Community on Veteran's Day

Veteran's day began as Armistice Day in 1938.  Dwight D. Eisenhower eventually declared November 11th as Veteran's Day on October 8th (facts courtesy of the Department of Veterans Affairs).  It is a day where we are meant to commemorate the men and women who have served this country by dedicating their lives to the armed forces.  It is not a day to take lightly.  I was thinking about it all day, and I wondered how I was going to be able to observe the day in the appropriate way.

I close the Wild Hare on Mondays, and I knew I would encounter at least a couple of veteran's over the course of my shift.  I knew I would buy a beer or two over the course of the day.  I thought that was how I would do it.  I would treat some of those men and women to a cold one.  Day observed, right?  Well, almost.

After a solid dinner and nice rush of twenty-somethings afterward, I thought the shift was winding down.  To my surprise, a young couple came in twenty minutes before the restaurant closed.  I served them dinner, and was thinking THIS would be the end of the shift.  About 5 minutes before the restaurant closed, this group entered the restaurant looking for something to eat.

(Photo courtesy of Debbie Turrentine)

They were apologetic for arriving just before closing, and they were even willing to walk back out the door.  I knew immediately this was an unacceptable scenario.  I insisted they sit down so I could serve them something hot from the kitchen.  

The family took their seats, and I got them a round of drinks.  When I returned to the table, the senior member of the family, the serviceman, offered me his hand and said, "Thank you for serving us."  I was flabbergasted.  I immediately retorted, "Thank YOU for serving US."  The whole family was so polite and gracious throughout the whole evening.  I was touched.  As I worked around the restaurant, working through my closing duties, I listened to the whole family laughing and carrying on.

I knew the owner, Joan Monen, would want me to buy the man a drink.  I did.  It wasn't enough.  I decided in that moment that I would purchase the man's dinner and the rest of his drinks.  He only had one more drink and a bowl of chili, but I wanted to do this for him.  I went to the computer, split the man's food and drink off the main tab, reached into my tip jar, and paid the tab before anyone could object.

It was a small gesture, the only kind available to me at that juncture, but it was enough.  The man wound up shaking my hand and thanking me for the service and the kindness.  It was like he was stepping on my lines.  These were the things I needed to say to him.  He was so kind the entire evening.  I just wanted to say thank you for everything he did.  He joked with me the rest of the night, and his family, I think, had a great experience at the Wild Hare.   

This is what the owner and management of the Wild Hare call the "Wild Hare Way."  It is the standard of service we hope to provide to our customers when they come in.  Is every day like this?  Every table visit?  Every customer exchange?  No.  It is not.  Do we strive to make it that way?  Yes, we do.  The way we create community within our towns is by being kind, personable, and attentive to others.  This goes beyond the server-customer dynamic.  It is how community is created on any number of scales.  Attention, kindness, and affection are the keys here.  Today is supposed to remind us of that.  I consider myself reminded.