I took, and now, I give

Do you believe in karma?

A few short years ago, in a far away place called Melbourne, there was a little boy, struggling to pick up the fine intricacies that waitering in a posh restaurant demanded without condition.

He didn't need the money. That was secondary. He did it to gain some real world working experience, wanting to experience the self sustaining overseas lifestyle without using any of the $ that was sent from home. Wanting to improve his emotional toughness, he ventured out to work, subjecting himself to the whims, fancies, emotional tirades, unreasonable rants, overboard, out of line, harassing nature of his boss. It was a good experience, as he learnt how to handle all sorts of people by waiting on tables, how to read people and react to them, how to control conversations, how to deal with his boss, how to stand his ground and make his boss respect him, and eventually worked his way up from the guy who JUST delivered drinks to the guy who made the drinks and eventually the guy who supervised some of the shifts.

He had to learn 100 items on the menu (in a foreign language) by heart including the fine details so he could make recommendations, memorize and understand the wine list including some basic aspects of each wine's characteristics, dealt with rich/posh/snobby customers, worked 12 hour days, put up with a f***head of a boss who was fond of swearing obscenities and vulgarities at all and sundry and his bit*hy fiancee (who happened to be 30 years his junior oh boy oh boy).

In his line, he met his fair share of a$$hole$ and f**ktards. Those who were unreasonable. Those who had no qualms of ruining his night. But there were nights that reaffirmed in the goodness of human beings. When you are having a shit day...those kind words and smiles can mean soo much.

The lady patron who patiently watched as he struggled in his first ever solo attempt at opening a bottle of red, and then, in a kindly manner, standing up and teaching him, helping him, and when the boss came over with a threatening glare (at me, not her), she barked at him to back off, and left him a $20 tip. The Andrea Bocelli lookalike man who, upon learning that as a newbie he was not allowed to take orders, instantly declared and demanded that for the rest of that night, no one else is allowed to wait at his table except him, made him take his orders, and at the end of the night, searched him out in the kitchen and then pressing a $20 note in his hand and whispering conspiratorially "Great job mate" and then proceeding to raise his voice so the Boss could hear "And this is for YOU and YOU only. Don't share it. Thanks for the wonderful job. Gnite, and remember, next time, you CAN take orders!", before walking off and disappearing into the cold night air. There was that lovely couple (and the girl was a ravishingly hot beauty with that sexy accent) from Manchester where the pleasure in serving them was all his and they had a great conversation, talking about everything from Man U to Daphne from Frasier, and when they left, lo and behold, a $50 dollar tip. How about that visiting professor from Georgetown who chatted with him about the Hoyas, and left a $20 tip?

They taught me how to be a good patron. And how to bring joy into the oft forgotten waiter's life.

This boy is all grown up now. Being a working young man himself, and no longer needing to wait on tables to grow up, he is doing well enough. Recently he went to a posh restaurant.

The waiter was a young boy, foreign, couldn't speak English well, and made some mistakes, e.g. wine pronunciation, not pouring the red with a twist, letting the bottle neck rest with an audible clink on the glass, etc. He looked nervous. Inexplicably, I liked him instantly. And, feeling more suave, mature, and more experienced as a waiter that he seemed to be, I immediately tried to soothe his nerves and make him feel better by asking him about his home, his family, and teaching him the proper way to pour and hold the bottle when displaying the label etc. All this while I kept smiling at him and giving him encouragement. And when the manager walked over, I brushed him away, and continued to lavish encouragement on the waiter, whose entire demeanour, self confidence, posture and technique was improving. As the night drew on, I managed to make him smile and open up some on his background.

And when we left, I pressed RM10 into his hands, whispered conspiratorially to him, "Great job tonight bro...you can be even better.. believe in yourself, even if you think you can't do it...I know.. I've done it before." Then I said louder, "And that, is not meant to be shared.". Then I gave him a wink, and walked out into the cold night air.