Sometimes, a small act of kindness can go a very long way. Just ask this elderly woman who was very sad and was seen crying by one of her neighbors.
“She looked up at me through her large blinder style sunglasses and with a trembling voice said ‘I don’t have him anymore.’ My heart sank,” he recalls.
It was clear that this woman was in complete distress.
Rather than just continuing with whatever he was doing, he decided to approach her – a stranger to him, even though she lived nearby – to give her an absolutely heartfelt hug.
If there’s a real-life Mr. Rogers out there just like in the television show, it has got to be this kind man.
Anyone would be thrilled to have Aldon O’Neill Ward III as a neighbor, and while his name is certainly special, it’s his affectionate and helping personality that surprises people the most.
Whenever he sees people passing by his front hard, he always manages to put a smile on their faces. However, this time it would be different.
The elderly woman, who he had seen before but never really spoke to her other than exchanging small talk, was clearly not in the mood for a laugh.
He was busy working in the garden, but when he saw the poor woman in distress he immediately rushed over her for a hug.
There’s not a lot of people who would do that for a stranger, and it’s just heartwarming and bittersweet to see.
Aldon has a security camera set up, which captured the whole encounter.
Aldon has seen this woman with her husband for almost a decade now and recalls them walking around the block pretty often.
“Since 2011 I’ve seen an older couple walking the neighborhood every morning and evening. Matching windbreaker outfits, large white new balance sneakers and a stick in hand,” he said.
Even though they didn’t really know each other on a personal basis, they always waved at each other and the couple would often blow kisses to Aldon’s dogs.
“Always saying what a beautiful day it was even if they were walking in the rain without an umbrella. We never exchanged names but I knew where they lived and they knew where the boys and I lived.
Over the years, Aldon has seen this couple passing by a lot of times. When he saw the woman in the present day by herself, he knew something wasn’t right. He still recalls how it all went down.
“I’m watering my freshly laid sod. Griswold, my standard poodle, is close by vigilantly protecting me from dragon flies and the occasional squirrel. A windbreaker suit swooshes slowly down the street below. Alone, the woman approaches. I wave, she waves. I exclaim in a joking manner, ‘where’s the better half?’”
It was only now that he noticed that the woman wasn’t smiling like she always did.
“She looked up at me through her large blinder style sunglasses and with a trembling voice said ‘I don’t have him anymore.’ My heart sank.”
Right away, he rushed towards her in instinct.
“‘Ma’am?’ I said, as I approached her. She turned and with tears streaming from behind here large sunglasses not another word was spoken, we hugged. Big hugged. Like she was my mom or my grandmother.”
The woman was mourning the loss of her beloved husband, and the warm hug from Aldon definitely made her feel better.
“I’m just trying do the things that we used to so I still feel like he’s around…. I needed that,” the woman said.
It was this kind moment and this true, heartfelt, and emotional hug that truly made this woman’s terrible day just a little bit better.
What may seem like a small act of kindness can have a huge impact on someone’s day and even their lives.
The video Aldon uploaded has now been removed, but we can rest assured that the kind neighbor will always be there for this woman whenever she needs it.
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