Young Men Invite Lonely Senior to Eat With Them and Discover She’s a Widow on a Special Anniversary

Far too often, our world is a grim and dark place where the basic essence of humanity is frequently forgotten. Our social media feeds are often flooded with silly fist-fights and stories about rankers and kill-joys with names like “BBQ Becky” or “Permit Patty.”

But this wasn’t the case on at least one evening in Oxford, Alabama.

Jamario Howard and two of his friends were enjoying their dinner at Brad’s Bar-B-Que when they noticed a woman in her advanced age sitting all by herself.

Howard approached her and asked if he could accompany her after thinking to himself: “Dang, I’d hate to have to eat alone,” as he wrote on a Facebook post.

Howard and the woman, who later was identified as Eleanor, began to have a conversation, ruminating on the events of their lives, before Eleanor revealed that her husband had only recently passed away and she was celebrating what would have been their 60th anniversary on the following day.

Howard wrote:

“I instantly gave my condolences and asked her to come eat with us, which she was excited to do.”

Eleanor soon joined the group of three young men and broke bread with them, where they joked and chatted throught the rest of their meal.

The event profoundly impacted Howard, who later wrote:

 “The point in this is always be kind and be nice to people. You never know what they are going through. This woman changed my outlook on life and how I look at other people. Everyone has a story, so do not judge!”

And in an important reminder of the fact that in our society, senior are often forgotten, he added:

“And people I can’t stress this enough. GO SEE YOUR MOM AND YOUR GRANDPARENTS. They miss you!!!”

Howard’s post has since been shared over 50,000 times, with over 186,000 overwhelmingly positive comments streaming in.

One user wrote:

“So lovely.. and YES.. go see your mom. I lost mine 6 years ago and what I wouldn’t give for one more visit with her.”

While another commented:

“Your parents raised you guys right, they taught you respect and compassion. I wish more people had the same virtues as you gentlemen have. God bless you all!”

We’re inclined to agree. Our world is rife with problems, including our tendency to forget that we live in a community where our common interests are bound in looking after one another. For Howard and his friends, this clearly was not forgotten.