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© screengrabs via Click2Houston.com
Michael Garcia has worked at Laurenzo's on Washington Avenue for two years. Because I've been eating there at least once a week for about a year, I've known him as the guy who always welcomed me with a surprisingly sincere smile and a handshake. I had no idea he was also a hero.

Another of Garcia's regulars, Kim Castillo and her family (including her five year old, Milo, who has Down Syndrome) were eating at Laurenzo's on Wednesday night. After the Castillos sat down, the people sitting next to them asked to be moved. Garcia moved them, and then he heard one of them say this:
Special needs children need to be special somewhere else.
"It was very disturbing," Garcia said. "My personal feelings just took over and I told this [loathsome cretin*], 'I'm sorry, I can't serve you.'" The cretin and his justly humiliated companions left.

When she got home, Castillo took to her Facebook page to relay what happened and to thank Garcia. Since then, the story has been picked up and passed around the world, appearing on Channels 13 and 2, local and national blogs, and even in the UK's Daily Mail. Garcia is scheduled to be on Fox News tomorrow (Sunday) morning.

I spoke to Garcia today, who told me he's overwhelmed by all the attention. When I pointed out that the positive coverage has to be good for business, Garcia said it was important to him to make sure the focus remain not on him but on "that beautiful little angel," Milo. It was then that I went back to eating my gumbo to reconsider the course my life has taken.

Laurenzo's is at 4412 Washington Avenue and is more than a little family-friendly. Ask to shake Michael's hand and leave him an enormous tip.