Sometimes We Need to be Reminded
October 5, 2008
Recently, I was in Atlanta on business. I frequent the city quite often because there are a lot of musicians living there now. So as a part of my job I have to go down there and work with different artists. There is a very popular chain in the South called Waffle House. It is basically a grease spoon similar to the diners of Jersey. But you always know what you are going to get and it is fairly quick. So recently I happen to go in for an order to feed 6 people. Nothing too expensive but the bill was around $37. I find that if the waiter/waitress is semi-pleasant and quick with my order I will usually give a 20% tip.
A 20% tip has actually become quite regular for me. I think I will have to change that though, because most of the time these restaurants don't have the service that deserves 20%. I mean, a tip is for the service, not the food. Anyway, I say all of this to say, that since the bill was $37, I found myself giving the woman a tip of $6. After she seen me writing on the credit card slip, the amount of the tip, she began saying how grateful she was of me and how nice I was to give her such a nice tip. She then began to tell her fellow co-workers, I am so glad that I didn't cash out my tips yet.
We also had conversations about my blackberry and phone, while she explained to her co-worker that the blackberry was like having a computer. First, let me say, I wife and I began typing away on our 2-way pagers as we began our relationship so from there we moved on to a blackberry. I remember getting a blackberry from Nextel for free in 2003 and selling it to a friend for $100, because I had no idea what to do with it. Little did I know, I should have invested in the stock. Anyway, to give a $6 tip wasn't even a thought; it wasn't anything but a reaction to the number 3, in $37. I just simply double that first number for a tip.
While for this woman, I had just made an impact on her. I had just been so generous. I had just given her a "big" tip. Obviously we are in two different financial places in our life, but it doesn't mean that she does not have the same dreams as me. I have been very fortunate. Don't get me wrong, I have worked hard for what I have accomplished and always tried to do better for myself and my family. But this woman reminded me that I have to be grateful for all that I have and that I am capable of attaining in the future.
Some days it is hard. You turn on the news and all you hear about is the bailout, the Dow dropping, and the impact on the housing market. All which I have a huge interest in as I own a home, have money invested in the market and am concerned about what kind of tax breaks I will receive with this new plan. I doubt any of this is what that woman at Waffle House is concerned about, as she probably has other worries; worries that I am fortunate enough not to have at this time.
Some days it is hard. Some days my wife and I are very concerned about money. Some days I am unsure. But I will remember that $6 difference I gave and how, even though I might believe it to be hard, it can be much worst. I am reminded of how much I do have and will use that as my barometer of hard. Not just because I want more. Wanting more isn't hard; not having and needing is the HARD. Luckily I can say, all I want is More. I have all I ‘need’.
1 response(s) | Make a commentBy Jason