Not every life is like a box of chocolates. Many of us suffer through tragedy while keeping a brave face to the world.
But this man’s life may have been saved by a box of pizza.
When Dennis Krust walked into his local pizza shop, he had no idea his order would be free.
The staff at Albert’s Pizza in Ronkonkoma, New York, had been running a pay-it-forward campaign. Kind customers offered to buy the next pizza for single moms, police officers and people who could use a little hope in their lives.
Krust, 59, had lost his wife to a long battle with cancer.
"The last months of my wife's life, she kept telling me, ‘You have to be strong. You have to be strong,’” he told 14 News.
But it wasn’t easy. After losing the love of his life, Krust was suffering from severe depression.
Then he opened the box of free pizza. Handwritten on the inside of the box were the words, “Stay strong.”
It was almost as if his wife had sent that very message.
The sentiment behind it was priceless. Krust penned an emotional letter back to the pizza shop owner, telling him that whoever paid that pizza forward saved his life.
"You don't know me, but on March 25, you turned my life around,” the letter read.
The pay-it-forward pizza movement has helped feed a lot of hungry people. Some have taken the idea far beyond pizza — and paid it forward in their will, to the tune of a $200,000 ambulance.
But rarely do we see something so humble as a pizza carry such a powerful message of hope.
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