The Case of the Nice Lunch Lady

Today I got to musing about a lunch lady I had while in college 20 years ago. She was a really nice woman who decided to take an interest in me right after my mother’s death.

Here is the story….
After mom’s death I had to fend for myself and got an apartment, which came with the usual assortment of bills. I was definitely a part of what people call the “working poor.” The people who do their best every day and work hard in an effort to make ends meet. It seemed I was always one catastrophe away from default, living by the paycheck. In addition to this I was attending college at night taking a few classes.

At the time, I had my friends saving me all of their proof of purchases so I could send away for rebates. I always shopped at the place with double coupons. What ever rebate checks I got that week was my food budget for the week. Usually around 10 dollars a week plus a couple of free items. On Saturday’s I would bum a ride downtown to the farmers market and haggle with the vendors. I liked to arrive right before they closed so I could snag a good price for whatever they didn’t want to go home with. One time I even got a pineapple for 30 cents. What a treat!

Of course, not eating much did help control my size. As my weight diminished, it did not go unnoticed by the lunch lady behind the school cafeteria serving line. She always eyed me and would try to find a way to strike up a conversation. Eventually, she found out about mom and the struggles financially. She always had a smile on her face when she saw me. She started bringing me food items, saying things like, “hey I made some muffins last night, and I brought you one to try.” Other times it could be an extra half of sandwich, or a cookie. I was not oblivious to her genuine feelings of concern for me. Her acts of kindness were heartfelt and I appreciated them very much.

Her most obvious gesture was the morning pancakes. The school offered two pancakes for 50 cents. I would always try to get them to sell me only one. As a general rule they didn’t want to do that but this lady convinced them to let me be the exception. She was the cook, so when I ordered my one pancake she was the chef pouring the mix. You can probably guess that mine was always twice the size of a normal pancake. Huge actually, taking up the entire plate. Some of the kids would look enviously at my lone pancake wishing it was their breakfast instead of mine. She also arranged for me to have a “coffee sponsor” which was someone who would buy me a coffee in the morning. What a gal!!

I chuckled to myself today when I thought of this special lunch lady, and have this message for her…
“To the exceedingly kind lunch lady who decided to make a difference in a young adult’s life..... You forever touched my heart with your acts of kindness, and you unknowingly became a blueprint for my desire to help others as you once helped me. Thank- you and Godspeed!”