Jocye Nicholson Weird & Beautiful Things
“Last night, I learned a big lesson about patriotism, compassion for your fellow man, and respect…..from an 8 year old little boy at McDonalds in Shamrock, Texas. Amongst french fries and chicken nuggets, in walks a man and his wife. The man was wearing a Vietnam Veteran cap that was adorned with several pins. I don’t know that anyone noticed him when he walked in, nor did they notice his cap; but the eight year old little boy did. Even after he had asked his mom several times (three to be exact) if he could “go shake that guy’s hand and tell him thank you for his service”, she said no, for fear of disturbing his supper. But on the fourth plea, mom gave in; and the little boy marches right over to the gentleman and says, “sir, thank you for your service” and shakes his hand. The gentleman pauses, and with a cracking voice says, “young man, you are very welcome and thank YOU for noticing….you just made my day, maybe my whole week!” Everyone went back to their meal and before the boy left, the gentleman walked over and said, “son, I would like for you to have this.” It was his 1st Calvary pin that he wore on his cap. The little guy says thank you and quickly takes his cap off and let’s his uncle attach the pin to his cap and runs to show his mom and aunt what the veteran had given him. I don’t know who was more overcome with emotion, the veteran, for someone noticing all that he had fought for; the little boy, for meeting “a real-life hero” or those that observed this interaction. All in all, it reminded me that no matter the place, no matter the time nor situation, honoring our soldiers past and present, and their unselfish sacrifice is paramount. So here’s to all those that stepped up and shouldered the responsibility of protecting our country, there are no words big enough to say thank you.”
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I hope, through the publication of positive stories and resources, to energize readers to take their own actions to make our world a better place. If you are already there, thanks!!
Have a healthy and impactful life, Peter Prichard CMF
-WEBSITE/BLOG – Have Positive Impact – https://havepositiveimpact.com/
-Witnessing acts of kindness produces Oxytocin, which aids in lowering blood pressure and improving our overall heart-health. Oxytocin also increases our self-esteem and optimism, which is extra helpful when we’re anxious or shy in a social situation: http://www.randomactsofkindness.org
-The best research oriented organization with thousands of articles on how to create positive impact is The Greater Good Science Center – https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/