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Almost as Shocking as a Curve Ball
I believe in unexpected tips. As I was growing up, my father would always tell me about the children that he helped while he was broke and living in Brooklyn. I’m sure he had plenty of other obligations that were constantly running through his mind, but he always found ways to help others. For as long as I can remember, my dad has been so generous with his time and wisdom, which is a quality that I often overlooked in people. This is the reason why one night at work I falsely judged two men.
Today, everyone’s lives are filled to the brim with obligations, bills, jobs, and countless other burdens. This is why it is so shocking when we receive gifts at random times. One Friday night when I was working as a waitress at an upscale, local restaurant I was given an unforeseen reward.
It was a boring night at work, as usual, until I saw a big, bulky man walk through the doors. I knew exactly who it was the moment I laid my eyes on him. It was Jim Thome, a player from the Chicago White Sox, and right behind him was his family. My heart started thumping even faster as I watched his group sit down at one of the tables I was responsible for. I immediately began texting my friends and bragging about how big of a tip I was going to get. Another table I was waiting on that night had a middle-aged, exhausted looking man who was clearly not dressed in the common designer drab that I usually saw. I thought to myself, “great he’s going to leave me a shitty tip”, but I was still polite, and I served him well.
As the night went on I served Thome’s family appetizers, alcohol, entrees, and dessert. The other man simply ordered a Coke and a club sandwich. When the professional baseball player’s family was finally full I brought them their check. The grand total was over two hundred dollars. I excitedly snatched up the check booklet and peeked inside. He left me a measly twenty-dollar tip…that’s only ten percent. At first I told myself not to be greedy, but wasn’t it natural to expect a little more from someone as rich as him?
The other man’s total only came to about twenty-five dollars so I didn’t even look inside the black, leather book when I carried it to the cash register to swipe his card. However, when I did open it I was shocked to see that he gave me an extra ten dollars! That may not seem like much, but that’s over forty percent!
I thought back to the stories my dad had told me, and I realized that the people who look like they have less often give more. I learned to ignore my immediate assumptions of people and think about where they come from in life. The lower-middle class man understood that I was working on a busy night, and he gave me a gift because of this. I believe that appearances can be deceiving, and sometimes the man in ripped jeans will give more than what was anticipated.
By: Greta