In a world where people are separated by gender, race, s*******y, political party, age, and more, when you catch a precious moment of two people interacting as nothing but humans, you want to hold on to it. In that space and time, you remember that while there may be a lot of bad and hatred in the world, there will always be more love, acceptance, and good.
That’s why this man, Kevin Armentrout, a public speaker and father of 16-month-old Carter Jean, couldn’t help but capture a photo of his daughter with this man. As you can see, Carter Jean is playing with a tablet and this man, Joseph Wright, a fields manager at Samsung in Oklahoma, is helping her out. They’re seated at the airport.
How did this image come to be?
Kevin shared in a Facebook post on February 2, 2019, that while they waited to board a plane Carter Jean “was being her usual inquisitive self wanting to meet and say ‘hi’ to everyone she could until she walked up [to] this man.”
Joseph was sitting alone, working on his tablet when Carter Jean walked up to him and touched his leg. Kevin told Yahoo Lifestyle that he’s conscious of people’s personal space, so he tried to lead Carter Jean away, but Joseph didn’t mind. He said, “Let her come up.”
Kevin continued, “He reached out and asked if she wanted to sit with him.” She gladly joined him on the seat beside him. “He pulled out his tablet and showed her how to draw with it, they watched cartoons together, and she offered him snacks. This wasn’t a short little exchange, this was 45 minutes.”
Carter Jean drew on his tablet, watched a Charlie Brown cartoon, and she offered him a bite of her cheese puffs in exchange. Joseph is obviously a kind and very patient man because Kevin also shared that “there were a few moments she screamed and tried to get into his work calendar, but he couldn’t care less.”
Completely warmed by the interaction, Kevin wrote: “In a country that is continuously fed that it’s so deeply divided by beliefs, I want her life to be filled with moments like this…just HUMAN. Joseph…if this should happen to find you, thank you for showing my daughter what kindness and compassion look like. Continue to shine your light in the world.”
