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Feeling someone's struggle

Feeling someone's struggle

MR MALUGA

Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 153

MR MALUGA
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 153

Feeling someone's struggle
7/28/2016 at 4:08 PM

Yesterday took my family to go out for pizza at our favourite place, Marinos, and when we where coming in, there was a father at the till and his two kids sitting down and the father was trying to pay his bill and did not have the money to pay for it, the lady at the till was not happy and the father said he is sorry he will pay for it when he can, he did look like he did not have much money or any. So he kept saying sorry and the waitress was not happy while his kids got up to leave he kept saying sorry and his kids look sad, while walking out I looked at the waitress and again she was not happy. I called the guy back in and asked him what is wrong. He said he did not no what to do and he just wanted to take his kids to eat because he has no food. While he said that I asked him to come in side he looked scared so I walked up to the waitress and asked how much he owed, she told me and I said I will Pay for it. She said I do not have too I said I know but the look on his children's faces and his made my heart want too. I told her that's ok so I paid it and tipped her and said sorry for this situation the father thanked me numerous times I said it's ok, just enjoy your day and love your children. I went and sat down with my family and felt my soul tearing up inside me. I was once a single father with my children and could not afford to even by Kraft dinner never mind go out to eat. So I needed to do this. I have know idea where my personal live is right now, I love my children and wife, so I want to enjoy every second I am with them together because you never no when you will be in that fathers situation. I am not a man with a lot of money, or a man that feels loved, but I can still try and enlighten or make other people feel that they are not alone, that there still is people with hearts, souls and compassion.
I still am alive and human.
s-t-r-e-t-c-h
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 122

s-t-r-e-t-c-h
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 122

God
7/28/2016 at 4:30 PM

Bless you, sir, and he will probably pay it forward when he can. Love this story!
mum13579
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 207

mum13579
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 207

..
7/28/2016 at 4:30 PM

This is such a great story. So glad you could make someone else happy!!!
daisychain
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2898

daisychain
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2898

you are very kind...
7/28/2016 at 4:37 PM

and thank you for reaching out to help someone in need, but, am I missing something in this story?

A) why would you take your kids to the most expensive pizza place in town?
B) Take them out knowing you don''t have any money?

I can see the staff being upset with the situation, its not so different than a dine and dash.

Edited by fuzzy slippers, 2016-07-28 16:38:35
Randy Shand

Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 203

Randy Shand
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 203

Thanks for the story Glen
7/28/2016 at 4:47 PM

I've been there too. There are so many emotions that tug at you. Your role as a father is to provide for your children and I, at times, felt like a total failure. It can be downright terrifying looking in the cupboard and knowing payday is a long way away. Not to mention the feeling of helplessness looking at your kids who are struggling to understand the situation. My situation improved and it made me a much more compassionate person. Many become bitter, I refused to. I remember those days and have a genuine appreciation for all I have now. I am a firm believer that we must experience hardship in order to appreciate what we have and take for granted. Good on you sir, we have met briefly and your story is very much what I would expect from you. Cheers.
Garret
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 623

Garret
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 623

fuzzy
7/28/2016 at 5:08 PM

Fuzzy was right, You did nothing wrong and are a great example of a human.

Deadbeat dad should have scraped up five bucks and got a little Caesars pizza not a fancy marino's pizza. Who gets a meal and knows they can't pay for it? Someone that had no intentions of paying for it in the first place. Probably got busted on his way to try and sneak out
Pray it Forward
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 1034

Pray it Forward
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 1034

Kudos Glen
7/28/2016 at 5:51 PM

I have been on both sides of that fence. Faith in humanity restored daily.
Keep paying it forward, not back.
God bless you and thanks for sharing, G. M.
Tamara79
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2102

Tamara79
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2102

Sorry
7/28/2016 at 6:47 PM

But i dont see this as a struggle, I see this as attempted theft. The father should be extremely grateful that you saved him from the police being called. I have no sympathy for someone who would expose his children to this behavior. As other's have posted, why would he choose such an expensive establishment to do this, also knowing he can not afford it. There is also a much cheaper establishment literally next door...but of course you must pay before you eat in such a place. There are food banks, soup kitchens, selling something, Social Assistance gives food vouchers....many many other options besides basically trying to dine and dash with your children. I have been in this man's position and it never occurred to me to pull something like this. Now I can see it being a mistake if he mistakenly thought he had money in his account but didnt, or was a little short but short of that I smh at this dad.

To the OP you still did a wonderful thing in paying for someone else's meal though.

traveller
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 9145

Joined: Jun 2007

Posts: 9145

7/28/2016 at 6:49 PM

fuzzy slippers said "and thank you for reaching out to help someone in need, but, am I missing something in this story?

A) why would you take your kids to the most expensive pizza place in town?
B) Take them out knowing you don''t have any money?

I can see the staff being upset with the situation, its not so different than a dine and dash.

