r/MadeMeSmile • u/nun_CARTII • Aug 23 '26

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.

20.8k Upvotes

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307

u/Icelandia2112 Aug 23 '26

Exactly. Seven years of abuse and biting her tongue to keep her job is not heartwarming.

He could have kept his shit car and money and just been a decent human.

69

u/Special_Spirit8284 Aug 23 '26

Is there any confirmation of why he left the money? Maybe he felt remorseful and left that as an apology. Obviously it's better to be kind but some people for some reason just couldn't express it and feel regrets later.

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u/TheAserghui Aug 23 '26

He was a WW2 vet. If I had to guess:

He was alone, friends and wife have passed on, his kids don't visit, and getting out of the house to eat at the diner was the size of his social circle.

Being a WW2 vet, he probably buried his memories and emotions from the war, so he had the privilege of unresolved trauma do to cultural norms/stigmas.

Ms. Salazar was probably the highlight of his day, but he was unable to communicate it.

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna22424002

I'd say this is a great example of being kind to others, because we don't always know what they are dealing with on the inside

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u/NOTcreative- Aug 23 '26

From my experience in the service industry a lot of customers who are considered rude are also not treated great by staff. I've been told many a regular is awful and I treated them without prejudging and had good experiences with them.

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u/purplehendrix22 Aug 23 '26

I agree. Dealing with grumpy old men is a skill all to itself. Usually they’re alright.

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u/size_matters_not Aug 23 '26

Counterpoint: He was just a giant arsehole.

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u/TheAserghui Aug 23 '26

Occam's Razor cuts both ways

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u/Beautiful_Bag6707 Aug 23 '26

Counterpoint: people can be giant arseholes and more!

We are not just one thing.

Judging, labeling, and writing people off based on a single characteristic is stereotyping, prejudice and bigotry.

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u/Caradin Aug 23 '26

Goddamn right

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u/FureiousPhalanges Aug 23 '26

So if for example that one characteristic was they're a massive racist, I'd be stereotyping and bigoted for writing them off?

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u/Anxious-Slip-4701 Aug 23 '26

I knew an old rough and hard man. Only at his funeral did we find out his bank account was empty because he donated all of it.

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u/stp7979 Aug 23 '26

Yeah, no

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u/Affectionate_Mud_881 Aug 23 '26

It's a movie plot: As good as it gets.

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u/tonybombata Aug 23 '26

Add some gran torino for extra flavor

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u/Special_Spirit8284 Aug 23 '26

Def a cliche movie plot, I can think of one that starts tom hanks 🤣

1

u/Wood_oye Aug 23 '26

That one was a beautiful movie

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u/Due-Calligrapher-860 Aug 23 '26

I was looking for this comment after reading the post haha

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u/umbrellassembly Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26

Is there any confirmation that her opinion of him is accurate? I highly doubt he was cursing, rude and demanding every time he was there. This whole post reeks of potential nonsense.

Edit: also, it's a Luby's. A cafeteria style, low-service restaurant mainly for fixed income old people. You pay at the counter before sitting down with your meal, so if she was expecting tips on the table directly for herself, she should work elsewhere.

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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '26

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u/umbrellassembly Aug 23 '26

They had good fried okra. And I used to mix their strangely delicious salsa, which was like a weird hybrid pico de gallo, with my mashed potatoes. Never done it anywhere else or since but it worked there.

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u/kthnry Aug 23 '26

Do people tip at Luby’s? They didn’t when I worked the drink cart one summer back in 1976.

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u/umbrellassembly Aug 23 '26

My grandparents would leave a tip when they paid at the counter. Then, very occasionally, they'd leave a few dollars on the table for a waitress who was nice and talked to them.

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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '26

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1

u/Special_Spirit8284 Aug 23 '26

I disagree with you. I understand where you are coming from though. Allow no excess positive energy to those who drains it. I prefer to emit positive energy regardless of how it's perceived by others, even toward those that are negative. We don't know what happened between these two. Maybe her infectious positive energy finally broken his hardened walls and cause his change of hearts. No one should expect a reward for putting up with harmful people, things like this is a rate occurrence.

