Man kept handing out dollar bills along with a note to strangers at Waffle House. It contained his mom's 'final words'

Kevin Cate (@kevincate) saw an old man sitting all alone at a Waffle House in Midway, Florida. He saw him attaching tiny handwritten notes to every dollar he had. Curious, Kevin approached the guy and asked what he was doing with the money, and his response restored his faith in humanity. The filmmaker posted about it on X on July 10, 2022.

When Kevin approached the guy, he said that since 2014, he had been giving away $1s and $5s to strangers. "He said he’s given away more than $13,000 to strangers, kids, and people he meets at Waffle House (his favorite) and elsewhere," Kevin recalled. Moreover, when the filmmaker questioned the elderly man about the handwritten notes that read "Love Every Body," he said those were the last words his mom told him before dying.  "She didn’t say, 'I love you.' She said, 'Love Every Body.' So that’s what I’m doing. Loving everybody," Kevin wrote. "While he was alone, clearly his mom’s love is still with him, and now all of us," he added. In a world where charity has become about flexing money and power, only a few donate to genuinely help people in need. In fact, a study in Nature analyzing $44 million in online donations found that only 11% of anonymous donors gave without any self-serving motive. This, unfortunately, shows a dark reality of the world, speaking volumes about how even generosity is often influenced by how it makes us feel, not just how it helps others.

Meanwhile, Kevin's post received an overwhelming response on X, with over 50K likes on the platform. While many appreciated the old man for helping out strangers, others shared anecdotes highlighting acts of kindness. For instance, @jmreycroft commented, "I'm sharing this to thank you for talking to him. Many of our people are wonderful and lonely. I try to remember this myself. Be kind." @overtables commented, "Now, THIS is where it's at! Loving EVERYBODY is the hardest thing to do, but it is our highest calling and the greatest purpose for all of our lives. Thank you for sharing such a great story. Everybody should love everybody! It's what the world needs most."

@smith_jsbe8786 shared, "This story is beautiful and can help give ideas to others. A few years ago, I decided to host some soldiers for Thanksgiving in San Antonio and ended up hosting 3 women. We don't have much family, so I thought, 'Why not give those who are stuck here a decent one and be less alone?'" @hsmithson_ wrote, "We need more of this & more of what I've seen in comments in this thread. Over the years, I've done things to help; one that sticks out is buying a hot, full meal for a homeless man on a cold night & he cried because it was fresh, hot, & his. I should do more. This is a good reminder." Echoing the sentiments, @ddziewan recalled, "It reminds me of this quote by Erich Fromm: 'Love is not primarily a relationship to a specific person; it is an attitude, an orientation of character that determines the relatedness of a person to the world as a whole, not toward one object of love.'" 

You can follow Kevin Cate (@kevincate) on X for lifestyle and entertaining content.

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