LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The Power of Kindness

My wife and I had dinner at Joe’s Italian Restaurant Sunday, Oct. 8 at around 7:30 p.m.

After we finished, I asked our waitress, Ashley, to bring our ticket. She said, “your meal was paid for by an anonymous person, and I am not at liberty to say who it was. The anonymous person wanted to thank you for your service.”

I was shocked and speechless. I was wearing a cap that said, ‘Marine Veteran’.

My wife and I want to publicly thank the anonymous donor for their kindness and respect.

There was only one other person in the restaurant eating while we were there. He looked to be younger than my youngest son. Our first assumption was that it must be this young man, but we can’t be certain.

What we know for certain is we were genuinely moved by the generosity and kindness of a stranger.

We were also reminded of several valuable lessons:

• You never know who is watching you and how your presence will affect others.

• In a world where things can seem topsy-turvy - Kindness and generosity are not lost attributes.

Now it is our turn. My wife and I will not let this gesture go in vain, we will take the lessons learned from this experience and ‘pay it forward’.

Thank you, whoever you are, for reassuring us that goodness prevails. Sincerely, Tandy Carter LtCol USMC, Ret.