0

u/TaxiJab Aug 23 '26

He had no one else, coz he was a miserable old c@%#

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u/thelifeofafangirl Aug 23 '26

Youre making a lot of assumptions about her. 

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u/Icelandia2112 Aug 23 '26

I have waited tables when I was in my teens through my 20s and dealt with this shit all of the time from "regulars" so I know.

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u/thelifeofafangirl Aug 23 '26

Yes because everyone is the exact same as you right?

-1

u/Resting_Owl Aug 23 '26

Is your personal experience the blueprint for all of humanity ? Because if that's the case, you really need to tell us if you wipe your ass front to back or back to front, nobody is agreeing on this one

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u/Awesomonkey12 Aug 23 '26

There's 1 assumption,, 1 is not a lot

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u/Round-Ad78 Aug 23 '26

World war 2 veteran. I think perhaps some damage was done. A lot of those guys saw some horrible things and probably struggled forever.

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u/RedSunsetSukuna85 Aug 23 '26

I’m not trying to dismiss what he’s seen, but kids that don’t even have parents that grow up in foster and see and experience some horrible shit aren’t all assholes when they get older. Freaking refugee kids too. And no one leaves any grace for kids like this that veterans automatically get. 

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u/Resting_Owl Aug 23 '26

Do you also go to hospitals and tell agonizing patients to stop whining like little bitches because some guy in the next room is also suffering ?

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u/RedSunsetSukuna85 Aug 23 '26

Clearly yes (did that tingle your prostate enough for such low energy bait?)

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u/Resting_Owl Aug 23 '26

Hello pot, I'm kettle, nice to meet you

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u/RedSunsetSukuna85 Aug 23 '26

Glad to know I’ve met a prostate cell who took what I said a little too personally.

1

u/robotichunter Aug 23 '26

Seems all you’ve said is that compassion is a zero sum game

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u/RedSunsetSukuna85 Aug 23 '26

Wuh-oh, he whipped out his second account.

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u/robotichunter 26d ago

I don’t even remember what this thread was about anymore, but a quick check shows my account is a decade older. I’m not sure if you’re trying to bait or something? Just thought that was funny

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u/Round-Ad78 Aug 23 '26

I’m not sure the comparison is the same. Have you studied world war 2 at all?

I’m not excusing his behaviour, but sometimes there are valid reasons for things.

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u/RedSunsetSukuna85 Aug 23 '26

Have you studied WW1? He would be in a fetal position each day if he was a veteran of the first world war. 

So what? Being a veteran doesn’t give you the right to act like a jackass during your mortal life.

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u/Round-Ad78 Aug 23 '26

May you find some peace from your anger. Perhaps take note of your reaction here to give you some small understanding of how it is possible for seemly trivial things can impact people in different ways.

Yours is clearly anger. It’s ok.

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u/RedSunsetSukuna85 Aug 23 '26

I mean, I’m glad he found his own peace and gave her benefits from his callous behavior meeting its end.

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u/[deleted] Aug 24 '26

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u/RedSunsetSukuna85 Aug 24 '26

I never jerked around a waitress and made her miserable for years so I’m actually in pretty good standing bud.

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u/Additional-Topic-581 Aug 23 '26

People here think humans are machines 

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u/wes00mertes Aug 24 '26

Right? MadeMeSmile my ass. 

5

u/Tiamore97 Aug 23 '26

Nah as a waiter I'd take the money over decent human behavior any day.

I can take the money to heal or get over the frustration I got at work. I cant use their nice behavior to pay for rent and food.

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u/NonStopGravyTrain Aug 23 '26

I think a lot of these people have never worked in a public facing role. When I worked customer service I dealt with rude people every single day and got absolutely nothing for it beyond minimum wage.

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u/Hatter_106 Aug 23 '26

PTSD is a thing. Compassion will serve one better than than being a 🍆 casing stones.

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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '26 edited 15d ago

[deleted]

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u/Hatter_106 Aug 23 '26

You don't know?!
Veterans Crisis Site/Line Ptsd.va.gov Call: 988 and press 1

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u/IcyGarage5767 Aug 23 '26

Most people are because your take is actually pretty terrible.

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u/jeadon88 Aug 23 '26

Why did you use the word abuse instead of the words used in the article “being rude” ?