A Texas man’s simple act of kindness has turned him into an internet sensation. Now, his generosity is inspiring others to lend a helping hand.
Louis Jordan, 35, was picking his mother up from her afternoon job downtown when he noticed an elderly woman sitting alone in the heat. That’s when he grabbed an umbrella from his car and took it over to shield the woman from the sun, a generous gesture he’s continued since April, FOX 26 reported.
“It was unbearably hot,” Jordan told the station. “I wouldn’t want to be out there in the sun.”
Jordan said it started taking longer for METRO Lift, a free paratransit service, to pick up the elderly woman known as “Miss Michelle” and take her home. The weather had also become unbearably hot. Jordan said he once waited outside with his elderly friend in the sweltering heat for an hour and 45 minutes until the bus arrived.
“We laugh, joke,” he said of Miss Michelle. “She’s in a book club. Come to find out, she likes pork chops.”
On April 27, Jordan’s daily act of kindness went a bit differently, as it was interrupted by a cop, according to FOX 26. The officer, who watched as Jordan approached the elderly lady, said he as unsure whether the UPS worker was trying to snatch Miss Michelle’s purse, so he stuck around to keep an eye on things.
The officer’s suspicion prompted Jordan’s mother, Bernette Botts, to pull out her phone not only for future reference but to document her son’s generous gesture. She later shared the snapshot of her son shading Miss Michelle from the heat to her Christian ministry Facebook page, where it has since gone viral.
“My Samaritan Son,” she captioned the heartwarming photo. Botts told ABC 13 this isn’t the first time her son has shown his generous side and recalled the time he saved his grandmother from rising floodwaters during Hurricane Harvey.
“She was trapped inside, four feet of water, no power,” Botts said. “He called me back from my mom’s and said, ‘I got her.’ ”
Jordan has been hailed a hero, and what’s better, his random act of kindness has inspired others to pay it forward, according to the news station.
