Jesse Robertson from Minnesota had just buried his mother in California. After the funeral he went back to his childhood home to help his dad clean up and saw a photo of his mom from the 1980's. This is exactly how I want to remember my mom. For me, it just embodied her spirit, her beauty, her attitude toward life — and it was such a freeing moment in time, such a stark contrast to the last decade when she suffered with Alzheimer's".
Jesse took a picture of the photo on his phone and hoped to print it off and frame it for his office back home. He printed it on digital paper at his dad's but the quality wasn't that good. He then tried FedEx Office, then CVS, Staples, and UPS all of which disappointed him.
He found himself overwhelmed with emotions in the parking lot after a day of frustration compounded with the grief of his mothers passing when he looked up and saw Mike’s Camera in Menlo Park, California.
When he walked in an employee named Christian, told him they had special equipment to make it look as good as the original. He took it to the back to see how long till they could get it done. He came back with the news that they were backed up for about 3 days. "I worked on keeping myself together and told him I was leaving on a plane in the morning, so that wasn’t going to be an option. But by then it was too late for me. I turned my back to the other customers and pretended to look at camera bags in the corner of the store as the tears started to flood uncontrollably down my face. There was nothing I could do. I had maneuvered around a display stand so he couldn’t see me, but then I heard him call my name."
"I came out to just grab my photo and leave as soon as I could. He and I met in the middle of the floor just on the other side of the counter, and he looked at me and stopped in his tracks," he adds. "I still remember the look on his face — it just seemed like he cared so much, and I hadn’t even said a word yet."
As Jesse explained why he really needed it now, and what he'd been through the last few years Christian started crying too. He said hang on and took the photo back to the guys in the back and said "we'll have it done in 30 minutes".
He shared the touching story on social media, where the video went viral with over 80-thousand views. He says he deeply appreciated the kindness shown by Christian and the team at Mike’s Camera. Since then, Robertson has kept in touch with the store staff and looks forward to visiting them again when he returns to California.
Photo: Zerbor / iStock / Getty Images