{"id":5305,"date":"2024-10-25T17:33:03","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T17:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/?p=5305"},"modified":"2024-10-25T17:33:04","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T17:33:04","slug":"old-man-helps-single-mom-fix-baby-stroller-next-day-sees-private-jet-landing-for-him-story-of-the-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/old-man-helps-single-mom-fix-baby-stroller-next-day-sees-private-jet-landing-for-him-story-of-the-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Old Man Helps Single Mom Fix Baby Stroller, Next Day Sees Private Jet Landing For Him \u2014 Story of the Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Joseph Benjamin had few dreams. At seventy-two, the widowed father of two knew what life held in store for him every single day. He got up when the sun rose and cycled to the bakery for fresh rolls.\n\n\n\n

He would then cycle back, eat breakfast, do some chores and wait for lunchtime. In the afternoons, he pottered around his little workshop and fiddled with his inventions until dinner, then he was in bed by sundown. Life was always the same until he met April and Emma.\n\n\n\n

\"For\n\n\n\n

For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash\n\n\n\n

That day started out with Joe peddling his bike to the bakery, but on the way, he saw a young woman in a grey tracksuit struggling with an old-fashioned ungainly stroller.\n\n\n\n

One of the wheels of the stroller had come off, and the woman seemed to be trying to push it back into place while her baby wailed in protest inside the lopsided stroller.
\n\n\n\n

\u201cExcuse me,\u201d Joe said gently. \u201cDo you need help?\u201d\n\n\n\n

The woman looked up, and Joe saw tears in her eyes. \u201cYes,\u201d she said. \u201cI think I do!\u201d Then, to Joe\u2019s discomfort, she started crying.\n\n\n\n

\n

An act of kindness can change your life.\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlease don\u2019t cry,\u201d Joe said, awkwardly patting the woman\u2019s shoulder. \u201cWe\u2019ll soon have everything fixed up good as new!\u201d\n\n\n\n

\"For\n\n\n\n

For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m so stupid,\u201d the woman sobbed. \u201cI should never have brought this old stroller out, but\u2026 It was mine when I was a baby, you see\u2026\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s nice!\u201d Joe said. \u201cI saved up all my children\u2019s old toys, and my grandkids love them!\u201d\n\n\n\n

The woman smiled and said: \u201cYes! I have all my old children\u2019s books and toys too! But I didn\u2019t think the stroller was so wonky. It was in the attic of my parent\u2019s old place, and I grew nostalgic.\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s see what we can do,\u201d Joe said. He took his small tool kit from the bike\u2019s panniers and knelt by the stroller. \u201cAha! It\u2019s not broken! One of the lugnuts is loose; that\u2019s why it popped out.\u201d\n\n\n\n

Joe fiddled with the wheel a bit then said, \u201cYou\u2019d best take the baby out; the wheel might give a bit of a jolt when it pops back into place.\n\n\n\n

\"For\n\n\n\n

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels\n\n\n\n

The woman picked up the baby and watched anxiously as Joe firmly pushed the wheel back where it belonged. \u201cThere,\u201d Joe cried. \u201cFixed and ready to roll!\u201d\n\n\n\n

The woman was smiling happily as she cuddled her baby. \u201cThank you,\u201d she cried. \u201cYou\u2019re a knight in shining armor! You save my first day back in Cheyenne from being a total disaster!\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere were you living?\u201d asked Joe.\n\n\n\n

\u201cI went to college in California,\u201d the woman said.\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re lucky; I have never been to California or anywhere! I\u2019ve never seen the ocean.\u201d Joe commented.\n\n\n\n

\"For\n\n\n\n

For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash\n\n\n\n

\u201cCalifornia is lovely,\u201d the woman said. \u201cBut I want my daughter to grow up in my old home.\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wish my kids felt the same,\u201d Joe sighed. \u201cSometimes I go years without seeing them or the grandkids. What\u2019s your little girl\u2019s name?\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cEmma,\u201d the woman said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m April!\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m Joe,\u201d he said, shaking her hand. \u201cYour parents are lucky!\u201d\n\n\n\n

April\u2019s eyes filled with tears again. \u201cThey passed away a year ago,\u201d she explained. \u201cAnd I miss them so much!\u201d\n\n\n\n

\"For\n\n\n\n

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels\n\n\n\n

\u201cListen, April,\u201d Joe said. \u201cHow about you and Emma have coffee with an old man?\u201d\n\n\n\n

Joe took April and Emma to his favorite coffee shop just across the street. The two adults chatted while Emma lay in her stroller and played with her toes.\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey Joe,\u201d April said. \u201cEmma and I are going on a little trip tomorrow, so how about you join us?\u201d\n\n\n\n

Joe was happy to accept the invitation, so April arranged to pick him up at his house early the next morning. He was waiting on the porch when a big black car driven by a chauffeur pulled up.\n\n\n\n

It was April\u2019s car! Joe was stunned. \u201cWow!\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s some car! But where are we going?\u201d\n\n\n\n

April, who was wearing a big hat, grinned. \u201cIt\u2019s a surprise!\u201d And what a surprise it turned out to be. The car took them to the airport and right onto the tarmac.\n\n\n\n

\"For\n\n\n\n

For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash\n\n\n\n

\u201cCome on, Joe,\u201d April said. \u201cGet out!\u201d So Joe did and had the fright of his life when he saw a beautiful, sleek private jet taxiing towards them.\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d Joe cried, alarmed.\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to the beach,\u201d April said with a huge grin. \u201cYou\u2019re going to see the ocean!\u201d\n\n\n\n

Joe boarded the jet. He couldn\u2019t believe it! \u201cMe, flying!\u201d he cried. \u201cSeeing the ocean! I can\u2019t believe it!\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to surprise you,\u201d April said. \u201cBecause YOU were a lovely surprise. Very few people bother to stop and help a mom in distress, Joe. You\u2019re a gentleman, and you deserve wonderful things!\u201d\n\n\n\n

\"For\n\n\n\n

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels\n\n\n\n

As it turned out, April had inherited a private jet charter company from her parents, and she always had a plane on call. From then on, Joe became a permanent guest on April\u2019s holidays and getaways, and a granddad to little Emma.\n\n\n\n

What can we learn from this story?\n\n\n\n

Life can bring the most incredible surprises. Joe thought he knew what life had in store for him, but he was wrong. He became a surrogate granddad and a frequent flier at the age of seventy-two!\n\n\n\n

An act of kindness can change your life. When Joe came to the rescue of the young mom, he never imagined she was a millionaire who would make his dream of seeing the ocean come true.\n\n\n\n

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"