Faith On Every Corner_July 2017_CR

Who Was Serving Whom??
For many years as a single man, I ate most of my
meals in coffee shops and diners. This was a
combination of not being able to cook much more
than coffee, cereal, or toast. The cost to grocery
shop for one was about the same as it was to have
a hot meal in the comfort of an eatery where there
was a complete menu to choose from. Additionally,
I was saved the chore of washing my own dishes.
The best part of my eating habits came in the form
of the waitress, or server as we call them nowadays,
who took my order, brought me the food and kept
my coffee cup filled. The title of the “server” was
certainly earned by all those hard-working women.
Over many meals and cups of coffee, it was impossible
not to overhear one server telling another or
the boss about the car that had just broken down,
how she needed to be able to get to and from work,
and how she would now have trouble dropping off
and picking up her small children from the baby
sitters or day-care. Everyone has problems, but car
problems were the most often heard from single
women in the coffee shops.
I was friends with a very interesting customer at a
nice coffee shop in a California beach town. Jack
also ate most of his breakfasts and dinners in the
same coffee shop as I did. He always sat in the same
booth where he would entertain a series of other
single diners by eating together and swapping
stories. Jack was very popular with the servers as
he was not only friendly but he was also a good
tipper; a man who truly had a heart for people and
enjoyed being around them.
Jack’s profession was upper management with a
family of car dealerships spread out across California,
Nevada, and Arizona. The nature of his work
took him away on business trips on a frequent basis.
Even when out of town, he eschewed room service
or the dining room in a hotel for a meal in a local
coffee shop. Following his professional life with
cars, his favorite hobby was buying and fixing up
used cars. Whenever I visited his home, I always
noticed 2 or 3 cars in various stages of repair and
restoration. He was a good mechanic and he had the
knowledge, tools, and resources to get most cars
back on the road and made dependable. His work
for auto dealers gave him access to good used cars
and very low prices. Often, all a car needed was a
battery, brakes, and a tune-up; all things he could
take care of from his home garage.
This is where the “servant” served the “server.”
Like me, Jack was very aware of the need many
servers had for a good, reliable car to be able to
work and take care of their family. His solution
was to provide a car, free of charge, to be used for
as long as was needed until the woman could either
afford to have her car repaired or make payments
and purchase his car. On many occasions, I saw him
slip an envelope with a set of keys to the manager,
who was also a good friend of ours, and ask him
to make sure that Linda, Helen, or Susie got it. He
would include a copy of the registration, a
letter from him with authorization to operate the
car, proof of insurance, and an agreement outlining
his terms. This was all done without fanfare or fuss.
Jack was very humble and when asked why he did
this, he would reply, “I am very fortunate, I am able
to, and I want to give back.” I knew Jack for over
10 years and during that time I know that he helped
many women in life changing ways. Besides the car
ministry, he also stepped up when a minor house
repair needed to be made or to accompany a woman
to an auto repair shop to ensure that she was treated
honestly and fairly.
Jack passed away quite a few years ago leaving a
legacy of service, caring, and faithfulness. I don’t
remember Jack as being especially spiritual or
religious, although I believe he may have been
raised a Catholic. I am sure that God knows him as
a man with a heart for service.
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