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Restaurant waiter stands up to customers and becomes a hero

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/...--finance.html

"Usually, when a waiter refuses to serve someone at a restaurant, customers complain. In this case, customers cheered.

The waiter in question, Michael Garcia, has been receiving goodwill and friend requests on the restaurant’s Facebook page since word spread that he stood up for a child with special needs.

Garcia, who works at the Houston restaurant Laurenzo's, was waiting on a family, regulars with a 5-year-old child, Milo, who has Down syndrome. The server said that another family at the restaurant commented on Milo’s behavior, which Garcia described as “talking and making little noises." Garcia moved the complaining family to another table, but they were still unhappy. "Special needs children need to be special somewhere else," the father reportedly said."

Click link to read the rest

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGDee (Post 2193574)

Given the events in CT, I think this thread needs a bump, to remind people of the good in the world. This story never made the news, but it made a huge difference in my life, during one of the lowest points of my life.

Eleven years ago, I was a newly divorced mom, very sick with Crohn's Disease (undiagnosed at the time of the story). My kids were 5 and 7 and I was working full time. For six months, I had subsisted on popsicles, jello and Gatorade because anything else gave me excruciating pain. I had lost 65 pounds in that time period. I was weak, exhausted, in pain most of the time and trying to make a living and raise my children. I wasn't even sure I was going to live because they hadn't figured out what was wrong with me. I was also adjusting to living on one income instead of two so things were very tight financially.

I was at the grocery store with both kids, after picking them up from latch key, to pick up a few things for dinner that night. My son saw the Hallmark Kissy Bears display which said "Free with the purchase of three cards." My son said, "Can we get these? They are free!" At age 5, he couldn't read all the words, but he knew he saw "FREE". I sadly explained that we had to buy three cards to get one free and we didn't need three cards, nor did we have the money for three cards. And then we'd only get one of the bears, not both. There was a woman near us who heard the conversation. My son was sad, but he accepted what I said.

We checked out, went to the car and both kids got in the car while I loaded groceries into the back of the car. The woman who had overheard the earlier conversation came up to me and thrust a bag into my hand and said "Merry Christmas". She had gotten the Kissy Bears and gave them to us. I instantly teared up and said Thank You. I got in the car, crying, and my daughter said "what's wrong?" and I said "Nothing is wrong. We have a Christmas Angel" and I showed the kids the bears, telling them the woman gave them to us. My daughter said "Why are you crying momma? That was a nice thing to do." And I said "These are tears of joy, sweetie."

This woman couldn't know what I'd been through that year.. the divorce, buying a house, my illness. She just knew she saw a tired mom who couldn't afford those bears for her kids. She had no idea that her random act of kindness was so much more than just giving someone a couple bears she got for free.

Each year, as we put the Kissy Bears on the fireplace hearth, I tear up again, thinking about how that woman made such a difference in THREE lives. We remember the story each year and I believe her small action helped to make my children the thoughtful young adults they are today. I wish I could thank her again and again, but the only way I can do this is by doing similar random acts of kindness.

This story is beautiful, Dee. I hadn't read it before. It brings tears to my eyes.

A relative had a great mini vacation at the recent Winter Carnival put on by students attending Michigan Tech University.

To quote her: "I tell you, the students up there are so nice, polite, and friendly. It is very enjoyable to walk around the campus and downtown. We got to talk to some of them at the Rosza Center and the Hockey rink. Then when you see how they act at the restaurants etc. We were very impressed."

Kudos to the great students hosts of the MTech Winter Carnival!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheerio (Post 2205070)

I had heard a lot about Winter Carnival because we have some alumnae from Tech in our alumnae club. Everybody talked about the snow statue contest. The groups spend a month creating snow statues. In my head, I always pictured things like ice sculpture size. I went up there to do an officer training with our chapter there the week after Winter Carnival in 2009. The statues were still there. I was SHOCKED. These were massive snow sculptures, taller than their houses in some cases! They spend a lot of time creating intricate detail out of ice and each group has their "secret" method to doing this. I was in awe, truly in awe, of what these groups were able to do. Check out the pictures at these links- and understand that they can't even capture it all in pictures!

The winners with their finished sculptures
http://www.mtu.edu/carnival/gallery/results/

The process captured in images
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michiga...7632224249604/

ETA: They had challenges this year because it was warmer with a lot less snow than most years. The two feet they got on Wednesday this week would have been welcome in January!

