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It was wrapped around a £5 bill and read:
“Have a drink on me, you’re a credit to your generation, polite and teaching the little boy good manners.
P.S. I have a daughter your age, someone did the same for her once. Hope when she has children she is as good a mother as you.”
The young mom was in complete shock, and she became overwhelmed with emotions right there in her seat. There wasn’t enough time between when the man handed Samantha the note, and when she realized what he’d done, for her to be able to thank him.
She was determined to personally thank the mystery man for his kind gesture, and tell him how much his note meant to her. So she took to Facebook in an effort to find him.
Once local media caught wind of their story, Samantha and Rylan even appeared on local talk shows in an attempt to get in touch with the kindhearted man.
Their tenacity paid off, and about a week after their first encounter on the train, Samantha and Rylan were reunited with Ken Saunders.
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The 50-year-old was shocked by the community’s overwhelming response to his spontaneous note. Ken says after a long day at work, Rylan’s playful energy was a joy to watch. The little boy’s personality was so full of life, and it reminded Ken of his own daughter when she was Rylan’s age.
He said it was Samantha’s relationship with her son, and the conversation they had about correcting his manners that really struck a chord saying, “It made such a change compared to the maligned young people of today.”
Ken enjoyed watching the young mother teach her son, and he was in awe with the respect that Rylan gave back to her.
As for the note and bit of cash, Ken says he just wanted to put a smile on the young mom’s face.
“I thought, ‘She’s lightened up my night, I’m going to lighten up her night.’”
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