Old man and a chair

Every morning at my restaurant hangout, a feeble old man shows up with his walker. Every morning, he takes little baby steps on his way to a table. Lately, I’ve noticed the man slowing down. He gets halfway to his goal when the sudden weight of his weariness overtakes him. He teeters and looks like he will fall.

But the waitresses have their eye on him. After he makes one little misstep, they are at his side with a chair. They coax him into it, and he just sits there. There he sits, a slight, drooping figure with a faint smile of gratitude on his face. Waiting in the middle of a busy restaurant. Waiting for his gathering strength to return. When it does, he’s on his way again.

The waitresses watch his progress, whispering among themselves whether they should bring out the chair again.

After watching this occur many times, I can only conclude: One small act of compassion equals one big act of love.

--By Ron Cooper