(Editor’s Note: I have read with much interest the story about the Applebee’s waitress who posted the restaurant check of the minister who left the message that she gives God 10 percent and asks why a waitress should get more.  There was more than eight people in the pastor’s party and the auto-tip of 18 percent kicked in.  The waitress posted the check on Reddit and was fired.  I dug this column out that I wrote more than a decade ago that points out that when it comes to tipping — some people get and some don’t.   JM)

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Jennifer is in her early 20s and works as a waitress in a restaurant in Mt. Vernon.

Like many young people her age that are pursuing a degree, Jennifer chose the flexibility of a job in food service as she works her way through college.

I would imagine there are millions of young people just like Jennifer who are working nights and weekends as waitresses and waiters, delivering pizzas, bartending and bussing tables as they try to further their education. Anybody that has ever walked in those shoes knows it is far from an easy job or pace.

Because of my penchant for Mexican food — Monterey jack fajitas at Chili’s is my favorite – my wife Lisa and I eat at the restaurant where Jennifer works every couple of weeks.  She has served as our waitress several times and always does an excellent job.

However, on a recent trip to the restaurant Jennifer seemed a little out of sorts. She stopped by our table and explained that her mood had soured after a couple she had waited on left a business card on her table. Obviously flustered by the action, she produced the small, black and white card for us to see.

The card read: C.A.T. – Customers Against Tipping – Dear Server, (Please give this card to your employer). I left this card with your server tonight instead of a normal cash tip. I did this because I do not agree that customers should pay twice for a meal. Your server should be paid better wages instead of relying on tips to make a decent earning.

Showing my politically incorrect side, today’s column deals with ‘restaurant profiling’ and divides the general public into two categories – those that get it and those that don’t.  Or, maybe better stated those that understand what it’s like to work for tips and those that don’t.

My theory, and its only a theory, is that in most instances tipping is not based on wealth or poverty.  Instead, it’s based on the jobs a person has had in their life.  In short, those who have ever had to work and sometimes survive on tip money understand the art of tipping much better than those that haven’t.

I learned about the tipping process at a relatively older age. After working nearly 20 years in the coal industry I was one of thousands that lost my job because of the Clean Air Act. I started attending college for the first time ever at age 38 and was working three part time jobs to try and keep the wolf away from the door.  One of those jobs was as a pizza deliveryman for Domino’s in Benton.  And let me quickly say before I move on that, yes, I was one heckuva good pizza slinger and on numerous occasions was awarded the coveted “Driver of the Month” award.

I soon learned that there was no rhyme or reason to tipping. For instance, one Saturday night at nearly midnight we received two orders.  The two houses were only a few blocks away so I took both deliveries.  A steady cold rain was falling when I arrived at the first house; a beautiful home located in one of the better sections of town.  I was completely drenched as I made the long walk up the driveway and rang the doorbell. By the looks of the house, I thought, I should get a good tip here. The pizza cost $13.85 and the woman handed me $14.  As I turned and started to walk away the woman cleared her throat and said, “uhhh … I think you forgot to give me my 15 cents change.”

Then to make matters worse I dropped the dime and nickel and was bent over in the rain trying to pick it up.  Needless to say, I muttered a few expletives under by breath as I trudged back to my car in the pelting rain.

The second delivery was a modest home that paled in comparison to the previous stop.  I recognized the woman that answered the door as the waitress that worked at a local restaurant.  She handed me a check that included the price of the pizza and a $4 tip. There is only one lesson that could be learned from the two contrasting stops: when it comes to tipping there are those that get it and those that don’t.

My oldest daughter, Lyndsay, is in the nursing program at John A. Logan College and works three weekend shifts as a waitress at Bob Evans in Marion. A recent conversation we had about the way people tip adds yet more proof to my theory.

“I didn’t understand about tips until I started working here,” she said. “When I go out to eat now it changes the way I tip the server because I know now how important tips are.”

The next time you go out to eat, particularly if you’ve never worked for tips, I challenge you to take a moment and put yourself in the shoes of the person catering to your every need.  Regardless if it’s a student, a single mom or even a middle-age person trying to make an honest living, keep in mind that giving an extra dollar or five on top of 15 percent might make a difference in that person’s life that week.  And also keep in mind that the person waiting on your table is at the mercy of cooks and bartenders in providing your service.

And to those who might have gained a little insight and understanding from today’s columns about those who hustle our food and drinks to us, there’s no extra charge.

Just consider it a tip.

 By J. Larry Miller

One of the benefits of being a Farm Bureau member is that we are working to provide protection for rural residents. The following is an example of how being alert can benefit you and others.

What started as a quick action by a concerned citizen in Gallatin County ended in a large reward! By reporting information about property theft to the Gallatin County Sheriff, followed by a felony conviction for the crime, this alert resident received $1,000 from Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB).  The crime involved theft of copper wire from a Gallatin County farmer’s irrigation system.

According to Peggy Romba, who heads up the safety program at IFB, this anti-crime program was launched in 2005. “Illinois Farm Bureau wanted to do its part to help reduce crime in rural areas, so they put the $1000 Reward Program into place, she said.

