January 16 - One Good Deed

One good deed deserves another and Tom and Michelle and the staff at The Old Iron Horse Restaurant in Ponoka have again put this sentiment into action. On New Year’s Day, several community groups met at the restaurant for a delicious turkey dinner. The White Cane Support Group was one of these groups. It was a turkey dinner with all the trimmings and followed by a tasty dessert. Now, you may be asking what is unusual about this. After all, the purpose of a restaurant is to serve food... but how many restaurants serve food free of charge?

January 1, 2015 was the third New Year’s Day that Tom and Michelle extended the generosity of a complimentary lunch to members of various groups in their community. Tom said that it is their way of giving something back and as a thank you for their own blessings in life. Tom’s staff also gave voluntarily of their time to prepare and serve at the lunch. Although there is no charge for the luncheon guests, Tom and Michelle have also used the occasion as a fundraiser. This year donations were accepted for the local Ponoka Food Bank.

Tom and Michelle are gentle, friendly people with big hearts. Their actions inspire me to look outside myself and find ways that I can also give back to others. Too often those of us who have a disability of some kind let ourselves fall into the mode of victim. I know that I need to look for opportunities to reach out and extend a helping hand to someone who might be less fortunate than I am. After all, one good deed deserves another.

The picture with this post is of Tom and Michelle with their son, Ethan. Tom and Michelle came to Canada from Vietnam, but Ethan, who is now three years old, was born in Canada.