One day, an old lady got drenched in heavy rain after a sudden outpour. She decided to seek shelter at a famous cafe, only to be kicked out by the restaurant manager. What happens next stuns the arrogant employee.
Linda Meyers was on her way to dinner when heavy rain suddenly started pouring. She didn’t have an umbrella with her, so her well-kept hair was suddenly damp and all over her face. Her blouse and jacket looked worn out after they got soaked as well.
The closest establishment to her at the time was a famous cafe that rich and famous people would frequent. As she got to the entrance, she was suddenly stopped by the porter.
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“Ma’am, this is an exclusive cafe. You need a reservation to enter,” he started, before looking at her from head to toe. “It seems you can hardly afford to dine in here, too,” he muttered.
Offended by the rude remark, she asked the porter to call the restaurant manager. But instead of letting her in, the manager echoed the porter’s sentiments and asked her to leave.
“Ma’am, I’m currently hosting over a hundred people inside. Let’s not waste our time here. I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” the manager, whose nameplate said “Simon,” told Linda.
“I just need a place to stay until the rain dies down. I’ll even order,” she insisted.
“I can’t let you go in looking like that. You’re going to scare away all of our guests,” Simon shook his head. At that, the woman left, trying to find another place to wait.
The next day, when Simon got to work, the cafe owner was already there. He immediately called Simon over. “Today is a very special day. We have an important guest coming, my friend and his wife. They’re potential buyers of this cafe. That said, everything must be in top shape.”
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Simon oriented the waiters on what to do that day, making sure everything was well-prepared for their VIP guests’ arrival. That evening, the owner called Simon to their table.
“Let me introduce you to our manager. He is an excellent part of our team. He knows his job and is very kind, sensitive, sympathetic, and helpful,” the owner said. At that, the woman turned to him with a smile on her face.
“Very nice indeed. I can see that he is exactly the way you described him to be,” the woman, who turned out to be Linda, said.
The manager couldn’t hide the horrified look on his face after realizing the woman was the person he rudely shut out the night before. After seeing the look on his face, Linda turned back to the cafe owner.
“You have a great restaurant and such endearing staff. My husband and I are happy to buy the cafe,” she said.
The next day, Linda and her husband went straight to work. They wanted to observe how the cafe operated on a daily basis and get to know their new staff members.
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When Linda saw Simon, she bore him some bad news. “Simon, my husband and I have made the decision to demote you as a waiter. We don’t think the way you treated me the other night is any way to treat a customer,” she explained.
Immediately, Simon was given an apron and a tray, and he started working as a waiter. He was humiliated, but he didn’t want to lose his job entirely.
A couple of days later, a poor woman entered the cafe. She sat at a table and ordered a sandwich and hot tea. After she finished her meal, Simon handed her the bill.
“Oh dear,” the old woman said as she looked through her purse. “I must have forgotten my wallet at home. I am so sorry. I can wash the dishes, or clean the restaurant, anything so that I could repay you,” she said.
Simon shook his head. “Don’t worry, ma’am. I will pay for your tab this time around,” he said with a smile.
The woman proceeded to thank Simon, to which he replied: “It’s no problem. People should help each other out. A couple of days ago, the new owner of this restaurant gave me a second chance because she is a kind person. I want to be like her. After all, I believe in karma.”
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“I think you will become a manager again,” the woman replied. Simon was confused as to how the woman knew about his demotion. At that moment, Linda approached the table.
“This woman here is my friend. I wanted to test you and see whether or not you’ve learned your lesson. I’m happy to know that you’ve passed the test. You can return to your managerial duties effective immediately,” Linda said, giving him a tap on the back.
Simon was delighted. He had never seen such kindness in anybody, and he was grateful that Linda gave him yet another chance to do well at his job.
Since that day, Simon went to work with a smile on his face. He loved his job, and it was all thanks to the boost of confidence the new cafe owners gave him. He would patiently tend to his staff and the customers, and it led the cafe to become even more successful.
What can we learn from this story?
- We should not judge others by their outward appearance. The porter and Simon were quick to judge Linda for how she looked, not knowing she’d end up owning the business they worked in.
- People deserve a second chance. Linda was nice enough to give Simon a second chance, knowing he enjoyed his work.
Share this story with your loved ones. It might inspire them and make their day.
