GROUP effort

So, I keep getting this silly thought that I have nothing else to write about. But I took some time today to consider some new posts, and 3 came to mind immediately, so here is one of them.

It was just over 3 years ago when Hurricane Katrina hit. I was working at Jason's Deli at the time. I received a phone call from a regular customer of ours, and she spoke with me about how WE, as a company, needed to do something. She was moved to go down to Reunion Arena where many buses were dropping folks off. She phoned me again and asked if we could donate some box lunches to an extended family of 12 that had all made it here was living with some family members in Dallas in a 2 bedroom apartment. I checked with my General Manager (At the time I was Catering Manager) and he said if I could budget it in my Marketing plan it was fine. So we sent her with about a dozen box lunches. The next day she phoned again, it seemed she had this deep dedication to helping these people who were in such need. This time, she had picked up a young lady about 20 years old, who had made it to Dallas with her young child. Cherri explained how she was taking this young lady back to her apartment for her to shower and relax a little. The problem was the young lady (Crystal) was much smaller than her so none of her clothes would fit her. So she asked me to try and get some clothes for her. I went to a consignment shop and felt very out of place, cause it was all women's clothing! I explained the story to the clerk, and how I didn't have a huge budget. She just started grabbing clothes and going. I kept thinking that I would not be able to afford all of this. When we got the register, she separated the clothes into 2 piles and explained how she would pay for half. Amazing that a stranger would step in and add to this little gift I had hoped to provide.

I took the clothes to Cherri and told her she should bring Crystal up to Jason's Deli, because I had asked some of the moms up at Jason's Deli to bring baby clothes that they may be able to donate. I was astonished to see 2 full paper bags of clothes. The moms who worked at Jason's Deli lived a very modest lifestyle, but they were inspired to collect from any and all family and friends to help Crystal and her young child.

It was really cool when they came in to Jason's Deli. We gave them the baby clothes, and visited. It was so tough, because Crystal still seemed very shocked, almost in a daze. I can't imagine what she experienced and had to go through, all the while caring for her baby. She spoke very little, and when she did she had our full attention. What can one say to somebody who lived through that? Normally I am a guy who can pretty much talk to anyone, but in this case, my silence was the best I had to offer. Throughout their meal at Jason's Deli other customers realized her situation and would leave Jason's Deli and return with various items a mother and child would need. A car seat was bought, and play pen, more baby clothes, all of this from complete strangers that overheard and wanted to help. I remember feeling so good about people when this happen. A couple who was just about the age of Crystal's parents came over and started to visit with her. By the end of the night, they had offered frequent flyer miles to Crystal to fly to Alabama where she had some extended family. All of this happen in the matter of hours, it was amazing! And the greatest part was, it really was a group effort. No one person really did that much, but when it all added up, a mother and her young child were provided for, and cared for!!

Cherri told me how she picked Crystal out. She was sitting alone on the curb, baby in hand. They visited and it took Cherri multiple tries to get her to leave with her. Scared, alone, in shock, it was tough for Crystal to trust anyone, but Cherri pleaded with her again and again. When we are doing something right and good for people, we have to stick to it. Cherri was a great example of that. I hope and pray Crystal and her young child are ok. I know that it really wasn't just the people who did all of this, it seems bigger than just us. For me, it was getting out of the way, and setting down my agenda, and allowing God to work through me. It was easy to watch all of the footage about Hurricane Katrina and become outraged at some of the radical things some people were doing. But for me, I wanted to help, even if it was just one person.

Serving the Servicemen

Where our restaurant is located we often see servicemen/women returning home from the war. The following blog is some neat stories about serving these fine young men and women. What is really neat is not always what's done by us as servers, but what other guests have done to show their appreciation.

It was a mid afternoon and 3 or 4 Marines showed up in their dress blues. As you can imagine they stood out a bit. A young girl about 5 or 6 noticed them. She then informed her server that she wanted to buy them dessert. She actually brought her own money and even her own purse! The Marines ordered their dessert and when it arrived, invited the girl to sit with them and enjoy it. I don't know what all was said during dessert time, but I imagine that experience could shape that young girl's idea of what it means to be a serviceman. You see the Marines were coming back from a funeral of a retired Marine. How ironic I thought, that they were greeted mos sincerely by the youngest person in the restaurant with sincere gratitude on their way home from serving an elderly man.

I remember bartending one night when a young man met his father for a drink or two and moved to a table. Another patron asked where they were sitting, and then requested to buy their meal. I was a bit perplexed because not a word was shared between the father/son and the other gentleman. After fishing for some information, the other gentleman told me he overheard the son talk about getting back from Iraq. The other gentleman requested that we not share who bought the food. As the father came by the bar, he asked where the gentleman was who had been sitting near them was, I replied that he had just left. He looked me in the eyes with tears in eyes and said "He didn't have to do that." I responded "But he really wanted to, the least he could do for what your son has done." Not to make this political, but I have never been a big fan of this war, but I whole-heartedly support our troops who are following their orders.

We normally give a 50% discount to any uniformed serviceman that dines with us. It was so nice when Ronnie used to work with us. He served in the Army himself for many years. We never had to ask him to comp the table, he always noticed serviceman, and made a point to have the comps done on time without us having to plead or ask multiple times to give them the discount which our company pledged as a whole. I have worked with a few former serviceman in the service industry, I consider it no surprise they were nearly all at the top of the respective areas.

Thanks to any and all troops and the families of those troops who sacrifice all that they do!!