Buying lunch for strangers: random act of kindness is family tradition

To Lora and Destynee Morgan, it’s not remarkable that they bought lunch at Garden View Café for an elderly stranger in a wheelchair and his crying caregiver, who were hungry and didn’t have any money.

“I couldn’t just walk by and not let someone eat,” Lora said. “I said, ‘I’ll just pay for it. It’s not that big a deal.’”

What’s incredible to Lora and Destynee is that there might be people who wouldn’t do that.

Helping is a family business for the Morgans. The mother and daughter work to help patients access care at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) Cell Therapies Center – Hematology Clinic.

That afternoon in April, the two were in line to buy their lunches when they noticed a commotion ahead. A young woman, accompanying an older man in a wheelchair, was visibly upset. “ ‘It’s my first day on the job,’ “ Lora heard the caregiver say. “‘He’s hungry and I have no money.’’’

That’s when the caregiver burst into tears.

Several people rushed past, busy and preoccupied with their own meals and schedules, but the Morgans stopped to help.

Lora and Destynee didn’t just pay the tab and send the pair on their way, they encouraged the caregiver to visit the restroom, take a breath and wipe away her tears. Then, Destynee picked up the man’s tray, and the duo helped him to a table and began feeding the man, whose arms were fastened to the wheelchair arm rests. “He was complimenting how good the food was,” Destynee said. “Especially the eggrolls.”

Between bites, the man described the day he and his caregiver were having. They had left the assisted living residence where he lives and she works early, to be dropped off at a south Denver hospital for an 8 a.m. MRI. “He was trying to get back surgery so he could walk again,” Lora said.

The hospital couldn’t perform the scan, so the two were transported to the UCHealth campus. After a long search finally led them to the right MRI location, they learned the physician’s orders hadn’t arrived yet. Frustrated and hungry, they decided to have lunch. Assisted living facility employees have funds loaded onto their ID badges for expenses like meals. But the caregiver was so new to the job that the money hadn’t posted yet.

That’s when the Morgans stepped in.

Destynee said both her mom and dad taught her the importance of kindness. A long-haul trucker, her father sees plenty of hardship out on the road. Destynee said, “my dad will see a homeless person and buy them groceries. He’s bought tents for people, he’ll buy dog food for their dogs. He taught us, ‘if you can do a good deed, do it.’”

It’s a lesson Lora hopes others learn. “I would hope that if someone saw me or a member of my family struggling, that they would help me out.”