Frank Somerville is a news anchor for KTVU news in Oakland, CA. Recently, a young woman named Tawny reached out to him with a story so incredible that Somerville shared it on his own Facebook page.
Tawny is a single mother of four beautiful little girls — 9, 5, 2, and 6 weeks old. Things have been particularly rough for her since her ex left.
One day, Tawny desperately needed groceries, so she loaded her girls up in her rundown truck and headed off to the store. By the time they left the store, it was dark outside and pouring rain. Tawny tried turning the engine on, but much to her frustration, the battery was dead. “I have no family to speak of and was on my own,” she wrote.
Over the course of the next couple of hours, Tawny desperately asked at least 20 people for a jump. But they all ignored her. Tawny felt like like she and her girls didn’t even exist.
As her tired and hungry daughters began to melt down, Tawny herself broke down in tears, feeling hopeless and helpless. All she wanted was to get her kids home.
That’s when Tawny heard a knock on the passenger window.
“I swear I got chills when I read what happened next,” Somerville wrote…
“I am the single mother of four absolutely beautiful little girls. They are 9, 5, 2, and 6 weeks. And things have been particularly rough since my ex left.
“My truck had a flat I constantly had to air up. The driver side window motor died. And I needed a new alternator belt. The truck was a mess. And we didn’t drive anywhere unless we had to.”
“Well the other day we desperately needed to go to the store. So we loaded up and drove to the Winn Dixie about 9 blocks away.”
“When we got out of the store it was far after dark. And POURING rain. I loaded my kids and groceries into the truck. Tried to crank it…… Nothing. No click. Nothing.
“One of my girls had accidentally left a light on. My battery was dead. My phone was also disconnected. I have no family to speak of and was on my own.
“I got out and opened my hood to be sure my battery hadn’t come loose. Nope. I must have asked more than twenty people in the course of two hours for a jump. They all ignored me. Not even a no. Just acted like I didn’t exist.”
“My 5-year-old was melting down. My newborn SCREAMING, my two year old crying she was hungry, and my oldest desperately trying to help.
“I was bawling and felt like the worst Mom ever.
“Then I got a knock on the passenger window.”
“An older gentleman (he was 74) with a cane and a bad limp was on the other side of that knock.
“I opened the door. He handed me a plate of chicken strips and biscuits from the deli and bottles of water. ‘Feed those babies and yourself, young lady. I have a tow truck on the way and my wife will be here shortly to take y’all home.’
“Sure enough she arrived followed by the tow truck. Us and our truck were taken home.”
“The next morning the gentleman returned to my house with a mechanic who replaced my battery and alternator and fixed my window.
“The elderly gentleman then left and did not return. When I asked what I owed the mechanic and if I could make payments he smiled telling me the older man had paid for all of it.
“He said that the only payment the older man wanted was for me to never give up and keep being an amazing mom.
“I’ve never cried so hard in my life. Things had been absolutely awful. More so than I care to explain. And without knowing us or our situation this kind man helped us in ways he will never know. What he did revived my faith when I was falling apart. But he wouldn’t even take a hug.
“I’ll never be able to thank him. But I certainly hope one day I can do what he did for me for someone else.”
This is the type of story that can restore one’s faith in humanity. Please SHARE this act of kindness with your friends on Facebook!
