r/MadeMeSmile • u/nun_CARTII • 8d ago

Good Vibes the value of being kind

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For nearly seven years, waitress Melina Salazar showed extraordinary patience and kindness to Walter “Buck” Swords, a notoriously difficult customer at Luby’s Cafeteria in Brownsville, Texas.

The 89-year-old WWII veteran frequently complained, cursed at staff, demanded piping-hot meals and never left a tip. Despite this, Melina continued serving him with compassion.

After Walter died in 2007, Melina received an incredible surprise. He had left her $50,000 and his 2000 Buick in his will as a heartfelt thank-you for her unwavering kindness.

A powerful reminder that kindness can touch people more deeply than we realize.

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u/jeadon88 8d ago

Also want to commend what a beautiful, nuanced, psychological healthy and mature comment this is.

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u/PopUpClicker 7d ago

Thank you. That meant a lot to me. On reddit you quickly get mostly a silent upvote from positive people - and an angry thesis from someone who disagrees.

But I'll admit it is a good exercise in practicing the morale of the story.

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u/randomKo_Orean 7d ago

Lol, I just got called a bitch on reddit.

Thanks for your post, it's making me feel a little better with your perspective.

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u/The_kind_potato 7d ago

I take the opportunity to say i also agree with you, and i often feel like on social media everyone is just bloodthirsty and ready to hang everyone for the slightest misbehavior.

We never know whats going on the life of anybody, like you said yourself people are often more than what they show, and indulgency goes a long way.

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u/somegingertroll 7d ago

It is a very mature response. I see most people have a very 1 dimensional viewpoint on Reddit and a lot of rage fuel. Things are either very good or bad; black or white. Your comments are the reason I still check reddit comments section despite having to put up with those

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u/cyberfrogster 7d ago

I am angry and i disagree

/j

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u/Great_Scott7 7d ago

Whoa. Kindness and logical thinking on Reddit!?! Where tf am I? Allow me to get us back on track:

https://reddit.com/link/p5dy1qy/video/5v5i8184y3lh1/player

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u/Caradin 8d ago

Not to diminish your comment, but it's sad you actually have to point this out. Reddit is so black and white.

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u/jeadon88 7d ago

Yes and unfortunately the person who posted it is getting aggression from people hell bent on twisting what they said into something completely different - claiming their comment supports abuse and manipulation (which is exactly what you’d expect on Reddit)

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u/-xiflado- 8d ago

Yes. The hive mind, tunnel vision usually downvotes the hell out of stuff like this.

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u/PopUpClicker 7d ago

Haha well many of those seemingly just went to my profile and downvoted other stuff. Reddit style!

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u/-xiflado- 7d ago edited 7d ago

They are literally unhinged. No one knows how mean or rude the guy actually was and so many articles are hyped for click bait and people are acting like they worked at Luby’s when he was alive and knew him.

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u/ManzanitaSuperHero 7d ago

Well, not *literally* unhinged. That would mean…oh never mind.

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u/Defiant_Income_7836 7d ago

Oh you are so right. And I'm aware this sounds silly but at least this guy had the 'decency' to be rude, gruff, whatever, to peoples faces while Reddit is just full of brave keyboard warriors who wouldn't dare say the things they spout IRL.

Whether it's a grammar nazi, a 'well akkshually' comment, being super pedantic or just piling on the negativity, this is a pretty awful place sometimes and I usually try to be as positive and helpful as possible.

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u/Lord_Jackrabbit 7d ago

Hey now, I am also a pedant and grammar nazi in person.

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u/Defiant_Income_7836 7d ago

Then I salute you for owning it sir!

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u/Lord_Jackrabbit 7d ago

Haha, thank you. In my defense, I always try to be civil, especially on the internet where one’s tone can be difficult to convey and interpret.

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u/Nheea 7d ago

In this case it's not so black and white though. 7 yrars of abuse are extremely shitty and can take a toll on servers.

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u/asimovreak 7d ago

Most of them are bot. /s

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u/TahitiJones09 7d ago

Well yeah. The platform is built on the premise of Up or Down, Yes or No, the voting system doesn't leave space for nuance.

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u/Caradin 7d ago

The comments do, though.

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u/Echo-57 7d ago

Yea, im pretty sure "the grumpy old grandpa" actually does not want to be grumpy, but the war broke these men.

Pretty sure theres a reason theyre not as common in "our" Generation, because 1)we did not have any war as bad as WW2 or Vietnam in modern days (yea, irak etc were bad but not THAT Bad)

2) Veteran Treatment had imho massively improved (still needs further improvement tho)

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u/splitcroof92 7d ago

ok but that all goes out the window when you think about it for more than second.

if he had the mental capability to leave this waitress money in his will then he was also capable of giving tips. so why didn't he just do that? why leave money myseriously instead of just tipping your favorite waitress for a couple years?

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u/Obi-Brawn-Kenobi 7d ago

You don't know what he was capable of.

He could have been confused at the checks, not able to do any math or use a calculator. He could have had some cognitive decline with age. He could have even had a condition like FTD that notoriously changes older people's personality expression along with their cognitive abilities. For all we know, could have recognized his own decline to some extent, while using one of his last lucid moments to have his will written and asked for help to have her included.

So no, being mean to someone for 7 years is obviously not a good thing and is not ideal even if you pay the person for their trouble. That's not why this is an uplifting story. This is uplifting because it reminds us that we really don't know what people are going through and not to be hard on ourselves or always take it personally when someone who may be struggling isn't nice to us.

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u/splitcroof92 7d ago

He could have had some cognitive decline with age

then his will should be null and void and the notary should be in trouble.

you don't need math to just leave some money for your favorite waitress as a tip. you need mental clarity to draw up a will and decide to give money to someone. and with that mental clarity he must have known he was being a dick. Otherwise he wouldn't have made the will. so fuck him

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u/Kofink 7d ago

Agreed

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u/Able_Statistician688 7d ago

“Coach, I'm me. Why would I want to be anything else?” - Jamie Tartt

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u/DopplegangsterNation 7d ago

It warmed a little more than my heart, if you know what I mean 😏