A Tennessee restaurant manager's generosity helped ease the anxieties of Florida newlyweds evacuating during Hurricane Irma, WATE reported.
Deanna and Benjamin Feist of Brandon, Florida, were married just before Irma hit Florida on Monday. They were happy to evacuate to the Great Smoky Mountains to make the most of their honeymoon.
But as they arrived at the parking lot of the Old Mill restaurant in Pigeon Forge, the couple began experiencing car problems.
“All the lights in our dash came on, from airbags to tire pressure,” Deanna Feist wrote on her Facebook page.
They got a battery jump from a man parked next to him, who was Mo Tamadeoni, a manager at the Old Mill.
“I started thinking what is it I can do to help them,” Tamadeoni told WATE.
Tamadeoni fixed the couple’s car, got them seated in the restaurant and made sure they were served quickly, WATE reported. He also put $200 into an envelope and instructed the couple’s waitress to give it to them.
“I said you know, I think I can help them by buying their meal at the restaurant and giving them a small amount of money so they can, if they need to, buy a battery for their car. And then I wrote a letter for them,” Tamadeoni told WATE.
“I was absolutely astounded that people like that really exist. I see videos on Facebook and I see the stories and you always think, that doesn’t happen, it’s not really life, but it happened to us,” Deanna Feist said.
“This act of selflessness and generosity has touched my heart,” Deanna Feist wrote on Facebook, sharing the photo. Her post has received more than 18,000 shares.
Tamadeoni’s note included a reference to his brother, who lives in Tallahassee, Florida. Tamadeoni does not have a Facebook account, but after Deanna Feist’s post he began to get a flood of calls.
“I was trying to remain anonymous to be honest with you because I don’t like publicity and it was amazing to get the kind of response,” Tamadeoni told WATE. “I’m overwhelmed and emotional because I don’t expect it.”
Feist calls him a hero. Tamadeoni says he’s far from that.
“I don’t feel that way at at all. The people who are there working trying to save people, first responders, law enforcement, volunteers are the heroes, I’m nobody, I just saw someone in need and I just reached out a hand,” Tamadeoni said.
“There are still good people out there!” Deanna Feist wrote on Facebook. “ I promise I will pay it forward! This man is a godsend!”
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