This week’s “Thankful Thursday” would like to highlight a random act of kindness that Lee County, Alabama Deputy Manuel Stone recently experienced and how three strangers made his day with this simple gesture.

Deputy Manuel Stone was taking his lunch break in uniform when three teenage girls approached him.They handed him a note and made him promise not to open it until they had left, which Stone agreed.

After the girls left, Deputy Stone opened the note and it said, ‘We have paid for your meal. Thank you for your service to our community.’

Deputy Stone said, “It made me feel really good. I still get a little teary-eyed.” To this day, Deputy Stone has kept the note with him in his patrol vehicle.

Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said, “It means so much, more than anyone will ever know. It’s fascinating how a simple piece of paper can be transformed into what our peace officers consider a priceless document when the words of a youngster are applied in support of us.”

Deputy Stone says his community has always been supportive and that positive relationship is a testament to the training local officers have received as demonstrated with their daily interactions with the public. Deputy Stone also says his personal background has compelled him to serve as a bridge during times of tense discussion about race relations and law enforcement in America.

“I’m literally in the middle. I am white, I am black, and I’m police. I am smack dab in the middle, so I am connected and have experiences on all three sides,” said Deputy Stone.