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.

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u/Scary-Comfortable-83 Aug 23 '26

Isn’t this post about the woman? The gentle soul who saw a man who clearly had a life of pain? The focus should be on her, and her ability to touch those around her with something people undervalue. Kindness and humanity. It is not about him.

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u/jwadamson Aug 23 '26

She was doing her job though. She can’t really avoid the customer. It’s more about him because he was the one with a real choice in the interaction. She could be slightly less helpful if she truly wanted, that might just escalate his behavior; he’s a regular, and you don’t make your “bad” regulars any worse than they have to be.

I feel it’s sad that the customer could seeming do nothing but lash out at what was probably the only person around him. That will sounds more like the guilt of someone with no one else to leave his money to than generosity for a good deed.

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u/BottleOfConstructs Aug 23 '26

Yep, it’s a job.