Random Acts of Kindness- Giuseppe’s

Joey,

I wanted to share a story of kindness I was lucky enough to witness today. Some friends were planning a birthday dinner party on Sunday for their 6-year-old-to-be at Giuseppe’s restaurant on Main Street. Forty-four people had reserved weeks in advance but the big event got called off a couple hours before due to a sudden illness in the family.

I don’t know anything about running a restaurant but I’d be pretty upset to lose a tab of 44 people for dinner and drinks. Instead, Giuseppe’s co-owner Memory Layne heard about the illness and sent dinner on the house to the little boy, his family and their friends. Someone tried to pay her for it but Memory wouldn’t take a dime, instead asking how the sick family member was doing and wishing him a speedy recovery.

Little moments of kindness like this make life sweeter. They’re not all that surprising in Gloucester, a place where people look out for each other more than any other place I’ve ever known. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stop and point them out once in a while.

Memory Layne and people like her are part of what we all love about this place.

- John McElhenny