Edited by fuzzy slippers, 2016-07-28 16:38:35"

this is exactly what i thought

atlho the Op is very kind it was so wrong of the dad to take his kids into the restaurant, order and have no way to pay for the meal, what does that teach the kids?

not sure if the restaurant would have taken him up on it but he would have been better to ask them if he could do the dishes or something in exchange for a meal or cash to buy groceries

hobbes
Joined: This month
Posts: 1622

hobbes
Joined: This month
Posts: 1622

...
7/28/2016 at 8:15 PM

Good on you MR MALUGA.
I'm sad that this man is struggling for whatever reason to the point that he is willing to commit a crime to feed his family. Hope his situation improves for the sake of his kids!
Jellybean
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 1378

Jellybean
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 1378

......
7/28/2016 at 9:57 PM

Wow....I'm shocked at how many people assume this man was commiting a crime. No e of us know his story, and none of us have any right to judge. Maybe he thought he had enough money to treat his kids. Who knows. I agree that a parent should teach their children financial responsibility, and know what is in their account, and not go to places they can't afford, etc., but to immediately assume this was purposeful is shameful.
I am not well off, nor poor by any means. I am very responsible with money, but one time I went for a haircut thinking I knew what would be in my bank account from my last deposit, and when I went to pay, my card kept getting declined. I quickly signed in to my online account right there and found out something had went wrong, and I did not have money to pay for my haircut. It was humiliating. Luckily, the hairdresser just told me to pay for it the next time I came in. I of course did not wait that long, and went back the next day after sorting out things with the bank, but I would hope that no one would ever think that low of me immediately and assume I was trying to commit a crime.
Shame on all if you who judged. This man will get what he deserves if he was commiting a crime, but we can't decide that. Good for you OP for showing this man compassion, maybe even if he was doing something wrong, your kindness will influence him to be better.
PowerOfaMom
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 416

PowerOfaMom
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 416

.
7/28/2016 at 10:06 PM

I think we've all been there when we think we have more money then we actually do, I know it's happened to me before. That sudden sinking and panic feeling, not good. Good job OP for helping someone out, God will reward you!
Mr.Nonsense
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 23

Mr.Nonsense
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 23

Op got punk'd
7/29/2016 at 5:08 AM

Going out to eat pizza on someone else''s dime is not a ''struggle''. What would''ve happened if nobody offered to pay his tab? Should the restaurant have let him eat for free, just because he wanted a luxury he couldn''t afford? Should the owners have to lose money because this guy has poor money management skills? Should the workers have had taken out of their hard earned tips? How large was the tab? 20+? 30+? 40? A good in store made oven baked pizza from Safeway costs under ten bucks

I''ve worked in restaurants before, this scam happens all the time, especially with the more cowardly dine and dashers. You have no right to look down on the staff who have seen this all before. They''re working hard to provide for their own while this guy decides to be a parasite and force his selfishness on them and you. Can guarantee you in the near future someone else at pizza express or Remington''s will be hearing this exact same sob story from the same man. But hey, if it makes you feel good chuck away your family's money. If you wanna feel real special you should go downtown sometime and buy all those half passed out people the bus tickets they say they need to go to their new jobs off in Winnipeg and Regina.

Edited by Mr.Nonsense, 2016-07-29 05:10:29
MR MALUGA

Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 153

MR MALUGA
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 153

Maluga family
7/29/2016 at 9:17 AM

I felt bad for the kids, also i did to for the father. I now he should not have order it if he did not have the money but seeing his children look sad was really what made me do it. I never got punked I just did what I thought was right. I work for my money and I know my children would of done the same thing, how do I know that, because I taught them to be compassionate, loving and forgiving.
Stay Positive
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 413

Stay Positive
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 413

My thoughts too
7/29/2016 at 9:22 AM

s-t-r-e-t-c-h said "Bless you, sir, and he will probably pay it forward when he can. Love this story! "

Kindness pays back two fold. Everyone who is being negative on this post and speculating bad things . . . shame on you. You don't know the whole story, so don't assume negative things because that will just bring negativity to those who think it.
Bless you sir, I am sure this father was truly thankful for your help and like s-t-r-e-t-c-h said - he will probably pay it forward when he can. To those that don't understand - this may not be always in a dollar amount!! ALWAYS stay humble and kind!!
pilot
Joined: This month
Posts: 40

pilot
Joined: This month
Posts: 40

Mr. Nonsense
7/29/2016 at 9:42 AM

Couldn't agree more! You hit the nail right on the head!
BM123
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 141

BM123
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 141

Tear**
7/29/2016 at 11:19 AM

I honestly had a tear drop reading this! You are a great soul! It is unfortunate that some people are consumed about there money and have no problem putting a good person down for helping out someone.
my cheers goes to you today!
cheers buddy!
Slimory
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 6

Slimory
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 6

Peoples Ignorance...
7/30/2016 at 1:47 AM

It's sad to see society can't accept when someone knows they did a good thing, people don't know this guys struggle so they automatically assume the worst, why does this man's intentions need to be questioned? he needed to feed his kids, people are supposed to help each other, guess we can rule out which members of this group need to a straight of karma.
Don't be so ignorant, it could be you one day Fuzzy & Maluga.
You did a good thing buddy!

daisychain
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2898

daisychain

Joined: Aug 2007

Posts: 2898

Sorry, but no

7/30/2016 at 10:58 AM

Slimory said "It's sad to see society can't accept when someone knows they did a good thing, people don't know this guys struggle so they automatically assume the worst, why does this man's intentions need to be questioned? he needed to feed his kids, people are supposed to help each other, guess we can rule out which members of this group need to a straight of karma.
Don't be so ignorant, it could be you one day Fuzzy & Maluga.
You did a good thing buddy! "

This would not happen to me, as I am aware of my finances and would never take my kids out without knowing I had the funds to pay for it. He needs to feed his kids? of course he does, so why not walk down the block to Superstore and buy some groceries? he could have bought a lot of food for the money he "supposedly" was going to spend at Marino's.

hobbes
Joined: This month
Posts: 1622

hobbes
Joined: This month
Posts: 1622

...
7/30/2016 at 4:25 PM

For everyone tsk'tsking people jumping on the "accusing him of theft" wagon re-read what the one person who was there wrote (twice) The guy knew he didn't have money but still went to eat anyways. That would be theft.

But like I said before: I hope his situation improves.

Edited by hobbes, 2016-07-30 16:27:48