The Tip

The cowboy had a point to make
to his pint sized buckaroo
about respecting others
and the hard work that they do.

“When your Uncle Bud was 10,” he said,
“he stopped to get a treat
at the soda fountain counter
in the drug store down the street.
Sandy was the waitress then.
She told the tale to ma
and said it was the sweetest gesture
that she ever saw.
Bud asked her what a sundae cost,
she told him 50 cents.
She saw him count his pocket change
and then his face got tense.
How much for some plain ice cream?
That’s 35, she said.
Bud smiled and asked for chocolate
then for peppermint instead.

He was always partial to peppermint,”
this father told his son
then went on with the lesson
about what Bud had done.

“Bud paid and left then Sandy went
to clear away his bowl.
She told his ma what she saw there
just touched her very soul.
And as she talked the tears began
to roll down Sandy’s face
remembering two nickels
and five pennies by his place.
He could have had a sundae,
but he settled for a dip
He could have thought just of himself
but instead, he left a tip.”

The lesson from that cowboy is
thank folks for what they do
and treat them with the same respect
you feel is due to you.
Doing unto others
should be each cowboy’s creed.
And if it were, we’d all be
better off, indeed.

Jeff Hildebrandt © 11/18/11