Airports aren’t often in the news for being a friendly place to meet new people. Often all you hear in the news is travelers angry at employees, or people getting kicked off of flights. So it’s no wonder that when a simple act of kindness occurred, it made the news.
Cindy Tutko was heading home to Florida after visiting her son in Louisiana. Her trip had a stop in Atlanta, Ga., and when she arrived at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and had to make it to her next flight. Cindy had hoped to be able to take the train to her next terminal – but they were down. And for someone with a torn ACL and a knee in need of replacement, the idea of what she had to do next was not a good one.
But, with no other choice, Cindy began walking. Her son, Jamie Tutko, said he knew when he dropped her off at the airport that she was hurting more than usual. “She had actually fallen that day,” said Jamie. “And she, like, put herself into tears with how much pain her knee was in. When I was taking her to the airport, I could tell she was hurting.”
Cindy Tutko. Photo by CBS News
“I had a big, heavy satchel that I was carrying, and that’s what was weighing me down,” Tutko said. “It was full and heavy, very heavy.” Michael Wright, who also happened to be from Louisiana, said he spotted Cindy limping along. When he first asked to help, Cindy declined, saying, “Oh, no, no, I’m good.”
But Michael wouldn’t take no for an answer. He grabbed her satchel, put it on, and said, “Let’s go.” “At first I thought, OK, um, what if this guy steals my bag and he is gonna take off? I’m like, I’m doomed. I can’t run after him,” Cindy said. “Within seconds really, I realized he was genuinely being nice,” Cindy said.
He was just a nice guy. He was helping me out.”
Michael said, “And we just walked and we just shot the breeze.” For nearly an hour, Michael carried Cindy’s bag and the pair walked through Terminals C, D, E – all the way until F, her terminal. “Right before we got to the gate, he grabs my hand, he looks at me and he goes, ‘You’re my mom,'” Cindy said.
“And I’m like, ‘OK?’ And we walk up to the gate and he tells the guys at the gate, he says, ‘This is my mother. And she’s got some issues with her knee. And is there any way that she can get on the plane before everybody else? ‘Cause she walks very slowly.’ And the guy was like, ‘Sure, no problem, ‘” she said. Michael said Cindy gave him a hug and a little kiss on his cheek, telling him, “Your mom would be proud of you. That’s all I needed, man,” he said.
Jamie Tutko and Michael Wright. Photo by CBS News
Cindy immediately texted her son to tell him about that “nice guy Michael” from Lafayette. Jamie was determined to find him and thank him. Using social media, it took little more than a day. Jamie said, “His fiancée messaged me on Twitter. She said, ‘Hey, I think that the Michael that you’re looking for is my Michael.’ And I said, ‘Oh really? Like, why do you think that? And then she said, ‘Does your mom, did she have knee surgery or is she about to have knee surgery?’ Boom! That is it!”
Michael said, “It’s sad that our society had eroded to the point where I’m on TV and Jamie is on TV and you’re here, and — we’re flattered, but I didn’t do anything.” He said that day he was “just being a human being.” Jamie said that kindness is universal, and the Louisiana way.
“I may not have been born here myself,” he said, “but this is home. Louisiana is home to me. I love it here. And this is the best place in the world, with the best people in the world. Absolutely, no doubt.” Watch below for a look at this wonderful act of kindness!
Sources: ESTL Monitor | CBS News
