Pregnant Teen Waitress Gets $1,000 Tip

[matcom]

<snip>

ROANOKE, Va. --The couple at one of waitress Amanda Newkirk's many tables seemed ordinary enough. The woman ordered a turkey burger, fries and two Coors Lights. The man had a bacon cheeseburger and sweet tea.

Their bill came to $26.35. They left Newkirk $1,000.

Newkirk, seven months pregnant and teary with excitement, read the handwritten note on the check: "Keep the change! Have a great day."

The 19-year-old thought it had to be a joke. But the manager at Ruby Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of the ten $100 bills with a counterfeit-detection pen.

Newkirk couldn't figure out why the couple had given her such a generous tip. She didn't think her service had been very good.

A couple days after the March 7 incident, Newkirk got her answer.

A 28-year-old widow who said she'd been going through a tough time called Newkirk's general manager and said she'd left the tip while at lunch with her fiance.

"It involved a lot more than good service at a great restaurant," said Erin Dogan of Roanoke County. "I didn't need it. It helped someone who ... needed it. God put us there together. God answered my questions."

Dogan, whose husband died last year, said she's a shopaholic and could have easily spent the money at a nearby mall. But she decided to put it to better use.

"It made me feel phenomenal," Dogan said. "It has changed my life."

Newkirk plans to use some of the money to help pay for medical bills related to her pregnancy. But aside from a few national radio and television appearances, life continues as normal for the teen.

"I'm not going to retire with a thousand dollars," she said with a laugh.

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/03/18/pregnant_teen_waitress_gets_1000_tip?mode=PF

[Deja Q]

1. Only one question remains:

Whose tip got the teen pregnant?

:yoiks:


In all seriousness, however, it's a sweet thing to do - the donating, that is. (and I could infer that Dogan was probably sought out, rather than looking for attention... very noble when donating; I've learned.)