To the editor:
Many years ago I took a job as a pizza delivery man in order to make a few extra dollars.
I had a lot of customers. Most of them were very pleasant and they always gave me a tip
Of course, there were always a few disgruntled customers who would complain that I took too long to deliver their pizza and that it was too cold to eat. I would always tell them the same thing. “I do the best I can but I’m not responsible for the traffic in the street.”
There was one particular customer I still remember after all these years. He lived on Eastern Avenue in Lynn. I wound up calling him “Mr. No Tip.”
He always ordered a large pepperoni pizza. His bill always came to $8.68. He would always pay me with a $10 bill. But he always demanded his $1.32 change: never a tip, only one complaint after another.
Then, about three days before Christmas he surprised me. He ordered his usual pepperoni pizza, but he told me to keep the change. He also gave me a $5 bill. Just image: “Mr. No Tip” had given me a $6.32 tip.
Just as I was about to leave his porch, he said, “Hold on.” He gave me a white envelope and said, “Merry Christmas.”
I couldn’t wait to get back to my car to see what was in the envelope. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was a $100 bill and a note that said, “Merry Christmas, you’re a great kid.”
After all these years, I still can’t understand why this man had become so generous. Maybe he had a little too much scotch, or that Christmasn season had turned him into a jovial individual.
Whatever it was, I decided to change his name from “Mr. No Tip” to the “Big Tipper.”
Edward J. Julian
Lynn
