Ok. I'd rather not leave my last post up at the top (even though it's really how I'm feeling, though I'm a bit more healed today), so here are a couple stories to cheer us all. At least a bit.
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My daughter, Naomi, is a server (waitress) at a place in Nashville. She's served in many restaurants the past 15 years and from each place she's usually received deplorable paychecks, sometimes just $30 for a week's pay. That is no reflection upon her--but rather, a reflection upon the whole pathetic, shady restaurant industry.
When they say servers survive on their tips--they're not exaggerating. It's sadly, grossly accurate.
Er, moving on....
Tom and I always enjoy Naomi's waitressing stories because they're colorful and show Naomi's true character which comes off rather glowing in each one (heh), but hey! She is our glowing child.
In this week's story, Naomi had a table of a family who was celebrating their teen daughter's birthday. There were two parents, a grandmother, the birthday girl, her sister, and two of their friends. Seldom do servers start-up the Happy Birthday song for their tables at this eatery, but a server began singing at the next table and Naomi saw that her birthday girl, at first, thought the song was for her.
But it wasn't and the birthday teen's shoulders sagged a bit in disappointment. Seeing that (thoughtful people notice that stuff), Naomi knew she'd have to begin the birthday song for her table later in the evening--and that's what she did. The birthday girl blushed and enjoyed the attention and the family seemed to have a good time.
They divided their meal into three separate checks (kinda odd, but oh well) and, at first, gave Naomi two of the checks, one of them being from the grandmother, who told her to keep the change. Naomi took the money to her cash register and noticed that the grandmother had given her a $50 bill for just a $13 meal ticket and--while reeling--wondered if she'd been supposed to be given a $20 bill, instead, since that would have been a generous tip in itself.
At that moment, the grandmother came up to her and said, "Here's the other check we owed you," and Naomi said, "Oh! But you already gave me more than enough money!"
The kind woman smiled and said, "Oh, no I meant that extra bit for you. You did a great job and well, Merry Christmas." After which Naomi gushed her thanks and hugged the woman and wished her a Merry Christmas.
Ah... Just a reminder that good things still happen out there and sweet, generous people still exist.
(And please, whenever you dine-out, remember that servers get paid peanuts and your tips most likely pay their rent.)
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And for all you rabid fans of It's a Wonderful Life, here's a short behind-the-scenes video you'll enjoy. If you'd rather just read an article about it, you can do that, instead (I often prefer to read news stories rather than watch them since 'regular people', when speaking, can take forever to get to the point. heh.) You'll find both choices here.
This video was just one more reason I love where I live.... Tom and I appreciate all the many 'Bedford Falls-like" towns near us, but now I'd like to visit Seneca Falls and see the magic for myself.
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Thanks for the link Debra, it is my all-time favorite movie!
ReplyDeleteYea for Naomi! Although the woman was very kind to her, Naomi is obviously an excellent waitress to be treated so generously.
ReplyDeleteI wonder where she learned that?
awwww ... that is sweet!
ReplyDeleteand i got a lovely card in the mail today - with a beautiful bow on the back of it ... made me smile ... just saying ...
Yes the servers and the bus boys all work incredibly hard and do it very fast...allll day and night long. I love to leave an extra big tip. Anonymously. Several of the people we have gotten to know and so gotten to know 'their story' so we can them ask about this and that. Many of them have this job + are going to college and also raising a family. Whew!! Thanks for reminding us that the people who work all around us have a full life too and are not working for the fun of it but to provide for themselves. And...they their work is hard. Try yourself to work around the public for a while :) I started to think of all the little things people do for others during the different holidays...like singing at the Sr. hoes and such., But what about the other days of the year when they get nothing. During the holidays some of the get glut of people coming but what of the rest of the year? Our parents took us to ol folks homes as we used to call them...individual's homes or a facility. They would know many of the seniors. They would then tell us their story before we visitd. Now they might be forgetting things and can't walk so well but in younger years they were...you name it, a teacher , an administrator, a General in the Army a mother or father....etc.... Anything. They learned their life story if they didn't know them already and we visited the ones extra who seldom if ever got company. They really loved seeing little kids too as they mostly now only see older people. We would always leave a bit sad but we came away better for it. They told us of things we hadn't know about,...older times, sometimes stories about our own parents as a child if they were old neighbors or such!! :) Sometimes they wouldn't talk but wanted to hold your hand and let you talk only. Some of the older women we found loved having a doll of their own which they babied and shared with the other women...they got to talking about their lives as mothers among themselves as the dolls made them remember at times. Giving to others you always receive much more back than you could ever give. Sarah
ReplyDeleteAnd, hotel maids. I always try to leave them a good tip, as I have a feeling many people don't bother.
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