Roy Exum
The two firefighters were exhausted when they pulled up at the Route 130 Diner in Delran, N.J. for some breakfast. Paul Hullings and Tim Young had been among those fighting a big fire in North Brunswick for 24 straight hours and let’s just say you could tell by looking they were tired and hungry.
Liz Woodward, the waitress, soon brought them their breakfast and, while making sure the coffee cups were full, she played around with their guest check. The 24-year-old drew and colored a fire-ax in the top left corner and there was a red fire helmet in the bottom on the right.
But it was the words she wrote before placing the ticket face down and moving to another part of the diner if they dared protest.
“Your breakfast is on me today. No matter your role, you are courageous, brave and strong … Thank you for all you do; for serving others and for running into places everyone else runs away from. Fueled by fire and driven by courage – what an example you are. Get some rest.”
Both were stunned. “I started tearing up,” said Hullings. “It made me feel good – us firefighters are wanted, people care about us,” he said, unaware that when you “pay it forward,” the circle keeps on moving. Does it ever.
As soon as fireman Young got home … before he even got in bed … he posted a picture of the now-famous receipt on Facebook and beside it he wrote, “My friend Paul Hullings went with Hainesport station 391 (fire dept.) as part of Burlington County tender strike team to the warehouse fire in North Brunswick... After 12 hours fighting the fire and supplying water, he hadn't ate so I took him out for breakfast to the Route 130 diner in Delran. Well, the waitress overheard us talking and this is what she set down instead of the bill. Such a selfless and kind act. I definitely urge my friends to make a trip out and support the business, and if Liz happens to be your waitress, tip big (smile emoticon)”
The post was soon covered in “likes” and was shared like internet wildfire. A TV station soon interviewed the waitress. “I know it is being remarked as an extraordinary act but it’s small … just a little gesture.”
Someone who saw it tipped the firefighters that Woodward was trying to raise money on GoFundMe so she could buy her dad, who is a quadriplegic, a used van. The fundraising goal was $17,000. Talk about turning on a siren! The pair of firemen ramped up her effort, telling everyone that the girl who showed such kindness was also taking care of her paralyzed dad. The firemen urged everyone to take part.
Again, the goal was $17,000 but, with the muscle of Paul and Tim, there was soon $68,000 available. The TV station came back to interview Liz again. “People from all over the world have heard the story, and from it they are recognizing opportunities to do something little or big for somebody else.”
She also gave the world a big tip: “Look for those opportunities because they are everywhere. You can make a difference -- it doesn't always have to be an elaborate production or effort. It's always the little things that have the greatest impact."
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Some quick notes:
-- The 18-year-old who was critically wounded in Ferguson, Mo., on Sunday night after he first fired on a car full of officers has been identified as Tyrone Harris Jr. It turns out Tyrone is awaiting trial in a November spree where he stole a car, stole a gun, and was caught after trying to outrun the cops. Sunday’s gunplay got him 10 additional felony counts. His father told police he “was real close” to Michael Brown, who was shot a killed a year ago.
-- In Bainbridge, Ga., a 94-year-old woman has been expelled for poor attendance and failing to pay her tithe. Josephine King had been a member of First African Baptist Church for that past 50 years but when she was sick and a shut-in for several months, she got kicked out.
Any Christian who pays in order to be a member of a church is not so much of a Christian but instead a certain kind of stupid. And any church that kicks out a 94-year-old woman who has been a shut-in for several months is definitely not a church.
-- In Seoul there was a protest over the fact the Japanese used “comfort women” (sex slaves) during World War II and one man was so mad he set himself on fire. That’ll show ‘em! Nearby protesters managed to put the fire out and the man is recovering in a hospital.
-- The white police officer who shot a black teenager who was “wilding” at a car dealership has been fired but the father of the former football player who stomped on cars, kicked a windshield out and drove his Jeep through the plate-glass window of the dealership’s showroom told a USA Today reporter: “We are all human and make mistakes and there is no winner in this. We are both losers.”
Adrian Taylor also said the person shown in the surveillance video was “not the son I knew. I wish I had more information. I just feel sorry for my family and his family and the whole nation,” he said. “Faith is the only thing getting us through this.”
-- When a New York Jets linebacker sucker-punched quarterback Geno Smith, breaking his jaw, on Tuesday, the team immediately released IK Enemkpali from the roster. That means that Enemkpali just cost himself $1.8 million in earnable income. Smith will be on the injured reserve list for six-to-10 weeks.
-- A Birmingham, Ala., police detective stopped Janard Shamar Cunningham on Friday and somehow the black man got the white cop’s gun. Cunningham then proceeded to pistol-whip the detective until “he was not moving.” Cunningham, who has a lengthy criminal record, was soon caught but the city is reeling. “He was laying there lifeless and people were standing around taking pictures,” Police Sgt. Heath Boackle said, “but if the tables were turned – and a white was seen beating a black this badly – we would be having a full-scale riot right now.”
royexum@aol.com