There are many times when you may find yourself at the grocery store after a long day. You just need to stop in and pick up food for the evening and you don’t really give much thought to the way that you look. That is especially true for those who work outdoors in a physically demanding job. They don’t always look their best when they go into the supermarket but most of us understand.

That wasn’t the case with one mother. Andy Ross had gone into the Vancouver, Washington store and he saw a young girl staring at him. Andy was a former special operations medic and now, he works at a day job in the construction industry. Admittedly, he had some dirt on his face but he had just spent the entire day at the construction site. He didn’t really give much thought to the little girl looking at him until the mother decided to teach her daughter a lesson. He heard her say to her daughter, “that is why you need to stay in school.”

Most of us try not to be overly judgmental and we may balk at what this mother had to say. In the end, he didn’t just allow it to pass but rather, he introduced himself. In the process, he ended up teaching her and many others a lesson that they won’t soon forget.

“It was just a spur of the moment kind of thing. The reaction is much more than I ever would have expected, I’ve heard many amazing stories of people who have been in similar scenarios. Very humbling to see how many people appreciate it and have shared it!”

This is the man from Vancouver, Washington who was singled out by a mother in the supermarket. His name is Andy Ross.

The mother saw him in the store and assumed that he was uneducated because he was dirty from a construction site. He decided he would teach her a lesson.

Here is what Andy looks like with a ‘clean face’

Many people applauded Andy’s response and some offered similar stories: