A son took his father out for dinner at a restaurant to treat him to a nice meal. The old man was already very aged, and thus a bit frail. While he was eating, a few pieces of food occasionally fell on his shirt or pants.
The other restaurant patrons watched the scene with looks of disgust or discomfort. But the son remained perfectly calm.
Once the meal was finished, without the slightest trace of shame or annoyance, he gently helped his father. He accompanied him to the restroom, where he tenderly wiped his face marked by the years, cleaned the stains on his clothes, carefully combed his gray hair, and adjusted his glasses delicately.
When they came out, a deep silence settled in the room. No one understood how this young man could “humiliate” himself in public like that. The son went to pay the bill. But as he was about to leave, an old man among the diners stood up and said to him:
— “Don’t you think you forgot something?”
The young man calmly replied:
— “No, I didn’t forget anything.”
Then the stranger said to him:
— “Yes, you forgot something… You left a lesson for all sons, and a hope for all fathers.”
The silence in the restaurant was such that one could hear a pin drop.
One of life’s greatest honors is to be able to take care of those who have taken care of us. Our parents — and all the elders who sacrificed their lives, their time, their money, and their energy for us — deserve our deepest respect.
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