Less than a month before the presidential election, a little diner just a short drive from my house made front-page news in The New York Times.

What happened next might make you feel a little better about America if you’re worried that we just don’t care enough about our neighbors anymore.

First, the backstory: Donna Dove has been running Donna’s Diner for 13 years in downtown Elyria, Ohio, on the corner of Middle Avenue and Second Street. Like so many small towns, Elyria has been hit hard by changing times, and Donna has struggled mightily to keep her diner afloat.