Good Samaritans? Believe me, they are everywhere!
Having an infant with you while traveling can definitely bring foreseen, and sometimes, unforeseen difficult circumstances. Just like this dad who thought that he’s all “go” to board the plane with his newborn.
Unfortunately, he and his baby were stopped at the Frontier Airlines gate at the Phoenix airport. The staff told him that his newborn baby girl Ru-Andria isn’t allowed to go onboard with him.
Rubin learned that he just had a newborn child in Arizona and that he was also given custody.
Rubin, a father originally from Cleveland, Ohio immediately packed his bags to go South to bring his baby home.
He first saw his baby at Banner University Medical Center.
There, he met NICU volunteer Joy Ringhofer, who was 78 at that time. For some precautionary measures, baby Ru-Andria needed to be transferred to the NICU after birth for several days.
Joy felt that Rubin was a good father.
Actually, he already has three grown children from his prior marriage and four step-children with Tiffany, then 32.
The kind volunteer surprisingly gave Rubin her phone number and generously offered to give them a ride to the airport on the day of their flight. But at the airport, he received terrible news!
Unfortunately, they can’t fly without Ru-Andria’s proof of age.
Frontier Airlines’ policy states that for an infant to be able to fly, it must be at least seven days old first. Technically, the age was not the problem, but getting proper documentation would take a week.
Rubin was caught off-guard and didn’t know what to do about the current situation. Left with no other options, he even thought of sleeping at the airport together with his baby while waiting for the availability of Ru-Andria’s birth certificate.
“I was out of money and the hospital told me that I wouldn’t be able to get a birth certificate for seven days. I was worried that if security saw me sleeping at the airport with a newborn, they’d take her away from me and charge me with neglect. I was stuck.”
He also reached out to his wife but found no luck.
They simply didn’t have enough money for him to spend on renting a car to drive home or to reserve a hotel room and wait for the release of his baby’s birth certificate.
“When he called me from the airport and told me that they weren’t going to let him fly until he could get a birth certificate in four days, I felt panicked … I didn’t want him to sleep at the airport. I was scared because it looked like we were out of options.”
There’s only one person left whom he thought could help him.
It was none other than the kind volunteer, Joy. Though he was not sure about the idea, he had no other choice but to try it. He called Joy and told her the story.
Unsurprisingly, the sweet senior citizen didn’t turn him down.
“I told him, ‘I’m going to take you home with me,’ so wait right there. There are a lot of dangers out there, but there’s a lot of good, too. I’d enjoyed talking to Rubin at the hospital and helping him with the baby. He was polite and kind and I could tell that he had a good heart.”
Rubin couldn’t just believe Joy’s genuine kindness.
“I’m black and she is white. I’m a stranger who grew up in the projects in the Bronx and she’s a great-grandmother who recently lost her husband. She knew very little about me, and yet, she took me in. Color wasn’t an issue to her. She showed me that in this crazy world, there is still compassion.”
Rubin shared the good news with his wife. They were both thankful to find someone who’s willing to go the extra mile in helping a stranger like them. He had a good vibe about Joy and he was not mistaken at all.
“Miss Joy was like an angel and she’d really bonded with Ru-Andria. Whenever my daughter heard her voice, her face would light up. As soon as she took us in, I knew we’d be friends for life.”
Rubin unhesitantly took Joy’s kind and generous offer.
For four days, they spent time together taking care of baby Ru-Andria. They tirelessly talked about each other’s stories, to which Joy shared that, at the time, she had four children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
They lived like a real family, they took Ru-Andria for walks, went grocery shopping, and even visited Joy’s late husband’s gravesite together. They didn’t treat each other like strangers but extensions of their families instead.
“I could see the pain in her face from losing her husband, so at the cemetery, as we sat there with the baby, I said, ‘Hey, Charles, look — it’s your new granddaughter.’ We had some touching and wonderful moments. I lost my mom to cancer in 2007, so Joy really became like a mother or grandmother figure to me.”
Sadly, it’s time to say “goodbye.”
Finally, the birth certificate was ready, Rubin and Ru-Andria can finally reunite with their family in Ohio. Though it’s a piece of bitter-sweet news because he knew he’d miss Joy once they were home.
To make the farewell lighter, they both promised to keep in touch.
They regularly checked on each other via FaceTime which filled both their families with so much happiness.
“We just knew that we’d always be in touch from that day forward. We started out as strangers, and ended up as good friends. Rubin is very grateful to me, but I’m also very grateful to have had the opportunity.”
This beautiful story of kindness will echo for eternity. It only proves that we are not divided by our colors!
Make sure to watch their heartwarming story in the video below.
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