Crabby Wanda - Guest Post by Nancy Kehr

Crabby Wanda - by Nancy

Saturday morning came early, but we were up for it. Perko’s had their early morning breakfast special for those who could make it between 5am and 8am. Randy and I scrambled, because we had a date! A couple of things popped up just as we were leaving home, so and we didn’t quite make it on time. Nuts!

We decided to stay anyway, and have a simple breakfast before tackling all our weekend errands. The place was packed! A veteran’s group was in the banquet room for a special meeting and most of the tables all over the restaurant were full……. except for one.

She sat staring out the window, coffee in hand. My view of her was partially blocked by some rowdy good ‘ole boys who talked to each other as if they were deaf!

Randy and I ordered but my gaze kept going back to the well-coiffed senior citizen sitting alone across the room. I contemplated her for a bit, and then, almost before I realized it, I was already up and running, while calling out to Randy that I’d be right back. He knows me by now, and just shook his head, smiling.

She seemed surprised as I approached her table. I introduced myself and asked her if she would allow me to pay for her meal. She appeared a bit startled.

“Wh-wh-why?” she asked, eyes wide open connecting with mine.

Her hair was perfect and she was well put together. Obviously she didn’t need ME to pay for her meal.

I told her that I’d like to be a blessing to her and let her know God loved her. We exchanged names, chatted a little more and then she consented, still wide-eyed. I patted her hand, took the check and proceeded immediately to the cashier.

At my explanation of whose ticket I was covering, the cashier said,

“Who? Crabby Wanda?”

Wanda was her name, so I said yes. A couple of restaurant staff started to chuckle. Someone was paying for Crabby Wanda. They told me she was always crabby, so they gave her that nickname. Apparently she came everyday for the breakfast special – always alone. She had been there longer than usual that morning,

“Well, now maybe she won’t be so crabby anymore,” I said brightly as I finished paying.

They quit snickering, and asked if I was doing this because it was the Christmas season. I let them know that I thought it was important to live “Giving” all year long, and that people had to be on the lookout for opportunities.

The opportunities are always there. Often they are not grand or press-worthy. That $6.33 was a small investment. Hopefully, three people’s lives were touched.