Story highlights
A photo of a server feeding a disabled customer in Georgia has been shared hundreds of times
Reginald Widener, the man who took the photo, says it hit him "right in the soul"
Alex Ruiz says he hopes to teach others to be loving
A photo shared hundreds of times on social media is reminding people there is still kindness in the world.
Alex Ruiz, 22, a server at Cinco de Mayo restaurant in Douglasville, Georgia, went above and beyond his job — to feed a man without hands.
“I saw a man who needed help,” Ruiz said. “I did what I thought was right.”
The customer, whom Ruiz had not seen before, came into the restaurant Sunday to order a meal and asked someone to help him. Without a second thought, Ruiz obliged, making small talk with the man – asking about his life, his family, and if he needed a ride home.
“It makes me very happy to help people,” Ruiz said.
Reginald Widener, a Douglasville resident who eats at Cinco de Mayo nearly every day, saw what happened, took a picture and posted it to Facebook.
“This seriously hit me right in the soul,” Widener’s post said.
From the picture, it t looks like Ruiz and the customer have known each other for years, completely at ease in each other’s company.
Though Widener was touched by the scene, he wasn’t surprised.
“I talk to him almost every day,” Widener said of Ruiz. “He is always in a positive mood, always smiling.”
Ruiz is relatively new to Georgia, moving from Chicago six months ago. He has a son, and he said he hopes to teach him what it means to be “loving.”