<div><p>Two New Jersey firefighters, Tim Young and Paul Hullings, had just finished a 12-hour shift fighting a fire. They worked tirelessly all night until the final flame had been extinguished. </p><p>Completely exhausted, they decided to grab an early morning breakfast and a couple strong cups of coffee at the local diner. Their waitress, Liz Woodward, overheard them as they spoke of the long night.</p><p>She knew that these heroes were tired and wanted to do something to acknowledge them for the oftentimes thankless work they do. So, instead of a bill, she handed them a note and wished them a good day.</p><div><figure><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Im.Timmy?lst=504034002%3A669455085%3A1494938624" target="_blank"><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/d4ad65c9565d378907712026fdc2d03f-3.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/d4ad65c9565d378907712026fdc2d03f-3_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img></a><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Im.Timmy?lst=504034002%3A669455085%3A1494938624" target="_blank">|Tim Young / Facebook</a></cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>Tim and Paul were surprised by her selfless kindness and, overwhelmed with gratitude, thanked their 'guardian angel' waitress Liz. On Facebook, Tim shared a photo of the event and encouraged his friends to make a trip out to the restaurant. If anyone should have the good fortune of being served by Liz, he encouraged them to leave her a 'big tip'!</p><div><figure><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Im.Timmy?lst=504034002%3A669455085%3A1494938624" target="_blank"><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/1bce4c19605921c23ca794fef132ff74.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/1bce4c19605921c23ca794fef132ff74_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/1bce4c19605921c23ca794fef132ff74_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img></a><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Im.Timmy?lst=504034002%3A669455085%3A1494938624" target="_blank">Tim Young / Facebook</a></cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><strong>But the story doesn't end there...</strong></p><p></p><h3>Heroes Step Up</h3><p>When the grateful firefighters later learned about Liz's family situation they soon realized that their breakfast hero was in need of some rescuing of her own.</p><p>Liz's father, Steve, had been paralyzed about five years earlier and was living as a quadriplegic at home. </p><p>On her waitress' salary, she couldn't afford a wheelchair accessible vehicle to transport her father, so she quietly set up a donation page asking for whatever people could donate to their cause. </p><p>When Tim found out, he urged his Facebook friends to donate to Liz's campaign: "Turns out, the young lady who gave us a free meal is really the one that could use the help..."</p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><div><figure><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Im.Timmy?lst=504034002%3A669455085%3A1494938624" target="_blank"><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/91185d4d35e1a69842538dc226edb215.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/91185d4d35e1a69842538dc226edb215_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/91185d4d35e1a69842538dc226edb215_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/91185d4d35e1a69842538dc226edb215_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img></a><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Im.Timmy?lst=504034002%3A669455085%3A1494938624" target="_blank">Tim Young / Facebook</a></cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>Unbelievably, within a matter of days, Liz had raised over $70,000 - way more than her goal of $17,000. The stunned waitress and her family couldn't believe what these two firemen had done for them - all because she bought them breakfast!</p><p>"All I did was pay for their breakfast. I didn't expect anything more than a smile," says the waitress. "It goes to show that you just have to be kind to each other and that even the smallest gesture can change a life."</p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><div><figure><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ewoodwar/photos?pnref=lhc" target="_blank"><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/6c78012e357c367506b4edc51e722c2a.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/6c78012e357c367506b4edc51e722c2a_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/6c78012e357c367506b4edc51e722c2a_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/6c78012e357c367506b4edc51e722c2a_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img></a><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ewoodwar/photos?pnref=lhc" target="_blank">Liz Woodward / Facebook</a></cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>It just goes to show that kindness truly does pay off - often in ways that we never could have imagined!</p><p>We can be each other's angels, all it takes is one small gesture.</p><div><figure><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ewoodwar/photos?pnref=lhc" target="_blank"><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/1liz.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/1liz_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/1liz_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/1liz_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/1liz_GH_content_850px.jpg 850w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/1liz_GH_content_950px.jpg 950w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img></a><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ewoodwar/photos?pnref=lhc" target="_blank">Liz Woodward / Facebook</a></cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>[h/t <a href="http://www.hefty.co/liz-woodward/" target="_blank">Hefty</a>]</p></div>
Uplifting | Food & Restaurants | Food | Trending