This is not my story to tell; if it were, I’d start with closing time at the local Chicken Shack and the lone worker mopping up. I’d warn my readers of the early release of thousands of inmates and how this lone worker should’ve known better then to leave the back door of the restaurant unlocked. I’d build up to that moment of uncertainty where a man walks into the back entrance of the Chicken Shack...
But this isn’t my story to tell, a story I’d first heard this past weekend when the narrator stepped up to the microphone and in a barely audible voice told everyone she was looking for a sign, any sign, that everything would be okay. I wasn’t in the same room as her; in fact, I was in a room just outside where she spoke. I’ll not forget that moment either. I, along with everyone else, needed to hear her voice, needed her reassurance, just as much as she needed a sign, any sign, that everything would be okay. She had our attention the moment her breath hit the microphone. Silence swept over the place as we waited to hear her speak.
The man at the back door, the one who took the lone worker by surprise, was her husband. She and her high school daughter waited in the car. Their daughter, tired and hungry, had made the following request: “Mom, would it be okay if we stop at the Chicken Shack?” It was 9:15 p.m. and they hadn’t had dinner. The man, the father, walked into the back of the restaurant and spoke, “I know you’re closed,” he said to the lone worker with the mop, “but I just lost my son. My wife and daughter and I just came from the funeral home. Do you have any leftover chicken?”
They fed their daughter that night, thanks to the kindness of one lone worker at the local Chicken Shack. I, along with so many others, was fortunate enough to hear the mother's story the very next day.
There is kindness in this world, even during the saddest of times, even for a grieving mother who lost her son at the age of 24.
14 comments:
and if it were my answer to give I would start with, "the definition of OK has changed to be sure but, yes, in time everything will be OK again.
Perhaps that lone worker should have known better than to leave the door unlocked, but thank God he didn’t.
It’s always wonderful to hear stories like these – we hear and see so much of the other kind.
Great story. Thank goodness for the still kind hearts of many strangers.
Every so often we catch a glimpse of humanity...like a door opening just a crack on a dark night and we can see through it and there is light. That is what these moments feel like.
This is very powerful. I love how the story seems "scary" in the beginning and ends with that wonderful twist of humanity. Beautiful.
J.R. Kindness can appear where you least expect it. Unfortunatly so can fear. My son recently had a gun pulled on him at a gas station by a nutball who insisted he was someone else. SCARY!!
Great story. Sad but not hopeless. If only more people in the world were like this...including me.
Great story, especially the manner of telling. I was expecting something sinister and you managed to blindside me with hope and compassion.
Sure warms the old cockles.
As good as anything by old Russian Ivan Turgenev.
God and good people at the worst of times.
thanks for sharing - that was a powerful post. good to know that there are still compassionate souls out there, and sometimes we find them in the least likely places. What might seem like a simple gesture to one person might be the ounce of grace or hope that another person needs in that very moment. god help us all to be more like the chicken shack worker.
I'm tearing up here!
Some good in the world. My brother used to manage a KFC way back in the day. Little town in Oklahoma. He fed many local homeless. It was always a secret though. He only told me and Mama. Do good where you can. D
JR, you totally had me (as with Whitenoise) expecting a crime scene. Well done, man.
And condolences to the family who received a small act of kindness while in mourning.
Like Whitenoise said, the scene was all set for something sinister. Still a sad story, but with a pure moment of goodness.
Sad story, but uplifting too.
I hope the worker gets a raise, and the family somehow finds peace.
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