An unexpected but powerful friendship is the focus of this installment of “A More Perfect Union.” The series looks at unique connections to highlight how Americans have more in common than headlines might suggest. CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman shows us how an 82-year-old widower was touched by an innocent question in the canned food aisle of a grocery store when he needed it most.

Not long ago, in a cemetery outside Augusta, Georgia, a loving couple was buried – the wife, buried below a white bouquet and the husband, buried above in a mound of grief.

“Took me totally by surprise,” Dan Peterson said.

The 82-year-old said after Mary died, he fell into a deep depression, and he spent days just staring out at the squirrels.

“What were you living for?” Hartman asked.

“I was trying to figure that out, frankly,” Peterson said.

“You had no purpose?” Hartman asked.

“No,” Dan replied.

“Were you just waiting to die?” Hartman asked.

“Yeah,” Dan said.

For six months, it was just that bad.

Then it all changed after a visit to a Publix grocery store. Dan was nearing the end of the canned vegetable aisle. He hates grocery shopping and, by all accounts, the expression on his face confirmed his aggravation.

But that’s when this unapproachable man was approached by a four-year-old girl named Norah Wood.

In the security footage you can see Norah randomly reaching out to him out. Her mom, Tara, said it was quite embarrassing.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-more-perfect-union-widower-unexpected-friendship-with-little-girl-transforms-his-life/