Rosalynd Harris is a waitress who works two jobs just trying to make ends meet so that she can pay her college tuition fees. During one of the busiest weekends of the year, she was working her shift at the Washington restaurant, Busboys and Poets, when a group of Texan men walked in with their conspicuous red hats, sticking out like a sore thumb in that particular establishment, with its’ very laid-back, artistic vibe that is known for being a meeting place for civil rights activists, artists, and poets. Rosalynd’s first thought was they might be looking for trouble, particularly as it was an emotionally charged weekend for the whole country…
After a while, she realized that her initial thoughts may not have been fair… Rosalynd believed that she had a good sense for people, having worked as a waitress for so long and around so many people on an intimate level.
Rosalynd Harris is not your average waitress, and she has a lot more to offer than just waiting on tables. She is passionate about social justice, fitting for someone who works at the Washington DC restaurant. She works hard, and the last thing she wanted was for any customer drama to occur.
Busboys and Poets
These Texan men with their red hats seemed very out of place here, especially at that specific time. It was a clash of two polar worlds, where the left and the right rarely mixed, and if so, you could bet that there would be trouble.
Timing
The weekend that this unexpected incident took place is significant to the story. It was the weekend of two majorly important marches in Washington that weekend.
The inauguration of the 45th President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, and the Women’s March. If you know anything about politics, then you may have guessed that these two movements did not see eye-to-eye. The Women’s March members were scathingly critical of Trump, who is infamous for his sexist remarks.
You see, Rosalynd is an outspoken and passionate feminist, among many other things. So, when these men walked in wearing those infamous red “MAGA” hats, she instantly took against them. They were mortal enemies, after all, and they were on her turf.
Funnily enough, both parties in our story were at a march that weekend, but while those in the red hats were at the inauguration, Rosalynd was at the women’s march.
It was like something from a movie, where the happy-go-lucky protagonist and his friends walk into a biker gang bar, and all the thugs silently stare at them. Only this time, the Trump supporters had walked into a liberal den.
One such visitor was Jason White from Texas and his friends. There were many people in the capital city at that time, from all walks of life, with many different political beliefs. While everyone was largely coexisting with only a few violent moments, things were tense.
When Jason and his friends walked into Busboys and Poets, the place went silent, looking at the group in disbelief. Rosalynd immediately made two quick assumptions about the small group.
When people see Trump supporters, they often assume that they are bigoted, aggressive, or worse, members of a far-right group.
Although Rosalynd may have been right on both accounts, there was a lesson for them all about not judging a book by its cover… the problem with modern politics is that people will assume a whole shopping list’s worth of qualities in you once they discover what your political affiliation is.
Yet just because those two assumptions about Jason White may have been true, there is still so much more to him than just a red cap, he just happened to be wearing it in the wrong place, at the wrong time… Still, this was not just an accidental fashion no-no that Jason had pulled off.
Rosalynd didn’t say anything to them about the caps, but Jason quietly suggested to the others that they take them off while they were having lunch in the restaurant. As you can imagine, it didn’t take him long to realize that his kind was not particularly welcome in an establishment like this one.
Incredibly, if Rosalynd was disturbed by the men’s appearance, she did not show it. Rosalynd was still buzzing from the high energy she got from the powerful Women’s March, and was especially cheery as she walked over to Jason’s table to give them service, handing them the menus with a big smile, which they warmly reciprocated.
She was in an incredible mood, and nothing could shake her. The men were relieved to see her friendliness, to say the least. Soon enough, they were making jokes together.
After they broke the ice a little, Jason wondered about the restaurant/book store’s history and asked Rosalynd about it. She was only too happy to answer their questions, being sure they had never experienced a place quite like it. While many people will feel that those with an opposing political stance should simply be fought, Rosalynd was of the mind that warmth and open conversations are the best way forwards.
After taking their orders, Rosalynd let the group enjoy their lunch, thinking that that would probably be the end of the encounter.
An hour or so later, Jason and his friends finished their lunch and left the restaurant after saying thank you and goodbye from afar.
When Rosalynd arrived at the table to clean up and pick up the cheque, she noticed it was covered in words.
A Personal Message
Rosalynd’s curiosity began to burn as she skimmed over the note. She looked around to see if the men had stuck around, but they were well on their way by that point. Rosalynd picked up the note and started to read.
The note went on to say “If everyone would share a smile and kindness like your beautiful smile, our country will come together as one people,” Jason wrote. She could never have expected that people so different from her would appreciate her basic courtesies and pleasantries so gratefully.
The idea of how far a smile can go really invigorated her positivity. Waitresses will generally have all manner of interactions with people. Rosalynd was truly touched by Jason’s note.
Some good, some bad, but very rarely will they experience a life-changing moment like this one. But there was so much more to come for Rosalynd, whose experience had just begun. There was so much more amazingness to come!
A Huge Tip!
For a waitress any tip above 20% is exciting, but 625% was just unbelievable! As everyone knows, waitresses often do not earn luxurious salaries in any country or state. They work incredibly hard for very little pay, and often have to survive on tips alone.
So Rosalynd was utterly astounded when she saw they had left a tip of a whopping $450!
This was not some grand scheme that he and his pals had come up with, rather, it was a spontaneous gesture that Jason had thought up after meeting the warm waitress. But he felt so moved by everything that he had seen in Washington over the weekend, with both the election of the President and the powerful Women’s March.
