A tip the size of Texas changes a woman’s life

Thanksgiving is this Thursday, and after gobbling up all that turkey, the Christmas season will be upon us. This is the time of year when we shine the most spotlight on kindness, and while being kind should be its own reward, there are times when this beautiful human act translates into unexpected rewards.

That was certainly the case for a Texas woman a few years ago whose kindness and patience with a seemingly grumpy World War II veteran resulted in a surprise act of generosity in return.

Flashback to November 2008.

After seven years as a waitress at Luby’s restaurant in Brownsville, Texas, Melina got a surprise she didn’t expect. She was able to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas earlier this year. It was served to him directly, on his work. We revisit Thanksgiving past today with a feel-good story where being kind is literally worth it.

Who can identify?

If you’ve ever been a server, you’ve certainly had your share of many different types of customers. I myself have served for over a decade, and have seen and dealt with a great deal. We’ve all had that (or more) special customer who is just something else. Have you ever had a Walter Swords?

There is always this one (or more lol)

Well, Melina did. She had worked at Luby for 16 years. She served the same grumpy old man for seven of those years. Grumpy, rude, and insulting were some of the words waiters used to describe Walter “Buck” Swords. An 89-year-old World War II veteran who dined out very regularly liked his food a certain way and had to eat it piping hot. No one wanted to serve him when he entered.

Thank you and give

Over time, he just became Melina’s client. They grew up to understand each other. Although he’s “very mean,” she said she never had a problem serving Walter with a smile. She also had no idea that one day she would inherit such a gift from him.

Melina noticed that Walter was not coming in as usual. One day she was flipping through the obituary section of the local newspaper and saw Walters’ name. Of course sad, Melina continued. A week later, she received an unexpected visit from a lawyer during her shift at the restaurant. To her surprise, Walter left her $50,000 and a car because she was always so nice to him. Say what? How amazing is that? $50,000 and

The gift that keeps on giving

Service is in my DNA. It costs nothing to smile and treat people with kindness. Not because you’re looking for something in return, because you never know how much of an impact a smile can have on someone else’s day or life. His story was told in an interview. You can watch the video below. Be nice Central Texas. The streets watch. How would you have reacted?