Guest Post by Jerry Baldwin
[Editor’s note: Jerry wrote about this unexpected Saturday night encounter on Facebook and I asked if we could share his random act of kindness with our readers.]
Earlier tonight I was in line at Kohl’s when I noticed a young man and his girlfriend, pacing the floor and looking anxious. He was dressed in a sharp black suit, holding a tie he had apparently just purchased. I overheard the store manager when she came over to him and apologized that she didn’t know how to tie a tie.
The look on his face was one of utter defeat. His patient girlfriend, also dressed to the nines in a little black dress and heels, kept reassuring him, “It’s … okay … you still have plenty of time. We will find somebody to tie it for you.”
I couldn’t watch this scene unfold any longer. I summoned the kid over and asked him to hand me his tie. As I knotted it for him, he explained that he had never owned a tie before, but he really needed to wear one tonight. He repeatedly said, “Thank you, Sir!” and commented that he “didn’t know anyone who knew how to tie a tie,” as if it were some sort of magic trick.
When I finished and handed him the tie to slip over his head, helping him snug it up to his collar, the people in line behind me clapped and cheered!
I laughed, and wished the couple well. He said, “May I shake your hand? I feel like we just had kind of a DAD MOMENT.”
I thought back to the numerous Sunday mornings when I was a kid and my own father taught me how to tie my tie, and it brought a tear to my eye.
This was a really nice kid who may never have had anyone to show him things like that. I was proud to help. Lord only knows what kind of event this young couple were headed to: a party, maybe? A viewing at a funeral home? Homecoming Dance? Whatever it was, they were the sharpest looking couple there for sure. I wish them well and pray they had a great night.
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” –Aesop
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Jerry Baldwin is chairman of the Chesterfield County Republican Committee.