Waitress Served Man in MAGA Hat, Saw Note on Check, And Burst into Tears

Rosalind Harris is a waitress who works two jobs just trying to make ends meet so that she can pay her College tuition fees. During one of the busiest weekends of the year, she was working her shift at the Washington restaurant Busboys and Poets when a group of Texan men walked in with their conspicuous Red Hats, sticking out like a sore thumb in that particular establishment with its very laid-back artistic vibe. It’s known for being a meeting place for civil rights activists, artists, and poets.

Rosalind’s first thought was they might be looking for trouble. At first, the 25-year-old waitress was instinctively nervous about serving them and hoped they weren’t there to make any trouble for her or for the other customers. This wasn’t the first time that Rosalind had encountered trouble in her restaurant, but these men were on another level of intimidating and spooky.

After a while, she realized that her initial thoughts may not have been fair as she could not hide all her fears, but she still wasn’t expecting what she found on the table. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The 25-year-old is a professional dancer, and her work as a waitress is a means to an end, a way to put herself through college. She works hard, and the last thing she wanted was for any customer drama to occur.

The weekend that this unexpected incident took place is significant to the story. It was the weekend of two majorly important marches in Washington: the inauguration of the 45th president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, and the Women’s March. Funnily enough, both parties in our story were at a march that weekend, but while those in the red hats were at the inauguration, Rosalind was at the Women’s March. She was also not the biggest Trump fan. So when these men walked in wearing those infamous red MAGA hats, she instantly took against them. They were mortal enemies, after all, and they were on her turf.

It was a fateful lunchtime for both parties that day as they would both learn a lot. When Jason and his friends walked into Busboys and Poets, the place went silent, looking at the group in disbelief, including Rosalind. Rosalind immediately made two quick assumptions about the small group: firstly, that they had come from out of town, and secondly, that they were in Washington to celebrate the inauguration of the new president, namely that a group of Trump supporters had no idea what Rosalind’s left-wing cafe was given that they had casually strolled in. These gentlemen were clearly out of their depths.

The problem with modern politics is that people will assume a whole shopping list’s worth of qualities in you once they discover what your political affiliation is. When people see Trump supporters, they often assume that they are bigoted, aggressive, or worse, members of a far-right group. Not everyone wearing a MAGA hat is an extremist.

Jason White and his friends had indeed come all the way from Texas to celebrate the election results in the capital city, as they were thrilled by the turnout. He believed that it was only right that an American should support their president. The 37-year-old is a big family man with a close-knit network of friends and a dentist back in his hometown in Texas. He is a completely normal individual with a normal life.

To be honest, the red caps caught everyone’s eye first as they just seemed so out of place in such an establishment. Rosalind didn’t say anything to them about the caps, but Jason quietly suggested to the others that they take them off while they were having lunch in the restaurant.

As you can imagine, Jason said that when they went inside to sit down, they started getting… “I told my friend, ‘You need to take your hat off. I don’t want people to think we’re coming in here to flaunt. We’re just coming here to have lunch.'”

Jason wondered about the restaurant/bookstore’s history and asked Rosalind about it. She was only too happy to answer their questions, being sure they had never experienced a place quite like it. Rosalind told the three men that Busboys and Poets was named after poet Langston Hughes, a key figure in African-American literature. He was the pioneer of the Jazz poetry form. He was a cultural, social, and political icon who today holds a legendary status.

After taking their orders, Rosalind let the group enjoy their lunch, thinking that that would probably be the end of the encounter. But was it an hour or so later, Jason and his friends finished their lunch and left the restaurant after saying thank you and goodbye from afar. Rosalind would have liked to have seen the guys off properly.

When Rosalind arrived at the table to clean up and pick up the check, she noticed it was covered in words. At first, she thought it was just a careless scribble until she looked a little closer, and it became clear. Rosalind picked up the note and started to read. After the first few words, she realized this was a personal message specifically for her.

“We may come from different cultures and may disagree on certain issues. If everyone would share a smile and kindness like your beautiful smile, our country will come together as one people,” Jason wrote. “Not race, not gender, just American. God bless.”

Rosalind was truly touched by Jason’s note. The idea of how far a smile can go really invigorated her positivity. Not only that, but the total cost of the check for the three’s lunch came in at $72.60. So Rosalind was utterly astounded when she saw they had left a tip of a whopping $450. Jason hadn’t even told his friends what he was doing. This was not some grand scheme that he and his pals had come up with. Rather, it was a spontaneous gesture that Jason had thought up after meeting the warm waitress.

Both the lovely, heartfelt words and the hefty tip were such wonderful gestures that Rosalind felt extremely touched and emotional. Not only were the words extremely moving for Rosalind, but there was also no denying that the generous tip came at a perfect time for her. She had just taken on extra shifts because she had to move apartments and didn’t know if she’d have enough cash to pay any upfront costs.

Rosalind said that she may have been guilty of prejudice too, and the men had left her with more than a generous tip. It reminded her that many Americans want unity, regardless of their politics. Even though neither Rosalind nor Jason posted any information about the exchange on social media, it soon went viral after a co-worker of Rosalind’s put a photo of the receipt on Twitter. Soon enough, the story captured the attention of millions, putting both Jason and Rosalind in the public’s consciousness.

While doing an interview, Rosalind surprised Jason with a call on FaceTime. It was the first time the two had interacted since their fateful encounter at Busboys and Poets. The two finally got to catch up after everything they had been through since then.

Rosalind reached out to Jason a few weeks later, and they reconnected. They talked about their political differences and how they could still have a friendship despite their disagreements. Over various dinners, Rosalind and Jason engaged in political debates that got heated at times. They both realized how passionate they were about their beliefs but also respected each other’s opinions.

After several friendly conversations, Jason asked Rosalind out on a date. She hesitated at first, unsure if their political differences would be too much to handle, but she decided to give it a chance. Rosalind’s friends and family were initially skeptical of her dating a Republican Trump supporter, but Jason’s kindness and respect for her beliefs helped them see him in a different light.

Rosalind and Jason hit their first major obstacle when a controversial political issue caused a heated argument. They both realized they needed to find a way to respect each other’s beliefs without letting it damage their relationship. After their argument, Rosalind and Jason decided to take a break from each other to think about whether they could overcome their political differences.

After a few weeks, Rosalind and Jason met up to talk things through. They considered whether they should give their relationship another chance. Rosalind and Jason had a heart-to-heart conversation and both admitted that they still had feelings for each other. They realized that they had a special connection that couldn’t be found with someone who shared the same political beliefs.

As they got back together, Rosalind and Jason made a commitment to learn and grow from each other. Through their struggles and perseverance, Rosalind and Jason’s bond grew even stronger. They realized that their love for each other was more important than any political beliefs and they made sure to prioritize their relationship above all else.