Simply a humble man doing a very kind thing.
He believes in treating people equally
A disabled woman and her husband would often come to the IHOP in Springfield, Illinois, and they'd always sit at Joe Thomas' table.
Thomas had been working as a waiter at the IHOP for over a decade and one day he decided to sit down with the couple and help the woman eat instead of watching her husband do it.
“I always see him stop eating to feed her and I was like 'heck, if I’m not doing anything why don't I go feed her so he can eat and everyone can be happy?' My parents always told me to treat people equally and that's what I try to do all the time,” Thomas told ABC 20 in 2017.
“They are just really nice people really."
Joe Thomas
His kindness was infectious
Unbeknownst to Thomas, a customer took a photo of Thomas feeding the woman and shared it on Facebook.
“A man and disabled women were dining and your server sat down with them and proceeded to help feed the disabled woman while her companion enjoyed his food. My faith in humanity has been restored a little today," the since-removed post read, according to People.
The photo and the story went viral. So much so that a couple of days after the news broke Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner dropped in to commend Thomas.
“It makes you tear up a little, this kindness, this generosity, this caring for others is just a great thing,” the former governor said. "It's very exciting. That's why we were like let’s go say hi to him and say thank you for being a wonderful person."
“Here is a wonderful human being who cares for others deeply and takes time out of his day to help."
Former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner
He sees himself as just an average guy
Commenting on the attention he's received, Thomas reacted humbly
“It really felt good for somebody to actually see another person is doing something and take notice,” he told ABC 20. “It felt good, but at the same time I was like I really don’t care for the recognition too much because it’s just something that should automatically be done regardless. I am out there to help anyone if I can, don’t really look for anything in return just have a good day and that’s it.”
Last we heard of Thomas he was offered a job in nursing.
Kindness is everywhere
Clearly Thomas had good parents to teach him with such kindness — but you don't have to be raised a certain way to know what it means to treat others with sincerity.
We might not always see these kinds of acts of kindness in our day to day, but they're surely happening. So why not pass on the kindness the next opportunity you get?
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