Tonight I took the boys to the Cracker Barrel for supper. Say what you will about the place, they have the best French Toast, and I was in the mood for French Toast. For supper. So there.
We were there for about five mnutes when this manager type guy walked up and said "How areyou folks tonight?" in a Southern accent. (Is having a southern accent a prerequisite for working there? Even in New England?) I was kind of afraid he was going to say something along the lines of "Your kids are too loud, and you must leave at once." But instead he told us a man who had seen us come in wanted to buy us dinner, because he thought we were a cute family, and he then placed a $20 bill on the table.
I have to tell you, in my whole life I have never had anyone I did not know buy me a meal before. I have had exactly two men I didn't know buy me drinks at a bars, but not before introdicing themselves, and I have to tell you I ended up marrying one of them.
I glanced back to try to get a look at the man, but the manager said he had left. I said "Thank you!" and then spent the whole night staring at the money. I didn't know what to do. I mean, it's spooky. Some stranger was paying for my meal and WHY? What did he WANT? What did he EXPECT? Should I just leave the bill on the table and ignore it? Should I use it as a generous tip?
And how sad is it that maybe, just maybe, someone in this world did a truly generous thing and offered to pay for dinner for a woman and her three small children, and that gesture is questioned by the recipient and all who hear the tale? Why can't a good deed simply be a good deed these days without people thinking it implies something sinister? What kind of a world is this really?
I watched my car to make sure no one was hanging around it. I came home and locked the doors. But I decided to take it as a gesture of goodwill. I took the money (our dinner was slightly more than that) and I left a good tip. I paid for our meal and I promised myself I would pay it forward. I would use the money to pay for someone else's meal one day, or pay for someone's toll at a tollbooth, or use it for the church collection this Sunday. Hey, maybe I'll do all three. Why not?
I mean... what do you think?
1 comment:
Kathleen, I would have felt exactly as you did initially. But you are right, maybe someone just wanted to do something nice for someone that day. And you must admit, you ARE a VERY cute family, so how could he resist.
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