From Dancing Queen to Mystery: What Made Cynthia Rhodes Leave the Spotlight
When Cynthia Rhodes wasn’t “Staying Alive” on the dance floor with John Travolta, she was “Dirty Dancing” with Patrick Swayze.
Rhodes, who will turn 67 in November 2023, had a great career with famous dance movies from the 1980s. However, she chose to step away from the spotlight at the height of her fame.
Keep reading to find out why this talented actress, singer, and dancer retired so early!
Cynthia Rhodes was born in Nashville, Tennessee. She started her acting career with a small role in the 1980 musical fantasy film **Xanadu**, which starred the late Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly.
Her role as Tina Tech, a dancer in the 1983 film **Flashdance**, led to a bigger part later that year as John Travolta’s love interest in **Staying Alive**, the sequel to **Saturday Night Fever**, directed by Sylvester Stallone.
In 1987, she played her most famous role as Penny Johnson, a dance instructor at a resort hotel in **Dirty Dancing**.
In her role as Penny, Cynthia Rhodes shows off her amazing dance skills with graceful and flashy Mambo moves alongside the late Patrick Swayze. She also shares some very emotional and heartbreaking scenes with him.
Rhodes described her character Penny as having an “edge.” Penny both charmed and shocked viewers as she dealt with a difficult storyline involving a botched illegal abortion.
The film includes a socially relevant subplot about reproductive rights, with Rhodes at the center of it all. This helped position the three lead characters—Swayze as Johnny, Jennifer Grey as Baby, and Rhodes as Penny—for stardom.
“She’s from South Philly and she’s had a rough life,” Rhodes said about her character. “She’s got a sweetness about her, but it’s hidden because she’s been through a lot, and she has sort of put up a wall.” Rhodes added, “In the end, I think she finally realizes that life does go on.”
Life went on for Cynthia Rhodes, but not in the way her fans hoped.
After training for ten hours a day to prepare for her role as Penny, Rhodes found dancing to be “really hard.” She shared, “That’s why I keep saying I’m never going to dance again. I’m tired of dancing. My bones are hurting, and my back hurts all the time.” She added, “Every time I say, ‘That’s it, I don’t want to dance anymore,’ I get another film. I’m not going to turn down work! I feel very fortunate to be in films that involve dancing. But I just want a chance to do some dramatic work without dancing. Just give me a straight acting part.”
In the same year that *Dirty Dancing* was released, the 31-year-old Rhodes, who had many role options and admirers, appeared in the music video for “Don’t Mean Nothing” by Richard Marx. He is also known for the song “Right Here Waiting,” which was famously written for Rhodes in 1989.
In 1989, Rhodes married the Grammy Award-winning singer Richard Marx, and the couple welcomed their first child, Brandon, in 1990. They later had two more sons, Lucas in 1992 and Jesse in 1994.
According to Marx, Rhodes, who had previously trained for the Olympics, decided to retire in 1990 to focus on raising their children. He mentioned that this choice was also due to the “intense physical pain” her dance moves caused her.
“I thought, ‘This won’t last; she’s definitely going to want to come back to work and do films.’ But she found fulfillment in being a mom that completely overshadowed any desire she had to make movies,” Marx, now 59, explained. “Even if you’re her biggest fan, as good as you think she was as a dancer, singer, or actress, you should see her as a mom.”
Rhodes, who began dancing at just three years old, found that she was much happier being a mom and giving her body the rest it needed.
“The thing was, I used to never be sore. In fact, I was a gymnast. Now it’s frustrating… I never used to stretch, but now I have to stretch before I dance. I love to dance, but if I never did it again, I wouldn’t be sorry,” Rhodes said.
Since then, she hasn’t looked back. The last time she appeared on screen was in the 1991 film *Curse of the Crystal Eye.*
The former Hollywood starlet divorced Marx in 2014, and he married MTV’s first Latina host, Daisy Fuentes, the following year.
As for her sons, all three are following in the footsteps of their famous parents. Brandon is now a music producer and singer, while Lucas has made a name for himself as a singer and actor, appearing in TV series like *The Chicago Code*, *The Mob Doctor*, *Chicago P.D.*, and *Parenthood*. The youngest son, Jesse, has joined a metal band and is working on his own music.
Dancing requires a high level of athleticism, so while we miss seeing Cynthia Rhodes, we completely understand why she chose to leave Hollywood.
What are your favorite films featuring her?
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