You see, 22-year-old Godfrey Cuotto was headed home on a crowded bus a few weeks ago when a man named Robert sat down beside him and asked to shake his hand. Cuotto complied and Robert grasped his hand. What Godfrey didn’t know was that Robert was deaf — and that Robert had cerebral palsy — and that Robert was having a really rough time that day and actually needed much more than a mere handshake. So Robert kept holding on to Godfrey’s hand and didn’t want to let go. And that’s when the magic happened …

You see, while he could have angrily pulled his hand away or embarrassed Robert’s clinginess or even gently removed himself from Robert’s needy presence, Godfrey Cuotto let him hold on — and he let Robert stay there next to him — and he and offered Robert his shoulder to lean on — and the pair of them stayed that way until the bus’s very last stop, when a fellow rider snapped the attached picture of their beautiful exchange.

The person who took the photo then shared it on a Facebook page called “Only In Hamilton”, and since it was posted it’s racked up almost 68,000 likes and over 14,000 shares from people all over the world who have been deeply moved by Godfrey’s gentle act of selfless kindness.

And the best part of the story is the Truth underlying the deed — the Truth that Godfrey himself already knows, namely, that his Good Deed was actually no big deal at all — that what he did for Robert was actually the simple, beautiful reflection of the way that ALL of us could be dealing with ALL our own lives neighbors & strangers & even enemies every single day.

So I tip my hat to you, Godfrey.
Well played, my Friend … Well played in-deed!

“He just needed comfort … and I just allowed it … Sometimes you just have to put someone else’s needs above yours.” ~ Godfrey Cuotto

(inspired by Godrey & Ashley Austrew)