The Little Bag That Could: [PART 15] Dessert Couldn't Be Sweeter

I was, in a land far, far away in a time far, far gone....a waitress. It pays little and one must rely on hard work, attentiveness, and a small measure of charm to earn tips. For most of those nameless faces that serve us when we eat or drink...it can be a very thankless position. So when some kindness comes our way, there is a deep appreciation felt. I saw that with the first waitress story, and then here too:

So I went into Southport Raw bar in Fort Lauderdale to have lunch with my pop, my neighbor, Genie, and her daughter, Trina. Gorgeous day. We sat outside, on the 15th Street canal, watching the boats and the birds (from seagulls and egrets and pelicans, to sweet little teeny birds who would land on the edge of our table, waiting for a morsel) from our shady spot. I had given Genie a Starbuck's card and a Panera Bread card, so we took her picture for that. Now it was Trina's turn. She chose Chipotle, and I snapped her pic with her new Chipotle card. Nice.

Then our waitress, Susanne, came by and took our drink orders. I asked her "Susanne, what's your favorite? Starbuck's, Panera Bread, Chipotle, Cheesecake factory--" She stopped me right there. "Cheesecake Factory by far", she said. So I pulled out five 10 dollar CF gift cards and said something like," Here are five 10 dollar gift cards to Cheesecake Factory that I give to you as part of a project that I'm involved with that is celebrating the joy of giving and receiving". Well bust my buttons, it was like 3 cherries on a slot machine for her. I had gifted the perfect person. "This is so wonderful, I know just what to do with these! I'm not gonna spend them. I'm gonna give these away as prizes for people to get involved with my fund-raising for the American Stroke Association. I'm running a marathon on June 26th in Hawaii and I'm trying to raise money. So thank you for these!" Well, this was my perfect giftee! Someone who was already in the process of paying forward and giving of herself. Soo... out popped another gift card for Susanne. 50 dollars for Bed, Bath,and Beyond. She was so happily surprised by this. Her enthusiasm was bubbling over and infectious and baby, you could feel the love at our table. Anyway, during the course of the meal, she came back and said, "You know, I wasn't supposed to be in this section today, but I begged to switch with another waitress, and luckily she let me have her section".

It really is true. There are no coincidents. At lunch's end, Susanne brought us a piece of Key Lime pie--on her-- as a gift to us (see pic below to see what it looked like AFTER we enjoyed it!). Well, tis blessed to receive as well as give, so we were honored to share the pie 4 ways, in celebration (note: we were so into it, we forgot to take a pic of the pie, but here is what it looked like AFTER).

We were all in the right place at the right time today. Susanne is a wonderful person who is already doing plenty of giving on her own. For a tax deductible donation to help support Susanne in the fight against strokes, please visit her website at http://ttes.kona2011.kintera.org/hynds and consider giving.

Such a nice moment. Wish everybody could have been there.

---Wish I could have been too! This was an awesome feel-good story! :D

Here are the photos of the ladies with their goodies!!!