kind act occurred when Lee, 51, was joining his mom, Linda Bondurant-Snow, for a Memorial Day weekend meal at 42nd St. Oyster Bar in Raleigh on May 28.
“Lee is such a positive person. He never has lost faith in his fellow man,” Linda Bondurant-Snow of Garner, North Carolina, wrote in an email to ABC News. “If anything, Lee lifts others up. This is not only coming from me as his mother. You could ask anyone at his job, or [a] friend.”
Courtesy Linda Bondurant-Snow
Because Lee is unable to use his hands, Linda was trying to feed both herself and Lee at the same time when their waiter, a college student named Five, offered assistance.
“He casually came over and asked Lee if he had ever had oysters,” Linda recalled. “Lee told him he had not. So, [Five] asked [if he] could he serve him his first. It was smooth not to embarrass Lee. Just offering [to] share in the experience.”
Linda posted the story onto Lee’s Facebook page where it received over 1,300 shares.
“When you dine at 42nd Street Oyster Bar please ask for a server by the name of “FIVE” (a college student) He saw me trying to eat and help Lee,” she wrote. “He insisted on helping showing Lee total respect. Let’s me know there are still decent and compassionate people left in our country. Pay it forward for FIVE!”
Hunter Correll, general manager of 42nd St. Oyster Bar, told ABC News: “In regards to the story, Five has been overwhelmed with the attention, as he was just doing what he thought was the right thing to do. We are beyond fortunate to have so many loyal and caring staff members. It makes it so easy to come to work every day, as you can imagine.”
Linda said Lee hopes people can learn how important it is to treat people who have special needs “with respect and kindness, not pity.”
“They are ‘normal’ on the inside,” she said. “[They] have the same feelings we all do.”
Some Days, You Just Have Nothing
| Some Days, You Just Have Nothing
Posted: 07 Jun 2016 09:06 AM PDT By Leo BabautaYesterday wasn’t a great day for me. I woke up late after too little sleep. Someone I love is mad at me, and doesn’t seem to want to talk to me, which put me in a down mood. I couldn’t get focused to do any writing, so I answered emails, read stuff online, took a nap. My kids weren’t around to cuddle with me. I did a workout, but couldn’t finish it because my wrist hurt. I rode my bike to the grocery store on a warm summer evening, which was nice. I cooked a healthy dinner for myself. Had a strong beer. Then I made the mistake of reading some comments on a blog post that was critical of me. The blog post was mildly critical, but the comments piled on top of each other, talking about how hypocritical I am, how repetitious my writing has become … with each negative comment, I could feel my heart drop lower and lower. It wasn’t a great day, and my mood descended as I thought about how badly so many people thought of me … Some days, you don’t have anything. Some days, you don’t knock it out of the park. On a day like this, I sat still. It was all I could do. I looked inward, and faced the hurt. I stayed with it, just giving it my attention. I noticed the story I was telling myself, that was causing the pain. It wasn’t a good story. The more I got stuck telling myself this story, the more I was stuck in the pain. So I turned to the present moment, and allowed myself to feel the pain, instead of running from it, pushing it away, or trying to do something to end it. It wasn’t so bad. And it didn’t stay around much longer, now that I allowed myself to sit with the hurt. I also realized that this “Leo” that those people were criticizing … doesn’t exist. It’s just an image they’ve created in their heads, not really me. And this “Leo” that I have in my head — a Leo who is a good person, who tries his best — this is also just something I’ve created in my head. In the middle of all of this seeming solidness, there’s nothing. Just a fluid present moment. After turning and facing my feelings, staying with them, and seeing the nothingness in the middle of it all … everything was OK. Not brilliant, but not so bad. Some days, you have nothing, but that’s OK. |
These 2-Year-Old Triplets And Their Garbage Collectors Are The Cutest Best Friends Ever
Garb Day is the best day.
posted on Jun. 2, 2016, at 2:57 p.m.
Meet the cutest best friends there have ever been: these 2-year-old triplets and their garbage collectors.
Martha Sugalski / Via Facebook: Martha.sugalski
Every “Garb Day,” as the triplets call it, they wait excitedly for their friends — Andrew Black, Rob Whitmore, and Chad Cover — to show up.
“The crew gets out of the truck and they high-five the babies and give fist bumps and we talk,” their mother, Martha Sugalski, told BuzzFeed. “They spend 10 to 15 minutes with us every Tuesday and Friday.”
Sugalski posts videos of the besties on Facebook, and millions of people have watched them.
The toddlers help load the garbage into the truck and sometimes bring them drinks or snacks.
“We’ve been doing this for over two and a half years,” Sugalski said. “Over time, it’s just really become a caring, close friendship with these guys.”
The crew became acquainted when the triplets, Holden, Heaton, and Wilder, were just 2 months old.
Martha Sugalski / Via Facebook: Martha.sugalski
Sugalski would walk them around their Florida neighborhood in their stroller. She would wave to Black as he drove by.
“After a couple months, the garbage truck would beep the horn and the babies would look at the truck, and then Andrew would wave and say ‘Hi babies!’ from the window,” Sugalski said. “Eventually, he’d stop the truck, get out, take off his gloves, and say hi to the babies.”
Even though they’re only 2, the triplets know when “Garb Day” is and get excited for it every time.
Martha Sugalski / Via Facebook: Martha.sugalski
“They scream, ‘Andrew! Mr. Rob! Mr. Chad!’” their mom said.
Sugalski said her daughter, Holden, is particularly close with Whitmore, which she believes is because they are both on the quiet side.
“She’s always the last one to come running down the driveway, but she goes straight to Mr. Rob every single time,” she said.
“Lately, when the truck leaves and Chad’s waving goodbye to them, Heaton sits at the edge of the driveway and he says, ‘Come back,’” Sugalski said.
Martha Sugalski / Via Facebook: Martha.sugalski
“It’s sweet. He wants them to stay,” she added.
Black told BuzzFeed “it’s hard to explain” how happy the triplets make him.
Martha Sugalski / Via Facebook: Martha.sugalski
Even though he’s been off from work due to an injury, he still goes over to visit them whenever he can.
“I just love the triplets. I almost feel like they’re my own,” he said. “Every time I see them, they just bring me joy.”
Siblings
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