Forty-five county Farm Bureaus in Illinois are enrolled in the program, including the Gallatin County Farm Bureau.  The program also provides crime prevention tips to members with farmland and promotes good communication with the county sheriff and state’s attorney. A key component of the program is that anyone in the county, not just farmers, is encouraged to report any information or sighting of crime on area farms.

Illinois Farm Bureau offers the following tips to farmers to use in deterring theft, vandalism, and arson on their farm:

• Install motion sensors and outside lights that automatically turn on at dusk.
• Keep farm equipment, tools, and small recreational vehicles like ATVs locked up in sheds or garages.
• Avoid leaving tractors, trucks, or combines in the field overnight (Disable machinery not in use by removing the rotor, distributor, or battery).
• Keep fences and gates in good repair.
• Prune back shrubbery that hides doors, windows, lights, and would-be burglars.
• Warn thieves with “No Trespassing” signs or the $1000 Reward signs and stickers available at the county Farm Bureau office.

Franklin County is a participant in this program. If you’d like more information on this program, contact your county Farm Bureau. And remember to always be alert and report any suspicious activity to your local authorities.

Remember we are farmers working together. If we can help let us know.

Residents of Illinois have sadly become used to seeing their great state lampooned on late night comedy shows about the rampant corruption, abuse of power and total mismanagement of state funds.

It goes without saying anymore that Illinois is the poster child across the nation for political corruption at the state level.  With the past two governors in prison and four of the last seven governors serving jail time and with three current members of the General Assembly under indictment I would dare anybody to argue with the previous sentence.

It would be very easy to say that what we see daily in Springfield is a ‘joke’ but a ‘joke’ is supposed to be funny, and clearly this is no laughing matter.

Illinois has the most underfunded pension system in the nation that now totals close to $100 billion and more than $6.5 billion in unpaid bills.  I find it mind-boggling that the state has more than 200,000 pay vounchers that go unpaid day after day.

With those numbers in mind and with countless people’s lives literally hanging in the balance, how totally incompetent is it that Gov. Pat Quinn and the General Assembly are fiddling over issues like driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants and gay marriage — while the state burns down around them.

But, Illinois voters must like what they are getting because they continue to send the same people back to Springfield, somehow believing that things will change.  As I have said often when referring to state government in Illinois, it fits the precise definition of the word ‘insanity’ — which of course is to keep doing the same thing over and over and over again while expecting a different result.

In short, we are sending the same people back to Springfield expecting them to fix the problems they created and the end result is that the situation gets worse every day.  Insanity?  I think so!

I saw a segment on the local news within the past 24 hours that I think shows that neither party really wants any substantial change in Springfield.  Oh, they give us lip service about change but really it’s a ‘Good Ol’ Boy’s Club’ and that’s how it’s designed to stay.

Let me explain.

The news segment I’m referring to was on WSIL and it was about legislation introduced by newly-elected state Rep. Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) that says (in a nutshell) that state office holders and members of the General Assembly won’t get paid until vendors, doctors, pharmacies, etc. that the state owes money does gets paid. Remember that $6.5 billion and those 200,000-plus unpaid vendors?  That’s what Rep. Meier is referring to.

I talked about this last week on my Wednesday night radio show Sound Off (WQRL 106.3 or wqrlradio.com) and Rep. Meier will be my guest this week.
I love the idea and applaud the effort of a freshman state legislator who is not afraid to rock the political boat in Springfield.  At least Rep. Meier is attempting to do something to change the climate and to draw attention to the fact that the state is on a fiscal cliff and path that cannot be sustained.

As I watched the WSIL segment I found the comments of two longtime members of the General Assembly both interesting and disappointing.

State Rep. Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) said the amount of money being paid to lawmakers and office holders is only a fraction of the amount owed so he didn’t support the legislation. It seems to me that Rep. Bost is missing the point.  In my conversation with Rep. Meier this week he is quite aware that the amount of money being paid to elected officials is a mere drop-in-the-bucket to the billions owed.  The point of Rep. Meier’s legislation is that it is not fair that a do-nothing General Assembly continues to draw a hefty paycheck every two weeks — for a part-time job — while businesses are going unpaid month after month after month.

I’m betting that state lawmakers missing a few paychecks would expedite the situation.

During the segment state Rep. Brandon Phelps said he didn’t think the legislation was constitutional because the Illinois Constitution sets the pay for state office holders and for elected officials.

I heard those comments and it immediately came to me that I believe the Constitution also requires that the state of Illinois will have a balanced budget each year … and when was the last time that happened in Illinois.

Rep. Meier is exactly what we need more of in Springfield – somebody who is not afraid to speak up and change the current badly broken system.  Somebody who is not afraid to say that the status quo is not working and things have to change, sooner rather than later.  Somebody who will call out every member of the General Assembly and say ‘you shouldn’t get a paycheck, you don’t deserve a paycheck until you do the job you were elected to do.’

Rep. Meier might be the new kid on the block in Springfield but I believe he ‘gets it.’  He understands that Illinois residents are worn out with politics as usual and the public be damned.  And before the partisan police start squawking … I’m referring to both Democrats and Republicans, period.

Every lawmaker in Springfield who is truly tired of the daily embarrassment that is called Illinois politics should embrace the efforts of Rep. Meier.