A Barrie man who was recently widowed has created a sensation online, all with a kind gesture and one small note written on a napkin.
It’s the touching story of one man's spur-of-the-moment decision as he was thinking of his wife who recently passed away. And since the night Lee Ballantyne paid for a couple’s dinner, his story’s gone viral.
Lee and Carol Ballantyne were married for 43 years and just last month Carol lost her battle with cancer. Last week Lee went out for dinner by himself for the first time since.
He went to Cicco’s Ristorante and while there noticed a young couple that reminded him of his wife and himself. Ballantyne wanted to pay for their dinner, told the restaurant, and wrote the couple a note on this napkin saying: “You remind me of us many years ago. Please allow me to buy your dinner. It will put a smile on Carol’s face and make me happy for now.”
Since then, a picture of the napkin has been posted on the website Reddit and it’s gone viral. Ballantyne didn't want to talk on camera about the gesture but his son Jason has been fielding the international attention this gesture is getting.
“Dad told me he got off the phone with the Today Show,” says Jason Ballantyne. “The Daily Mail has called so I guess it’s a big story... I think dad’s gesture seems to resonate with a lot of people because it's an act of love and an act of charity in a time of sadness. I think dad's gesture lets someone see the story behind someone dying.”
Lindsay Weiss, the owner of the restaurant tells CTV Barrie, “I cried. My server and I went back to the kitchen and we looked at it and went to tears.”
“I went with my server and showed them the gesture and they were more than grateful to say the least.”
Jason says his mom would be overwhelmed by this and would wonder what all the fuss is about. He hopes this story encourages others to take a moment and tell their parents how much they mean to them.
Lee Ballantyne told CTV Barrie this afternoon since this happened, the young couple has called him to say thank you and has offered to take him out for dinner to repay his kind gesture.
