Woman Witnesses Kindness of Server Sitting with Lonely 91-Year-Old Man at Dinner
A 91-year-old U.S. veteran sat with tears streaming down his face as he talked with a young restaurant server at a Pennsylvania eatery, soaking up some much-needed human interaction.
Dylan Tetil, 24, was working a shift at the Eat’n Park restaurant in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, when he met the elderly man who simply wanted to talk.
Apologizing for forgetting his hearing aids, the 91-year-old ordered chicken, mashed potatoes and apple pie. When Tetil delivered the man’s order, he used his allotted break time to sit down with the man and simply listen to his stories.
Other customers took notice of the sweet interaction, including Lisa Meilander, who snapped a couple of photos of the conversation and posted them online.
Meilander was overcome with emotion as she watched Tetil’s patient and compassionate conversations with the veteran.
“The man apologized for not hearing too well. He had forgotten to put in his hearing aids,” Meilander wrote on Facebook. “He talked about how he lost his hearing during his time in the war. He was 91 years old with many stories to tell. Dylan patiently listened giving him his full attention.”
Tetil told KDKA-TV that the lonely customer was “one of the nicest people” he had met in the restaurant. As the man continued to talk, he became emotional.
“Tears were running down his face. Like, you could just tell this man hasn’t had a true, caring person to talk to him in a long time,” Tetil told KDKA.
As Meilander looked on, she decided she wanted to pay for the man’s meal. But as she soon found out, she was not the only one with that idea.
“I wanted [to] offer to pay for the man’s dinner, but before I could flag down Dylan, a man seated at a nearby booth asked Dylan to bring him his check,” Meilander wrote on Facebook.
“‘Someone’s already taken care of it,’ Dylan smiled. I guess we weren’t the only ones eavesdropping on the conversation,” Meilander wrote.
Tetil, who is a radiology student at Westmoreland County Community College — according to TribLive — said he felt a special connection to the veteran.
“It was just two human beings talking,” Tetil said.
Tetil believes that taking the time to care about others is an important priority.
“I believe that you giving someone five minutes of your day could just completely rearrange how they look at life itself, honestly,” he said.
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