It is not every day that someone goes out of their way to assist a complete stranger. Dee Harkrider stopped at Walmart in Forest City, Arkansas, recently to pick up three gallons of washer fluid. She drove away after loading them into her car and leaving her wallet in the shopping cart. Dee, a grandmother of seven who lives on disability, had no idea she’d forgotten her wallet. Dee was on her way to visit a friend in Palestine when her phone rang. Elaine Keown, her acquaintance, had called to inquire whether she knew a young man named Delivontae Johnson.
“I was like, ‘No, I’ve never heard that name,'” she says. Dee remembered. “‘I have no idea who that is'” Delivontae, 19, went to Walmart shortly after Dee and saw her wallet in the shopping cart. He opened the wallet and saw Dee’s license, but because he didn’t have her phone number, he switched to Facebook. He messaged her after matching her profile image to the one on her driver’s license.When Dee did not respond, Delivontae contacted her friend Elaine, who had just connected with Dee on the app.
It took some investigative work to locate out the owner of the wallet, but Delivontae wasn’t done going above and beyond just yet! Dee called Delivontae, and they agreed to meet at a restaurant in Palestine, which was about a 20-minute drive away for the youngster. Delivontae turned over the wallet at the restaurant, and Dee took $20 from it as a reward. “I just felt like he was an angel sent from God,” the thankful grandmother explained.
Delivontae says it felt “great” to help someone in need and encourages people to undertake random acts of kindness when given the opportunity to make someone’s day brighter. He believes that what he did to assist Dee was the correct thing to do. “You’ve just got to be honest,” Delivontae remarked. “There is no telling what will happen.” If you do good, good will come back to you.”
They’ve become friends, going to one other’s churches and meeting family members. Dee had lunch with Delivontae’s mother, Rachel Johnson, and discovered that the apple had not fallen far from the tree. Kindness and mutual respect have brought these two families together, and it’s a lovely thing! Delivontae is accurate; it feels nice to assist others.