A random act of kindness by an air force man towards an elderly woman recently went viral, and it should teach us all a lesson about paying attention and helping each other out.
On August 7, Jibril Jennings of Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City saw an elderly woman named Janice Hall walking near Interstate 240, her walker full of bags of groceries.
Temperatures were around 100 degrees Fahrenheit that day, and Jibril saw that Janice was struggling to carry her purchases under the sweltering heat.
Without hesitation, the kind air force man stopped his car and asked Janice if she needed a ride home. The latter gladly said yes, and Jibril proceeded to load her groceries into the trunk of his vehicle. It saddened him that many vehicles were driving past, but no one offered to help the woman!
“There was a human being in the middle of the road that obviously needed help, and everyone was just driving past,” he said.
“Once I got into the car, she immediately started talking,” Jibril added. “She reminded me of my grandma, she started telling me about her day.”
Jibril learned that Janice had two miles more to walk had he not spotted her and gave her a ride.
“I went from the post office to Walmart, then from Walmart to my bank,” said Janice.
Amber Roy was stopped at a red light in the same interstate when she saw the precious moment unfolding before her. Quickly, she took out her phone to record the whole thing and shared the clip on Facebook for everyone to see.
She wrote: “Omg this should go viral!!!! This airman just pulled over to help this elder lady walking with her groceries in 101 degree weather and took her to her destination !! Omg my heart is melting !!! There is good people left in this world!!’ God bless you airman!!!”
And viral it went. To date, the short footage has been viewed 4.8 million times!
When the pair reached Janice’s home, Jibril carried her groceries inside. And before the helpful airman left, Janice thought of showing him a gesture of thanks.
“I told him he deserved a hug. I just gave him a great big old hug and thanked him. Then he went on his way,” said Janice.h
Many people who saw the video are calling him a hero, but Jibril doesn’t quite agree.
“I don’t think this is a hero’s moment. I think this is something anybody should be able to do. If this qualifies for a hero, anybody could be a hero.”
Of course, this is not the end for the new friends. Jibril plans to recruit several of his airmen buddies to help Janice build a ramp for her walker.
What an inspiring story of kindness! Indeed, if everyone would make their lives about helping other people, the world would be a much brighter place to live.
Watch the video below to see the airman in action.