Luc Perreault of Ontario, Canada, is a big guy. A really big guy. He’s bald, has a beard, some tattoos, loves to ride motorcycles and wears Harley-Davidson clothes.
At first glance, he can be quite intimidating. But inside, he’s pretty much a softy, with the same worries and obligations as anyone else. And he does his best not to judge others; he understands that everyone is different.
One day, while taking his mom’s motorcycle out for a test run, he stopped at Tim Horton’s. While at the restaurant, a little girl walked up to him and said “Hi.” He loved it. He didn’t scare her. And he returned her warm greeting with a “Hello” of his own. But the little girl’s mother was not near as kind as her little girl, pulling her away from Luc and telling her not to talk to “dirty bikers” as they walked away.
Well, that hurt big Luc’s feelings. He’s not as tough as he looks. It broke his heart that she was judging him so harshly on his appearance. So later that night, he posted this to Facebook: “To the family in the red SUV at Tim Horton’s today,
Yes I am a big 280 lbs guy with motorcycles and full of tattoos. I am a welder, I am loud, I drink beer, I swear and I look like I would eat your soul if you stare at me wrong. What you don’t know is that I have been happily married for 11 years, my kids call me daddy, I am a college graduate… My mother is proud of me and tells everyone how lucky she is to have such a wonderful son, my nieces and nephews are always happy to see there m’noncl Luc…When my daughter broke her arm, I cried more than she did. I read books, I help people, I go out of my way to thank war veterans and I even cried at Armageddon.
So next time I smile and say hi to your little girl and you grab her and tell her, ‘No no dear, we don’t talk to dirty bikers’… Remember that even though you hurt my feelings, this ‘dirty biker’ would be the first person to run into your burning house to save your little girl’s goldfish so she wouldn’t be sad!”
And Luc’s post went viral.
To the family in the red SUV at Tim Horton's today,, Yes I am a big 280 lbs guy with motorcycles and full of tattoos, I…
Posted by Luc Perreault on Tuesday, 23 July 2013
So the next time you’re out and about and want to pass judgment on someone because of the way they look, take a quick look at yourself in a mirror, or a window reflection, and realize that there’s a real good chance you may not be all that perfect yourself in the eyes of others.
