Via People:
Georgia Mom Tara Wood was grocery shopping with her 4-year-old daughter Norah when the young girl hopped up in the cart and shouted, “Hi, old person!” at a man passing by.
“Before I could tell Norah, ‘Please use kind words,’ the man stopped and said, ‘Well, hi little lady! How are you today?’ ” Wood tells PEOPLE.
Norah and the man, 82-year-old Dan Peterson, chatted for a few minutes and then went their separate ways. Then Norah asked her mom if she could take a picture with her new friend.
Because it was Norah’s fourth birthday, Wood agreed and the pair went back to find the man and ask him to take a photo.
“When we found him and asked him, he took a step back and put his hand on his chest and said, ‘You want a photo with me?’ ” the mom of seven recalls. “He was shocked and sort of delighted and Norah said, ‘Yes, sir, for my birthday.’ ”
After taking the photo, Norah and Peterson chatted for a few more minutes. When it was time to go, Wood told Norah to thank the man for being so friendly and agreeable.
“So she thanked him and he said, ‘No, thank you! You’ve made me the happiest I’ve been in a long time,’ ” Wood says. “He was kind of tearing up and it was very sweet.”