State of Our Nation's Youth Not as Bad as Media, Politicians Make It Out to Be
My wife, Linda, and I have always believed that those who have been blessed have an obligation to try to find ways to improve the lives of others.
As people who have been fortunate ourselves we're very involved with a number of charitable organizations in our home community.
We also try to find ways to assist others on a personal level when there is an opportunity to do so. This is a story about an encounter with two young people at a restaurant.
One night recently, as we were driving home from a charitable event in Houston, Linda and I stopped at one of our favorite restaurants to have a late meal.
We noticed that there was still a good crowd as we entered the establishment.
We asked the hostess if we could be seated at a booth, and luckily she found one available, in the midst of several other occupied booths.
As we began to talk about our evening, we noticed over the course of the next few minutes that the booths surrounding ours had all started to become empty as people finished their meals.
Within a few minutes, I began to sense some activity behind me and knew that someone was bussing the table.
It was at this time that Linda began to roll her eyes at me to get my attention.
It did not take me long to understand what she was trying to tell me, which was that she felt we should try to extend a blessing to the person bussing the booth behind me.
The worker finished up one area and walked by us to get to the next neighboring booth behind Linda. I noticed that he was a well-groomed young man in his late teens or early twenties.
It was obvious that he was doing a very thorough cleaning job at that booth, so at that time I reached into my pocket to get a $100 bill that I keep on hand for such occasions.
Linda nodded her head at me, giving her approval.
The young man finished with the booth, grabbed his dish tub, and began to walk past us again. I spoke up so he would stop by our table, shared that I had something for him, then handed him the $100 bill. He was very pleasantly surprised.
He thanked both of us and told us what a blessing this was to him.
We told him that it was also a blessing for us, and we thanked him for accepting it.
The young man then asked me if I happened to have two $50 bills instead.
This caught me by surprise because I did not know what to make of it, but I did reply that I didn't have any change on me.
He replied that was okay because he could get change at the cash register.
He explained that there was another young man also bussing tables that night, and it was his intention to split the money with him.
I was both impressed, and touched, by this young man’s generosity.
I told him that although I couldn't make change, I could do better than that.
I pulled out another $100 bill, gave it to him, and asked that he share it with his friend.
He thanked us again before walking away to find his coworker.
As Linda and I sat in silence trying to absorb what had just happened, the second young man (also neatly dressed) walked up to the table and put his fist out to "fist bump" me.
He then looked at us and said, "Sir, thank you . . . and thank you ma’am. Thank y’all so much." I replied, "You’re welcome, son."
We then wished each other a Merry Christmas, and he went back to his job.
After he walked away I told Linda that the example of selflessness and politeness that we witnessed in these young men extended my faith in the young people of this great nation.
It made me feel as if the state of the youth in our country is not quite as bad as the politicians and mainstream media would have us believe.
To see a busboy, who probably doesn't often receive any tips at all, selflessly volunteer to split his with a fellow worker, warmed my heart.
I hope it warms yours as well.
One other fact about these two young men that was opposite of the narrative that we so often hear in the media, is that they were of different races.
The first young man was white, and the second young man was Black.
Despite the negative messages that we often hear, these two young men renewed my hope that perhaps we can obtain the dream of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that people "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Although that remains to be seen in the future, I do know that Linda and I were fortunate a few days before Christmas to meet two fine young men who demonstrated grace and character, and for that we felt truly blessed.
Joe from Texas is a family man with children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren who has had tremendous success and lived the American Dream. His beliefs are both straightforward and deeply held. He believes in God, his family, and the United States of America. (www.JoeFromTexas.com)
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