When Teens Rejected Elderly Woman’s Attempts at Conversation, This Man Invited Her to Share His Table
A group of teens were recently eating at McDonald’s when an older woman who was by herself attempted to try to make conversation with them. While they weren’t rude or anything to her, they were clearly trying to get away from her. Poor woman!
One 28-year-old man named Eric Haralson saw the whole thing go down, and decided he needed to step in.
“One of the kids had a man bun and she was very intrigued by it and asked what made him come up with that hairstyle,” Haralson said. “They didn’t take to her that much…she said, ‘What? did I scare them off?’ I said, ‘I guess you did.’”
After the interaction, the woman asked if she should sit with him. And so she sat, and they talked, laughed, ate their Micky D’s together.
He found out the woman’s name was Jan, and, while she didn’t seem to want to talk much about herself, she was very keen on learning about Eric. It was so obvious she just wanted someone to talk to.
A woman named Amanda Marquell Craft was also at the fast food joint and caught the entire thing. She just felt so moved by Eric’s generosity and couldn’t help but want to document it on her Facebook.
After snapping a shot of them laughing at their table, she posted the following words:
“Shout out to this guy! This elderly lady (seemed to be a little lonely) came up to him and asked if she could sit with him. Without hesitation, this guy said “of course.” My friends and I watched him introduce himself and shake her hand. They talked and laughed together like they were friends. They didn’t know each other, and they couldn’t be more different. But today they shared a meal together and it touched our hearts.”
The post went viral, with people sharing how touched they were by Eric’s act of kindness.
It didn’t stop there. Eric actually has reached out to Jan to have breakfast again, and so that they can continue what others construe an unlikely friendship. So sweet!
“I don’t know if she has anyone else in her life and I want to reach out to her as much as I can,” Eric said.
This story gets even better. The McDonald’s where everything went down, which is located in Noblesville, Indiana, dedicated the table that Eric and Jan sat at to them, and dedicated it the “community table,” with the idea that people can enjoy “a meal with a friend, old or new.”
“Our goal is to encourage other customers to find time to really just enjoy life and enjoy the meal. So, we’re hoping by having the table is simply a reminder to other customers that, yes, you can probably meet someone here that you like to spend time with,” said Vanessa Moore, owner and operator of the Noblesville McDonald’s.
How sweet is this act of kindness? Have you ever witnessed something like this before?
