When A Pie is Baked …
Story by T. Katz
Slideshow by Janet Hinde
Music by Gregory Hinde

It had been a
particularly
grueling day.
And the last
place I wanted
to be was at
work serving
others.

But not
bringing home
a paycheck
wasn’t going
to help
either.
So, wearing shoes
and a plastered
on smile that
were equally worn
out …

I started to work my way
around the restaurant tables
It was all I could
do to be pleasant to
the woman with the
crying baby;
I tried desperately to be
cheerful to the cop who’d
worked all night.
The giggling teenagers
were happier than my heart
could handle.

Table after table
I struggled to
stand tall
despite the
weight on my
shoulders

By the time I’d
reached the man in
the rumpled clothing
I just wanted to
cry.
Still I smiled, filled his
coffee cup and took his
order –
A single slice of pie.

Setting the plate in front of
him I watched as he cut away
the tip of the pastry.
Later when I
refilled his coffee
cup I noticed the
tip of the pie
remained.
With all the worry on my head,
a problem customer was the
last thing I needed.

“Mister, was there something
wrong with that pie that you
didn’t eat that piece?”
He motioned me closer
and looked
side to side before
sharing his secret.
In an accent I didn’t
recognize,
he whispered …
“When a pie is baked, all of
the sweetness
falls to the center and I
slice the corner away.
Then I make a wish for
someone who needs it most.
Today that person is you.”

This stranger from a strange land had given me
the gift of being seen and cared for.
And from that day forward I made
a vow to leave my worries at the
door, making an effort to see
and care for those before me.
Choosing to take the sweetness in life to make a wish
for those who need it most.

The End