Treat people with kindness and respect. It’s a simple first lesson.
But occasionally people need a gentle reminder that respect is required in every circumstance. Respect affects someone’s productivity, happiness, and level of engagement.
People interpret circumstances differently since respect can mean different things to different people. For some, there are explicit guidelines, vocabulary, and a set of behaviors that denote different levels of respect. Respect is a means of recognizing and appreciating others for others.
For instance, many of us learned to respect the authority of elders, address instructors and other adults as “Mr.” or “Mrs.,” and perhaps remain silent until spoken to. Others were taught to always be honest in their ideas and feedback, to never speak down to anyone, and to always address people by their first names. Both could be seen as “showing respect.”
However, for Liz Woodward, she shows respect in deed of paying for her customers’ meals.
We all know that becoming a firefighter is no easy task. It involves perseverance, numerous training sessions, passion, and a genuine desire to assist people. They need to undertake rescue operations, wear bulky equipment, and utilize a variety of gear.
Work that is both physically taxing and highly challenging, not only that you will engage in physically demanding activities but also manage all kinds of emergencies, including life-threatening ones that make it one of the dangerous, physically challenging, and can be mentally exhausting—and for this waitress, she knows how hard-working it is, that is why she decided to give them a token for their great job.
It is unpleasant to work late at night. It’s the most boring time of the day for the majority of 24-hour businesses. However, you can come upon unanticipated circumstances that will live in your memory forever.
Back in 2015, 24-year-old Liz Woodward who’s a hardworking server works as many shifts as she can at Delran, New Jersey’s 130 Diner. At the time, when Woodward was closing the 130 Diner in Delran, New Jersey when she saw two firemen come in to get something to eat, when asked what they wanted, one of them said he wanted his ‘largest’ cup of coffee. The firefighters appeared weary to her.
As a member of the firefighting crew who responded to a nearby warehouse fire in North Brunswick, she was able to identify them. It was one of the biggest flames the community has ever seen. They appeared to have just finished their shift, so she was relieved of the need to ask.
She may have had a quiet evening, but these two firefighters were not dozing off. They seemed to be having a terrible night, she thought.
In life, a lot of us strive to give back without really anticipating anything in return. The act of someone going above and above to assist you after you have done a good action for them can therefore be incredibly touching.
“I had been following the New Brunswick fire on the news,” Woodward said, “This was their first meal in over 24 hours; the least I could do was buy it for them for all they do every day.”
Therefore, Woodward did exactly that; instead of bringing a bill with a dollar number on it, the waiter wrote a beautiful message praising the men for the difficult job they performed every single day.
“Your breakfast is on me today. Thank you for all that you do; for serving others & for running into the places everyone else runs away from. No matter your role, you are courageous, brave, and strong…Thank you for being bold and badass every day! Fueled by fire and driven by courage- what an example you are. Get some rest,” Woodward wrote.
The guys teared up and thanked Woodward for her thoughtfulness—that Tim Young felt compelled to share it on social media. “After 12 hours fighting the fire and supplying water, he hadn’t eaten so I took him out for breakfast to the route 130 diner in Delran,” He wrote together with the note.
However, Young and Hullings discovered that despite Woodward’s kindness, she was facing some tough times of her own. She had been trying to raise money for her quadriplegic father, as the family needed a wheelchair-accessible van. Immediately, they decided to help.
Young also added in his Facebook post, “Turns out, the young lady who gave us a free meal is really the one that could use the help…” sharing the GoFundMe campaign that Woodward had started.
Soon, people everywhere started sharing the post, and the fund more than surpassed its original $17,000 goal. In the end, Woodward and her family collected $86,500 from touched, good citizens.
Liz and her family were in awe of how her one-time act of generosity set off a series of fortunate occurrences. The teenage server also did something to express her gratitude for the selfless work that the courageous firefighters do without asking for anything in return.
Watch it here: Youtube/Abc News
Sources: AWM, Globalstorynews, Today
Thomas Cooper