(Credit: pixabay)
A family handed Kasey Simmons, a waitress at an Applebee’s in Texas, a $500 tip on what may have been the smallest charge ever—37 cents for flavored water. The server was taken aback. The true magic, though, happened in the tale that lies behind the tip.
That day, the family had intentionally gone looking for Simmons. He had seen an older woman who appeared to be quite depressed just the day before when he was food shopping at a Kroger. Not one to turn away a helpless person, Simmons rushed up to her and offered to cover the $17 cost of her groceries. “It’s not about the money—it’s about showing someone you care,” he stated.
Simmons was unaware that the widow was experiencing grief on the anniversary of her husband’s passing. His little yet heartfelt deed touched her family, and they wanted to repay the favor. They wrote a beautiful message, along with the $500 gratuity, expressing how much their mother appreciated his thoughtfulness on such a trying day:
“I want to thank you for being the person that you are on behalf of the Sullivan family. You brightened my mother’s day on one of the most dismal days of the year—the three-year anniversary of my father’s passing. Ever since you did what you did, she has been grinning.
It serves as a straightforward yet effective reminder that even seemingly insignificant deeds of kindness can have a big impact and can have unanticipated consequences.
