McDonald’s Employee Goes Viral with Act of Basic Human Decency
The action was simple enough and actions like it very well may — we must stress — take place every day at McDonald‘s (and many other restaurant locations) across the land, but on this occasion customer Destiny Carreno caught it all on film, and posted it to the Web. And in doing so reminded us all a bit more of what this whole life thing is really supposed to be about.
What happened?
A handicapped customer, on line in front of Carreno, was apparently having difficulty feeding himself. The man bravely approached Soriano-Garcia, the cashier on duty at that time, pleading “help me, please.”
To Carreno’s apparent surprise, Kenny shut down his register without a second thought, put on a pair of gloves and walked out of the kitchen. He then sat with the man and began cutting his food, helping him to enjoy his meal. This is when Carrreno snapped the photo which quickly spread across the Internet.
Carreno has a quadriplegic uncle whose condition is not unlike the customer who was in need of assistance. The whole episode hit close to home for her, as it played out before her eyes, and she felt it needed to be recognized; “not just by me, but everyone else as well.”
If we may interject — as this is a blog, not a newspaper after all — it is amazing how far one simple act of human dignity, decency, and kindness can go in this life. That what happened here has touched so many people, says so much about the human condition. It is of the utmost importance to remember that we all need each other in this life, and sometimes you just need to shut down your cash register — even during rush hour — and go lend a helping hand.
Carreno added when speaking to CBS news, “I know firsthand the difficulties they (the differently abled) face in today’s society, especially when it comes to the help they need for the smallest things like eating a meal and really being at the mercy of good people.” She added, “As a family member of a handicapped person, it struck a personal cord with me and I thought others would feel the same appreciation I did.”
She was right.
For what it’s worth McDonald’s themselves did recognize Soriano-Garcia for his kind deed, and we hear further accolades are to come.
The Facebook post was shared by more than 315,000 people and deserved praise has come Soriano-Garcia’s way from all directions. He reminds us all how to be, which is bluntly good, nice, decent, and thoughtful. We are none of us alone out there.
“My heart melts for this,” one user commented. “I would’ve done the same thing for him.”
Carreno realized that she seemed to be the only witness of the exchange between Kenny and the handicapped man. This was not done for an audience. “I was probably the only person intrigued by the situation,” she said. “This guy deserved to be thanked, and I couldn’t just leave and not show my appreciation.”
We offer our appreciation to the anonymous handicapped gentleman for courageously being willing to ask for help in the first place, to Kenny for being so willing to be of service, and to Destiny for reminding us all what life really is all about.