^Nice! One of my BFFs from home is an AGD alum from Tech. One of the things she misses most is the Winter Carnival (which I honestly don't get, being a beach bunny/cold weather hater from downstate...haha)

Waiter Stands Up for Special Needs Child

http://austinist.com/2013/01/22/i_wa...iter_stand.php

A waiter at the Houston restaurant Laurenzo's made international news when he did something both quiet and brave - he refused to serve a family of regular diners when the father complained about a special needs child sitting nearby.
Kim Castillo brought her son Milo, who has Down's syndrome, into the restaurant last Wednesday. She says, "We have been taking Milo out to restaurants since he was born. On the whole, he acts better than most typical children." But another family disagreed, asking to be moved. Waiter Michael Garcia complied, until he heard the dad make the following disparaging remark: "Special needs children need to be special somewhere else."

Quote:

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle (Post 2180934)

SON OF A BIGOT -
His dad founded the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. Nate Phelps is dedicated to reversing that legacy of hate

Nate Phelps is the sixth of Fred’s 13 children, and he has the scars to show for it. He describes his father as verbally and physically abusive. When he was 18, Nate ran away from home and from the fundamentalist Calvinist religion in which he was raised.Now in his 50s, Nate finds himself publicly squaring off with his father and siblings to reverse their legacy of intolerance. He lives in Calgary, where he has become a public speaker who champions LGBT rights and raises awareness about the connection between extreme religion and child abuse. He is currently writing a book about his life and is the subject of an upcoming documentary.

http://www.salon.com/2012/09/25/son_of_a_bigot/

I actually heard him speak at Lawrence Tech. The story is somewhat horrifying. But, it's kind of funny that it literally all stems from his father. It gives the entire WBC even less credibility than it already didn't have. :P

As the mother of an autistic child, I'm enormously touched and encouraged by these stories. Thanks for sharing.

Sometimes, athletes get it right

No, no, I'm not crying . . . um, I'm, oh, cutting onions . . .

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_16...shot-at-glory/

"
Just wearing a jersey was enough for Mitchell, but what he didn't know -- what no one knew at the time -- was that the coach planned to play him at the end, no matter what the score.
http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/201...ch_244x183.jpg Coach Peter Morales
/ CBS News
Morales says he was prepared to lose the game.
"For his moment in time, yes," he says.
With a minute-and-a-half left -- Coronado leading, but only by 10 -- Coach Morales put in his manager.
"And I just started hearing, 'Mitchell, Mitchell,'" Morales says.
But here's where the fairytale fell apart."

Quote:

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle (Post 2205625)

This story really made my day brighter when I read it!

Yosemite Junior Ranger returns two sticks to the park
By Mike Krumboltz | The Sideshow – Wed, Feb 27, 2013

When visiting a national park, one should always leave things exactly as they were. Hats off to Evie, a junior ranger at Yosemite National Park, for living the motto. After returning home from a trip to the internationally known park, young Evie discovered that she had "accidentally brought home two sticks."

Honest Evie put the sticks in the mail and sent them back to Yosemite along with a letter that even the most jaded nature-hater would find completely charming.

Dear Park Rangers,

I am a Yosemite Junior Ranger. I went to Yosemite recently and accidentally brought home two sticks. I know I'm not supposed to take things from the park, so I am sending them back. Please put them in nature.

Thank you,

Evie

A photo of the letter was posted on Yosemite's official Facebook page with this explanation: "The rangers that answer the phone and mail in our public information office receive a lot of letters, but this might be one of the best in recent years."
read the rest:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow...001225972.html

I'm bumping because something happened to me tonight. I signed up for a somewhat expensive couch-to-5k program, and then got laid off before it started. I'd originally planned to buy some new shoes, etc. but since the layoff, money's been really tight and I've been running in my "fashion sneakers" I bought for rush 5 years ago (flat-soled Pumas). It was okay for a while, but as we've been running more I started developing blisters. I tried to run them into callouses, but it was just agony. Eventually I went to my coaches and told them the problem and admitted that I couldn't afford the $100-some shoes they recommend and asked if what cheaper alternatives were still good shoes. They told me they would look into it.

Today they went ahead and had me fitted for some expensive new shoes "to see what sort of show will work best for you" and then the salesperson told me the shoes were already paid for.

Guys, I want to cry. I really didn't expect that at all and my run was so much better today because of these shoes! Someday I hope to pay this forward, once my life gets back in order.

Where is the "like" button? No, the LOVE button!