Rich Man's Son Humiliates Disabled Waiter, His Father Teaches Him a Lesson – Story of the Day

David barreled into the young man and sent his tray flying. "What did you do?" screamed David angrily, "You stupid dolt! You spilled coffee on my shirt!"

The waiter was desperately trying to pick up the pieces of broken china littering the ground. "I'm so sorry sir, I didn't see you..."

“How come? Are you blind?” David left the waiter and the mess behind and headed to his father’s table. “Have you seen what just happened? These low-life freaks…”

A wealthy man gets deeply disappointed with his son's behavior after humiliating a waiter and decides to teach him a life lesson.

John is a self-made millionaire. He came from nothing and just like Will Smith’s character in “The Pursuit of Happyness,” he climbed up the corporate ladder and became a partner in one of the biggest banks in corporate America.

Even though John enjoys and can afford a lavish lifestyle, he never forgot his roots. He greets everyone at his office – from the cleaning lady to the interns.

His upbringing wasn’t easy and living in the hood taught him to be humble no matter where he stands in life. “I am where I am now because I made my fortune the hard way. The same way God gives you, He can take it away from you,” said John a few times to his son, David.

But no matter how many times John tried to teach his son “life lessons” and “examples of humility,” what ended up happening was the opposite.

Because he had grown up poor and with lots of deprivation, John poured every luxury on his son. And this alone didn’t really teach David humility… After all, what comes around goes around.

It all started on the morning David got his longed-for driver's license. John had arranged to meet his son for brunch at his favorite cafe. He arrived first, and he was settled in when David made his entrance.

David spotted his father sitting by the window, and he immediately started hurrying towards him, eager to share his news. He was in such a hurry that he didn't see a young waiter carrying a tray.

David barreled into the young man and sent his tray flying. "What did you do?" screamed David angrily, "You stupid dolt! You spilled coffee on my shirt!"

The waiter was desperately trying to pick up the pieces of broken china littering the ground. "I'm so sorry sir, I didn't see you..."

“How come? Are you blind?” David left the waiter and the mess behind and headed to his father’s table. “Have you seen what just happened? These low-life freaks…”

“You entered the place like a hurricane and bumped into the poor waiter, David, I saw everything.”

“Yeah, so what? I wanted to share the news with you, I’ve got my driver’s license! And by the way, my shirt is worth more than he earns in a month! Listen, dad, I have something to talk to you about… Remember that you promised to get me a car when I got my license? Well, there's this sweet little Porsche..."

John was trying to stay cool, but that was it for him. He was done with David’s behavior. He interrupted the boy, “What? What are you thinking? You know what David? I’m done with this selfish, spoiled behavior of yours. My mistake was that I never said ‘no’ to you. Now you grew up this self-centered person.”

He jumps off his chair and continues, “You come with me now, I’m taking you on a ride.” John takes David by the arm and they enter his car.

“Where are we going?” asks David but John doesn’t say a word. As they leave their posh neighborhood and John drives towards one of the poorest regions in town, David starts to get scared.

“Welcome to the real world, David,” says John.

They pass by people rummaging through trash looking for food, homeless people sleeping on pieces of cardboard and children playing on the street.

“That’s real life out there, son, not the posh little bubble we live in Orange County. You know, you could be one of them. You’re lucky and you should be grateful for such privileged life you have.”

David turns to his father and says, “I see what you mean dad, but that’s not my problem. I’m sorry about their life situation but that’s a government’s problem, not mine.”

“You’re right, David,” replied John, “but that doesn’t mean you cannot do your part and be compassionate.”

“What do you want me to do? Play Robin Hood?” David gets irritated. “And by the way, what are we doing here? Do you want to be robbed?”

“No, you see… This way you speak… The way you treated the waiter earlier. It sounds nasty, aggressive, and harsh. And I’m done with that David. I come from a poor family, and I’m trying my best to turn you into a good man, but it seems to me that a simple dialogue isn’t working well. You’ll need to learn the hard way. I’m cutting your allowance for an undetermined time until I see you changing these manners! If you want money now, get yourself a job.”

David is shocked, “Oh no, come on, Dad, you’ve got to be kidding…”

John parks the car and looks at David. “Do you want me to leave you here? I can do that.”

“Ok, I’m sorry…” says David, lowering his voice.

A few weeks pass and David runs out of cash. He tries to convince his dad to change his mind but the only thing John would say is, “Do you want money? Get a goddamn job!”

So that’s what David did. He was a 17-year-old teen with no work experience and he ended up working at a café, the same café he mistreated the waiter named Francis.

After 3 weeks of working with Francis, David learned that he was disabled and he was going deaf. David felt so bad for being mean to such a nice guy who’s been so gentle to him all this time. Francis was working instead of going to college because he needed to pay for his operation.

The next day, David knocked at his dad's study door. "Come in, David," John said with a smile. "How are you son?"

"Hey, dad!" David smiled back, "Can I talk to you please?"

John nodded and David sat down. "Well, remember that young guy at the café? Francis? Well...he's got this problem. He's going deaf, and he needs an operation within the next six months.

"The problem is, he and his family only have half of the money for the op, that's why he's working instead of going to college. Anyway...I was thinking, maybe we could help him to get the money? I mean, instead of you giving me a new car, I can pay for his operation..."

John got to his feet and put his arms around his son. There were tears in his eyes. "Yes, son, you can have the money for Francis' operation! I've never been prouder of you!”

“I think you were right, dad. I needed to learn my lesson.”

What can we learn from this story?

1. Money isn’t everything. David needed to put himself in other people’s shoes. He lacked empathy and compassion and learned that wealth doesn’t make you a better person -- character does.
2. We all deserve to be treated with respect. Whoever we are, and whatever we do, we are all entitled to our dignity.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a guy who tries to get rid of his own mother to live with his pregnant wife, but karma reaches him immediately.

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