Breakfast at Sarah Jay’s…

I am almost finished with this morning’s six mile jaunt. I am walking back into town to a crisp, cool winter’s day. It is almost too cold to be out so early. I turn my collar up to shield my neck from a cold wind. Sarah Jay’s eatery beckons to me from the side of the road. Thoughts of steaming coffee and hot creamy buttered grits come to mind. I buy this morning’s Atlanta newspaper and go inside and take a seat.

“Good morning hon.” The perky waitress says to me as she brings a napkin, knife, and fork.

I look up as I smile and return the niceties.

“What can I get ya?” She says holding a little pen and pad.

“I will have the breakfast platter, hard scrambled,” I say.

“What can I get you to drink?” She then asks.

“I am feeling adventurous this morning,” I say as I smile once more. “Get me a milk, coffee, and an orange juice.”

“I’ll be right back out with it,” She says as she turns to disappear into the kitchen.

One other family sits across from me quietly eating. They are a solemn bunch and look as if someone close to them has just died. I imagine the husband and wife had quite an argument on the way over here. I thank the stars that I am not embroiled in some marriage at the moment. I have a hard enough time handling my own emotional issues and that of my sometime girlfriend without adding all the baggage and stress a marriage can bring.

“Here ya go, hon,” The waitress says as she sits down a plate piled high with grits, scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. It looks delicious and I dig in.

The waitress is very attentive and is good company. She sits down for a moment to talk to me.

“I see you walk by here almost everyday,” She says. “Do you not have a car?”

“Oh, I have a car,” I replied in between mouthfuls of breakfast. “I just don’t drive a lot. I find walking much more pleasurable.”

“What you are doing is good for the environment,” She says.

“Yeah, I guess so,” I reply. “But that’s not why I do it. I guess it is a good side benefit though although I am probably not making much of a difference.”

“Do you live in the Valley?” She then asks.

I nod yes as I spread strawberry preserves upon my buttered toast.

“Where do you live?” I ask curiously.

“Not in the Valley!” She exclaims as she laughs. “I can’t afford their utility costs. Natural gas is sky high in the Valley.”

Another group of patrons walks in causing my waitress to scurry with activity. She glides across the floor with her pen and pad at the ready. I listen to hear what these people order. She writes it all down in a flurry and disappears once again into the kitchen hollering out the order to the cook. I finish my meal and leave a hefty five dollar tip on the table and start to walk across the parking lot headed for home.

“Hey,” The waitress hollers out to me sticking her head out the door into the cold wind waving the five dollars I had left her. “Thank you hon. You made my day. I will take care of you the next time you are in.”

I give her a big grin and wave goodbye. It feels good to know I made a difference in someone’s life today even if was just five dollars. Those five bucks were well worth the company she gave me and the thoughtful gesture of sitting down to talk to me for just a moment. I walked on home and recorded this video and uploaded it.