Waiter Sees Customer’s Son with Cerebral Palsy Having Trouble Eating, so He Helps Feed Him

(Google Maps - 42nd Street Oyster Bar in Raleigh, North Carolina)

In an era where people are becoming ever more disconnected from each other, even small gestures of kindness can be that much more meaningful. When Lee Bondurant, a 51-year-old man with cerebral palsy, sat down for a meal with his mother at the 42nd Street Oyster Bar in Raleigh, North Carolina, an unexpected good deed had that effect—and it has inspired many people online.

One Memorial Day weekend, Bondurant had the good fortune to be served by a waiter named Five, who noticed that mom Linda Bondurant was finding it difficult to enjoy her meal while also assisting Lee—as his condition makes using his hands impossible. So, the server stepped in to lend a hand.

Linda snapped a picture of the kind waiter helping Lee with his very first oyster and posted it on Facebook. The viral response was nothing less than stunning. As Linda wrote, “[T]here are still decent and compassionate people left in our country.”

While people made a great deal about Five’s kindness, he insists that it was professionalism, which was his biggest motivation as a server, treating his customer with respect. Cerebral palsy results from abnormal development or damage to parts of the brain, which in turn affect people’s ability “to move and maintain balance and posture,” per the CDC.

Five wanted to make sure that his guests had a positive experience and enjoyed their meal. “Seafood is best eaten hot, so I didn’t want her food to get cold. I didn’t want his food to get cold,” Five told WTVD, “I just wanted to help a fellow man out.”

Linda recalls that Five went out of his way to offer help, but in a genuine way. “He casually came over and asked Lee if he had ever had oysters,” Linda told ABC News via email. “Lee told him he had not. So, [Five] asked [if he] could he serve him his first. It was smooth not to embarrass Lee.”

What moved Linda so much to take a picture was that Five was demonstrating how others should treat those with disabilities. “They are ‘normal’ on the inside,” she emphasized. “[They] have the same feelings we all do.”

As for Lee, who works as a shopping cart collector at a Kroger grocery store, he told ABC, “To find someone that kind in a world like today, that is a hard thing to find. You don’t find it everyday.” Linda noted that despite struggling with cerebral palsy, her son “is such a positive person. He never has lost faith in his fellow man.”

When the photo went viral online and hit the local news, no one was more surprised than Five. “Shares and likes? I had to ask people ‘what does this stuff mean?’” he told WTVD. “I’ve gotten letters from Austria, Australia, Canada, different states. I’ve never gotten that much attention in all my life.”

But beyond the hype, Lee was just happy to have made a new friend. When the time came to celebrate his 51st birthday, there was no question where the family would be going. “I’m very blessed,” Lee told WTVD. “It shows there are good people in the world still.”