Misty Adams is a feisty bundle of personality. She’s been working at Rise & Shine serving breakfasts for ten years. I suppose she serves lunch, too, but I’ve never been there for any meal except breakfast.

I caught her on a slow day when she had her seven year-old son with her, and she sat down for a minute for me to get this picture. She also has a ten year-old daughter. Misty probably has her down times, but I’ve never seen her when she wasn’t happy and smiling.

On Saturday mornings, the restaurant is almost a madhouse. There are almost no empty tables or booths, and the customers keep the waitresses hopping, but every time I comment to Misty that she must be getting tired, she flashes me a bright smile and says no, that it’s not bad.

Like far too many young women these days, Misty is raising her children as a single mother. Her tips at the restaurant, along with the paltry minimum wage waitresses earn, are the sole means of support for her and her two children, but she doesn’t whine about how tough life is. Her motto is, “No matter what life throws at you, just keep pushing forward.” She said she has to be careful with her money, so she sets up a budget based on minimal expectations and then sticks to it.

When I asked her what she liked best about her work, she didn’t have to hesitate. The people. She’s very much a people person, and she truly enjoys the various ones her job brings her into contact with.

She had to think longer about what she likes least. She finally said some people don’t appreciate her or her work, but I could tell it wasn’t something that really bothers her. With her attitude, I can’t imagine many people not appreciating her. I asked her if many people stiff her on tips, and she admitted it does happen but not very often.

They have a number of Hispanic customers who like to speak Spanish, as well as one Latino waitress, and I’ve heard Misty carry on fluent conversations with them. Once, I asked her if she grew up in a bilingual background, and she said no, that she just decided she wanted to be able to converse with Hispanics in their own language, so she taught herself to speak it. No courses or anything. Just self-taught. That impressed me. It had to require a high level of intelligence.

Misty’s hobbies include cooking and “art stuff.” I suspect they also include anything her kids are interested in.

How many waitresses, cashiers and others who serve you do you know anything about? What do you do to let them know you care about them as individual human beings? Readers want to know.

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WANA: We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.