The moment nine-year-old Noah watched in a restaurant early in the morning, a police officer spied in Lakeland, Florida, sitting alone on his morning lunch break. He immediately became anxious and did not know how to act.
Knowing what he wanted to do, he told his mother about his plan. What he did that very morning at the restaurant made the policeman jump out of his chair. The law enforcement officer was overwhelmed by what the young man had done for him…
Noah has a goal in life and that goal is to one day become a policeman. Noah asked his mother, Amanda Cantine, if he could come up to the office and say “hi” to Officer Eddie Benitez. Amanda and Noah were at a local Denny’s having breakfast because it was “Bring Your Kid to Work”. Being a loving mother, she did not hesitate to bring her son with her.
When Noah went to approach the officer, he froze. I don’t know what he would say to the officer, so he made a plan to put a smile on the officer’s face. He recently saved up all his birthday money, so he decided to go the extra mile and pay for the cop’s breakfast to show his appreciation.
While hiding a waitress, mother and son inform her that Noah will pay Officer Benitez’s bill. When they received the receipt, Noah wrote a very special note to the officer. With the help of his mother, he wrote an honest letter on the receipt.
“I want to be you when I grow up. Thank you for your service.”
Then Noah nervously walked over to Officer Benitez with the receipt in hand. When he handed the receipt to the officer, Amanda said, he was so stunned he jumped out of his seat and insisted I take a picture with a small fan.
“He didn’t understand why this kid was walking there with his tab. His face was so shocked.”
The officer has won back the young man’s generosity so much that he takes it with him wherever he goes.
“He meant everything. He meant I was supposed to get up every morning and put on this uniform and go out there and do what I’m doing. You know? That means I have to keep trying to be a good example for all those guys.”
When the Lakeland Police Department learned of the generosity young Noah was showing to one of their officers, they shared the photo on their Facebook page. They also thanked Noah for his kind gesture towards Officer Benitez.
“Well Noah, you touched all of our hearts today. Your support means so much to all the men and women who wear uniforms every day.”
Young Noah was thrilled with the response from the police department. He has dreamed of being a policeman for over four years now and he is determined to make his dream come true.
“I will make the world a better place and catch the bad guys.”
Mother Amanda said if her son decided to become a police officer in 10 years, she would be “a very proud mother”. We’re sure Officer Benitez would also be very happy with Noah. We wish Noah every success in pursuing his dream and achieving it in the future.
