I was on Facebook last night as always, and I came across a story. I am the type of person who is a sucker for the sad stories about pets or just plain amazing stories about war heros. Cassie laughs at me constantly saying most of them are not true, but hey, someone did a really good job with their fancy fiction skills. Real or not, most of them make me cry.
Sometimes I hit the like button for things just because I feel like someone put some effort into making the post. I saw one where someone said like if you can see Him. It was a picture of some clouds with the sun coming through and it had an outline of Jesus in it. Destiny and Kim thought it was hilarious and asked me why I liked it and I said, "Sometimes I just feel like I should like at least one Jesus post. I mean someone out there worked really hard to photoshop Jesus into those clouds."
Yes, I have a problem. The ones I really can't stand are the ones that are like keep scrolling if you love Satan or like if you love Jesus. You know the ones I am talking about. The ones where Satan is redder than a stop sign with those Jigsaw circles on his cheek. I personally do not think God is up there making tally marks every time we skip down the newsfeed. If it worked like that, I would have an express first class ticket to Hell along with everyone else on Facebook.
I came across a particular story last night that touched my heart. It takes place out in Huston, Texas at a diner. A waiter there refused service to a couple who moved to be further away from a boy and his family. The little boy has Down's Syndrome. The couple moved away from him for a reason unknown to me. Maybe he was being loud like my friend Sarah's daughter Kinley is whenever we go out or maybe he was just sitting there quietly enjoying his mac n cheese.
The waiter didn't think anything of the couple moving until he heard them say, "Special children need to be special somewhere else." A huge thumbs up to the waiter, he told them, "I am sorry, I can no longer serve you." Soon after the couple left. I am sure they had something to say to the patron of the good's manager, and I am sure it wasn't pretty.
I worked as a waitress at Cracker Barrel for about two years, and I wanted to refuse service many times. Not to anything this extreme though. I probably would have lost my job if someone had asked to be moved away from a child with special needs for "cutting a beeotch." Maybe even arrested for public indecency or assault for purposely throwing their Coca Cola in their face. I am really not that extreme, but in my head, that's what I would have done.
I have experienced things like racism and down right rudeness. There is a particular family who Cracker Barrel has tried to ban from eating there many times because they have made every employee who has ever waited on them cry or have a serious breakdown in the meat freezer. The object of their rudeness is to get their meal for free, which is normally the outcome. I actually waited on them one time. I didn't cry but I thought seriously about quitting my job that day. The family is an African American family, a dad, a mom, and a sweet little girl. I still remember her order, chicken tenders with steak fries and extra barbeque sauce. Lord forbid that barbeque sauce not be on the child's plate when that food came to the table.
One day, a new bottle of sauce was being opened but their food was already up. Knowing they like their food extremely hot, I went ahead and took their meals out to them and asked a fellow coworker to bring the BBQ right behind me. When I placed their food on the table the man reprimanded me and told me to go get it. I said it would be right out and proceeded to go get it. On the way back to the kitchen, another table asked me politely to bring out some more biscuits. While I was at the table, the dad of the family repeatedly yelled my name until I finally had to apologize to my guests and answer him. He proceeded to say very loudly that their needs were not as important as theirs (literally said that)and that I needed to go get that damn BBQ sauce right then. He wasn't able to wait fifteen seconds for me to multitask and take two requests at once.
Heads up folks, the restaurant seating capacity is about 300 people, therefore you are not the only ones in the building that need ketchup or extra napkins (even though you already have a stack the size of Mt. Kilimanjaro on the table and there is a table with a full bottle of ketchup with in reaching distance). The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around the sun. Also, before your food comes out to the table, it is in our hands. I would never mess up or do something gross to anyone's order, but not everyone is like me. Be warned.
As for the little boy in Huston, I am so truly sorry you experienced rudeness like this. You are probably too young to really realize what was going on but nonetheless you were subjected to the hatred and cruelty of people who do not have hearts, much less brains. I hope the couple out there sees this and reconsiders their actions. Had that been my little cousin Ellie who has Angelman's syndrome or Cassie's stepbrother Chris who has Fragile X syndrome, I would have had a few choice words to say to you. People who are mentally challenged are not lepers. You will not catch what they have by being in close proximity to them. Ellie is the sweetest little girl I know and Chris is an excellent conversation artist. I love them both very much.
Once again I would like to applaud the waiter for his sheer braverism. That kind of response could have cost you your job, but you stood up for what is right and just. You are a man with a golden heart and I say kudos to you. If I had been eating in the restaurant, you would have received a nice fat tip. For more information on Angelman's syndrome, Downs, or Fragile X I encourage you to check out these websites. While I am no expert, I have read through these websites and they seem to cover the basics in easy to understand terminology. http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/genetic/down_syndrome.html# http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/angelman-syndrome/DS01048 http://www.marchofdimes.com/baby/birthdefects_fragilex.html
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