A big group of seniors received free breakfast
Eleven residents and two staff members from Independence Court of Monroeville visited the Bob Evans restaurant on Route 22 Thursday and were surprised when an unknown restaurant patron paid their breakfast bill in full.
Sharon Jankovik, Independence Court’s director of activities, had a conversation while there with a patron who observed that our residents having breakfast seemed unemcumbered by their wheelchairs and walkers.
“The lady I spoke with,” Sharon shared, “wanted my opinion about physical therapy and residences like ours, and whether together they could realistically improve mobility for someone like this lady’s 85-year-old mother.”
Sharon told her, “Our residents are the evidence. After all, we go everywhere. We take a different group of residents on outings several times each week. They have a lot of fun.”
After asking the waitress for the group’s bill, Ms. Jankovik was surprised to learn that another patron had paid the entire bill for the group. When she asked whom she could thank for such a kind gesture, the waitress said the benefactor preferred to remain anonymous.
JEANNI WATSON
Director of Admissions and Marketing
Independence Court of Monroeville
After lightning struck our house, friends rallied
I have been meaning to tell this story for a while, because it shows just what kind of place Pittsburgh is:
A few summers ago, our house was struck by lightning and the roof caught on fire. It happened at about 3 a.m. We were on vacation at the time, but this is what we came to learn:
Total strangers driving down our street saw the flames, stopped and banged on our front door, standing in the pouring rain to warn the people they imagined were inside. Our neighbors took action as well. We are forever grateful.
Moreover, the Pittsburgh fire department was amazing. They responded right away and jimmied open the front door. Before they started pouring water on our fire, they stopped to cover up our computers and other things with plastic tarps.
This is the reason why professional fire departments are absolutely what one wants in a moment of emergency. They managed to save many important things for us. We later brought them some cookies to thank them. But it was only a small token for our enormous debt.
KAREN CLAY
Squirrel Hill
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First Published: September 24, 2015, 4:10 a.m.