Last week, Gail and I were having lunch at the Village Coffee Shop on Middle Neck Road. In the booth next to ours, there was an elderly couple finishing their meal.

When they were done, the husband walked over to the cash register to pay their bill.

While he was doing this, his wife began to get up from the table to put her coat on. Perhaps due to age, perhaps because she had been sitting too long, her legs were stiff and she was struggling to stand. Before, I could get up to lend a hand, Sophia, our waitress, was by the woman's side assisting her to her feet.

Then Sophia helped the woman put her coat on. Slowly and carefully, Sophia buttoned the coat --- for the temperature outside was chillingly cold. The elderly woman tried to express her thanks, but Sophia simply said, "It's what I do for my own mother."

When Gail and I left the coffee shop, we left twice the usual tip on the table. But we knew that no amount of money could match Sophia's kindness.