Will You Cut My Food

It was in the middle of a shift and during the busiest time at the Waffle House when the request was made. "Can you help me cut my meat?" asked 78 year old patron Adrian Charpentier. He went on to explain to Ebony Williams, the 18 year-old waitress, that his hands did not function very well and she took immediate action. Despite the chaos around her, and many other customers waiting for assistance she stopped everything and took the time to meticulously cut bite-sized pieces for him, no questions asked. Though she thought nothing of it, others took notice in amazement at the over and above service this young lady was willing to offer. One specific onlooker, Laura Wolf, who took the picture you see in this article then posted it to social media shortly thereafter and watched it go viral.

As often happens when a viral story graces the social media pages, many readers were moved to ensure this act of kindness was put on display and in some regards, rewarded. The City of Le Marque, Texas, where the restaurant is located decided to dedicate a day to her calling it Ebony Nini Williams Day. Not to be outdone Texas State University, knowing that Ebony was a hardworking teen trying to earn money for a continued education, took it a step further with a scholarship to their esteemed institution in the amount of $16,000.

Still insisting she did nothing special, Williams is quoted as saying, "I don't know. It's something I would do on any other day." Yet it was special. In this busy world of ours, its all too easy to look the other way. To be so self involved that we allow those around us in need to practically be invisible. The tendency is to take on the notion that we have enough problems of our own rather than look outside ourselves and see how we can help others. So though her act of kindness was simple in some ways, it reminds the rest of humanity to care for one another and take the time to pay attention.