Source: PATRICK T. FALLON / Getty
Shirell “Honey” Lackey got a generous gift for “Christmas in July” this year when an anonymous country music singer visited the Waffle House where Lackey works and put some extra love on his $11.99 order by leaving her a $1,000 tip.
The Greensboro, N.C. waitress was working a double shift, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and attending to the patrons while sneaking in small moments to take care of her infant daughter Bella. Lackey’s hustle caught the attention of a member of the singer’s entourage, who left her a $50 tip. When he later told the country star about Lackey, the singer returned a minute later to give her a cool grand and some words of support.
“He was like, ‘I have to respect a mother that would do whatever it takes to support their child in a society where people don’t even want to work anymore,’” Lackey said to WGHP.
Along with the money, the singer gave Lackey two concert tickets and had baby clothes and toys delivered to her home, too. “It feels good to be recognized,” Lackey acknowledged. “I mean, I don’t do it to be recognized, I do it because Bella is everything, but it’s nice to be recognized for doing the things we do as mothers.”
Some celebrities have a reputation of being pretty stingy, like the Chicago Bulls’ legendary duo of Michael Jordan and Scottie “No Tippin’” Pippen. However, their fellow NBA colleagues Shaq and Charles Barkley are actually known to be quite liberal with gratuities. In fact, Barkley once gave a casino dealer a $25K tip.
Retired NFL wideout Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson is also someone known to leave generous tips when he dines out, a practice he’s maintained for over two decades. This past April, Johnson was in Houston and left a $1,000 tip at the Turkey Leg Hut for a $4.28 bill. Then, two months later, he was visiting James Harden’s restaurant Thirteen and blessed their waitstaff with a $1,300 gratuity on a $107 tab. “It’s just something I always do, regardless of where I am,” Ochocinco told the New York Post, “regardless of what restaurant or the service, I always take care of those who are serving me.”
