DEAR ABBY: The letters you have printed about acts of kindness -- as well as those about the insensitive treatment people with disabilities have received at some restaurants -- reminded me of an experience I had.
My father had many strokes and could no longer speak. However, in spite of his disabilities, my father was excited about giving me away at my wedding.
I took him to a tuxedo shop in North Seattle for a fitting. The young man who helped us could not have been more than 19 or 20 years old. He looked my father in the eye and addressed every question to him, although my father could answer with only a nod or a shake of the head. He was courteous and respectful, and accommodated my father's need to have a tux with a loose collar because of his trach tube.
I'll always be grateful to this kind and sensitive young man. He treated my father like the gentleman he was. The memory of that incident brought me a bit of comfort when my father died a month after the wedding.
I regret that I never properly thanked the young man, nor did I get his name. I hope he sees this -- and that other service providers will realize how much respectful treatment means to people with disabilities and their family members. -- MARY R. SWEENEY, ISSAQUAH, WASH.
DEAR MARY: I, too, hope he sees the letter, and that others in the service professions will learn from that fine young man's example.