WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil’s job is to violently slam people and toss them like rag dolls, but the 6-foot-4, 270-pound wrestler has a kind heart.
O’Neil posted to Instagram Saturday that he tried to treat a couple of homeless people to a nice meal, but was refused service by a San Diego Yard House restaurant and bar.
The very next day, he gathered even more homeless people and went back to the same Yard House. This time the Yard House manager had a change of heart and actually let them enjoy their lunch there.
O’Neil said he didn’t want to bash the Yard House, he just wanted to make “A Conscience Effort to relay a Bigger Message to the Masses that Look down on those that they don’t Relate to.”
Titus is no stranger to taking stands, as he was part of the “No H8” campaign in support of gay marriage, and his current tag-team partner, Darren Young, is even the first openly gay WWE wrestler.
Yard House was probably smart in letting them in, if only to avoid a big boot to the face.
While Baltimore’s Restaurant Week promotion is financially beneficial for those who work in the restaurant district of Baltimore County, Israeli-born Tabrizi believes that it is his moral responsibility to make the homeless feel respected this year. He told CNNMoney:
“I just wish people would treat the homeless in a different way. People should remember it’s always good to hear kindness and it’s important to look people in the eye. The homeless feel less human — like they’re invisible. They just want to be respected.”
Tabrizi is spending $20,000 of his own money to host the event. While the meals have yet to be finalized, Tabrizi plans on serving a main course like their Cordon Bleu chicken, salad, sides, sparkling apple cider and dessert, all buffet style. Tabrizi told Baltimore Magazine:
“These people don’t only suffer from hunger, but also from hopelessness, they feel that they don’t have any dignity anymore. We want them to come in and feel like they’re cared for.”
He has teamed up with local shelters and organizations to serve upwards of a thousand of the homeless population. He coordinated with the Baltimore Area Concierge Association to provide transportation to and from their shelters.
Tabrizi, who isn’t condemning other businesses for participating in the city’s promotional event, is aware that pulling out of the restaurant week and shutting down his business to regular diners will cost him more than just the money he spent for the food. However, he is willing to take the loss, as he feels that the homeless are in need now more than ever.
“It isn’t about revenue and money right now, we’ve done restaurant week before and we know the numbers, but right now it’s more important to promote the welfare of the city and its residents rather than to promote the business.
“The main goal is just to show people that actions do matter.”
At least one restaurant owner with a good heart knows what’s most important for his community.
Five-year-old Josiah Duncan didn’t know what being homeless meant when he saw a dirty-looking man sitting on a sidewalk with just a bag and a bicycle outside of a Prattville, Alabama waffle house. His mother, Ava Faulk, had taken him there to eat dinner when he began bombarding her with questions like, “Where is his house? Where is his family? Where does he keep his groceries?”
Josiah may not have fully wrapped his head around not having a home, family or friends, but he did see a man who looked down on his luck, and concerned that he didn’t have any food, Josiah begged his mom to buy the man a meal.
She agreed, and the man came in and sat down in a booth in the restaurant, but nobody waited on him. Again, Josiah decided to change that.
He jumped up and asked the man if he needed a menu, telling him, “You can’t order without one.”
The man said he’d be fine with a simple cheeseburger, but Faulk insisted he could order anything he wanted on the menu. He asked her if he could have bacon, and she told him, “Get as much bacon as you want.”
When the food arrived, Josiah stopped the man and told him he wanted to say a blessing with him first. Singing loud enough for all 11 people in the entire diner to hear, Josiah sang:
“God our Father, God our Father, we thank you, we thank you, for our many blessings, for our many blessings, Amen, Amen.”
Everyone in the diner began to tear up over what Josiah did, including the homeless man.
After his meal, the man left with a full stomach.
Ava Faulk will never forget what her son did, and explained to WBTV:
“You never know who the angel on Earth is, and when the opportunity comes you should never walk away from it.
“Watching my son touch the 11 people in that Waffle House tonight will be forever one of the greatest accomplishments as a parent I’ll ever get to witness.”
Sometimes, all it takes is the simplicity of a child to see an opportunity to change lives with an innocent kindness. No parent could be happier that their child grew up with a big heart.
