Friday night at the West Side Nut Club Fall Festival Ashley Wargel was excited to bring her son, Maddox to his first ever fair. Perhaps all the lights and noise was a bit too much as the three-year-old started throwing a tantrum and Wargel was getting stressed by the attention it was bringing from the crowd.
16 year old Michael Bartlett, who was there with friends, and was one of the people staring. He said he has a little brother who melts down sometimes so he could appreciate the situation the young mom was in. He had won a red panda stuffie and offered to give it to Maddox. “He walked over and said, ‘I think this might make him feel better. Do you mind if I give him this stuffed animal?,’”Ashley recalls.
Michael says when handed the stuffed panda to Maddox and the toddler immediately stopped his meltdown, focusing his attention on his new toy rather than all the other things. Later Wargel took to social media to try and track down Barlett to thank him for his kindness. Mutual friends recognized the teen, connected them, and they were able to get together via video call a few days later. Wargel expressed gratitude to Bartlett, not just for his act of kindness, but for reminding her how much a little kindness at the right moment can mean. Michael says “I’m speechless! I didn’t think it would blow up like this.”