Sometimes kids are the worst things walking the Earth, and sometimes they’re the most surprisingly awesome. I think we know which side this kid falls and it’s about to get a bit dusty in here. Via CBS:
At the Ohio Air National Guard base near Toledo, Lt. Col. Frank Dailey still can’t believe the honor recently bestowed upon him.
“It’s incredible being recognized in such a manner,” he says.
It happened at a Cracker Barrel, of all places. As the security camera shows, Dailey entered the restaurant on Feb. 7 for an early lunch. At about the same time, 8-year-old Myles Eckert came in with his family.
Myles was very excited. He’d just found a $20 bill in the parking lot. He’d started thinking of what he could spend it on.
“I kind of wanted to get a video game, but then I decided not to,” Myles says.
$20 dollars for a video game? Maybe for Xbox. I’m talking about the first Xbox.
He changed his mind when he saw the guy in uniform.
“Because he was a soldier, and soldiers remind me of my dad,” Myles explains.
And so, with his dad in mind, Myles wrapped the $20 in a note that read, “Dear Soldier — my dad was a soldier. He’s in heaven now. I found this 20 dollars in the parking lot when we got here. We like to pay it forward in my family. It’s your lucky day! Thank you for your service. Myles Eckert, a gold star kid.”
So why did this kid give him video game money for a random soldier? Also, Cracker Barrel? Come on, Mom.
Army Sgt. Andy Eckert was killed in Iraq, just five weeks after Myles was born. All the kid has ever had are pictures and dog tags, other people’s memories and his own imagination.
“I imagine him as a really nice person and somebody that would be really fun,” Myles says.
Man, all there is to wonder about how is what Lt. Col. Frank Dailey spent that $20 dollars on.
Dailey says he’s already given away that $20 and plans to do much more. He also hopes that little green Post-It will inspire other people across the country to give — to give as sincerely and dutifully as that father and son.
Yep, all there is to do now is yell, “SEE! WE CAN ALL HELP EACH OTHER OUT, GUYS!” And then curl into a ball and cry like a baby. I mean, you can do that, I won’t. I’m too busy lifting weights in a humid garage. Fine, eating ramen noodles out of the pan. Are you happy?
Via CBS