Meeting the widow
Three young men were about to have dinner at a local restaurant one night in Alabama. What they thought was going to be just a regular eat-out turned into something more, as they had a special and memorable encounter with one elderly lady.
Jamario Howard was with his friends JaMychol Baker and Tae Knight in Brad’s Bar-B-Que in Oxford waiting for their food when they spotted an elderly woman eating alone. Upon seeing her, Jamario’s instant thought was: “Dang I’d hate to have to eat alone.”
He thought about it for a minute, then finally approached the woman and asked her if he could sit with her. The woman agreed, and the two began talking. After a while, Jamario learned that the woman lost her husband, and the following day would have been their 60th anniversary.
Jamario instantly gave his condolences, and to help cheer the lonely widow up, he asked her if she would like to join his group for dinner. The elderly lady said yes, and excitedly joined the men for a meal.
The friends welcomed the widow to their table and they shared meaningful conversations over BBQ and fish. The four took a photo together and Jamario decided to share it on Facebook.
He wrote:
“The point in this is always to 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.”
The post went viral and garnered 270,000 reactions and 73,000 shares. The people who commented on the photo all praised Jamario and his friends for their acts of kindness.
The widow’s name was Eleanor Baker, 80, and she lives alone with her dog Rufus. Though she has a big family, they mostly live out of town so she was alone the night she went to Brad’s.
The woman is convinced that her encounter with the men was a “God thing”. She believes that she was sent by God to serve as an example so others can see “that people care about other people, and how important it is.”
Read Jamario’s full post below:
“So tonight JaMychol Baker Tae Knight and myself went out to eat at this place called Brads in Oxford, and after us sitting there a while waiting on our food I noticed an elderly woman sitting alone. My exact thoughts was “dang I’d hate to have to eat alone”.
So after thinking about it a minute i walked over to her and asked if i could sit with her. She said yes and we talked for a minute and after a while of talking she told me she lost her husband and that tomorrow would have been their 60th anniversary.
I instantly gave my condolences and asked her to come eat with us, which she was excited to do. 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 people i can’t stress this enough. GO SEE YOUR MOM AND YOUR GRANDPARENTS. They miss you!!”
Through this simple encounter, these young men were reminded of an important lesson in life that we sometimes tend to forget – to always be kind to others. And this particular widow will never forget their kindness!