Sometimes… sometimes you just might hear back
On a business trip in my early days
as a budding entrepreneur, I stopped
at a Shari’s restaurant in Tacoma, WA.
(Shari’s is my favorite 24hr place to hang when
I want to think, write, and think some more) .
I don’t recall much about the visit itself,
but I do remember there was something
I found special about the server.
Now, I used to do something that I don’t do much any more,
and that is leave notes. This particular night I left a note
expressing not only my appreciation of the service,
but a few things I saw & appreciated about her.
I also ended it with my usual little poem I wrote in high school;
“Go after what you want in Life
don’t let it pass you by
Never give up and be caught in strife
you can do anything if you try.”
I left my note (written on a napkin),
dropped my tip, and drove home.
Fast forward. It’s nearly a year later and I’m meeting up
with an old friend I hadn’t seen in a couple of years
who had moved to Kelso, WA. (I was living in Bremerton)
and we decided to meet at a Shari’s off the highway
in Tacoma because it was easy for us to find.
How she recognized me I’ll never know
- but the same waitress I had left the note for
came over to the table. She told me she remembered me,
and said that she wanted to thank me for the note -
sharing that she still had it tacked to the mirror in her room.
The look in her eyes held more appreciation
than her words ever could.
I’ve had many a rolled eye my way for leaving notes…
Come to think of it, people roll their eyes at a lot of things I do 
But in that moment… it was worth it – and nothing else mattered.
You and I probably do a lot of things for other people
- and more often than not we don’t let them know it.
It’s just how we are.
We walk quietly into the sunset with a smile,
wondering if they’ll ever figure it out
- and not caring that they ever do…
You walk this Life with a Midas touch;
leaving others you encounter a little richer.
And sometimes, just sometimes
you hear back…
~ dedicated to those who
have reached out to me
when I was unreachable;
touched me
when I was untouchable
and lifted me
when I had no desire to rise…
