In 2017, hurricane Harvey hit Texas. The Category 4 storm caused immense flooding and killed more than 100 people. For Carlos Sepeda Jr. and his wife Tammy, Harvey took everything. They tried to pick everything valuable off the floor, but as seen in a tragic photo posted to their GoFundMe page, the water level was far too high to save much.
After the storm, the family was sheltering at Tammy's mom's place and stopped in for a meal at Sam’s Restaurant in Fairfield, Texas. They were just coming to grips with the life-changing event when they met a kind stranger: their waitress, Mary Gough.
Carlos and Tammy told Mary what happened and the server was distraught. She went in the back and prayed on what to do. Finally, she made her decision.
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As the family left the restaurant Tammy slipped them a note. “This isn’t much compared to your loss. Buy you something special. God bless — my prayers are w/u,” the note said, according to Opposing Views. Enclosed was a $100 bill.
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When they opened the note, Carlos and Tammy went back into Sam's and tried to give the money back, but Mary refused. In fact, she not only declined to take the money back, but offered them a table and chairs.
The family declined the generous offer and decided to share what had happened at the restaurant on Facebook, where it was liked more than 100,000 times.
"This is how I know Texas is great! My mother in law took my wife and I to Sam's restaurant in Fairfield, Tx after we evacuated," Carlos wrote in the post. "Our waitress who we had never met before waited on us and heard about our situation. She handed my wife this paper, we did not look at it till we got to the parking lot. We opened the note to see a 100 dollar bill."
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"She then offered us a table and chairs if we needed them. My friends and family if you are in Fairfield make sure to stop by Sam's restaurant and see Mary, tip her well and show Texas gratitude! This is what Texas pride is made of!" Carlos continued.
We walked back in to tell her we could not take her money. Her reply was she had gone to the back and prayed on it and she refused to take the money back.
Carlos Sepeda Jr.
It can seem like the world is filled with devastation and sadness. But there is a salve: kindness. This waitress went above and beyond with her kindness and generosity, and her actions are a reminder for all of us how important it is to give.
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