Godfrey Cuotto, a 21-year-old college student in Ontario, got on the bus and sat down.
Minutes later, he was approached by a middle-aged man named Robert, whom he had never met before. Robert started shaking Cuotto’s hand vigorously and would not let go.
Instead of getting riled up, Cuotto went with what was happening—despite being “freaked out.”
This was my first time encountering such a thing,“ Cuotto says. ”I thought, you know what, I’m just going to allow it. I‘ll let him do his thing. I’ll comfort him.'”
A fellow passenger snapped a picture of the pair on the bus, and posted it online. It went viral.
Later, it emerged that Robert is deaf and has cerebral palsy. Robert’s family says he likes to connect with other people and enjoys socializing with strangers. Unfortunately most are mean to him, but not Cuotto.
Robert’s niece Vick Jacobs saw the picture and thanked Cuotto. “Thank you Godfrey for comforting Uncle Bobs, and putting notonly a smile on my family members faces but tens of thousands of people around the world! I hope to come across many more people like you in my life!”
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