Hand me my soapbox. STAT.

<--- That's not me, just to clarify. :)

Grandma Sally's Waffle House is the inspiration for this soapbox rant; or, more specifically, my inspiration was the observation I made while I was there a couple days ago, enjoying a delicious lunch...

I stopped at this awesome family restaurant for lunch to see my longtime friend Joanie, a current Grandma Sally's waitress who used to work at a diner my friends and I frequented in high school (R.I.P. Cozy Corner). After chatting with her for a while, I sat back to enjoy my soup and salad. I had brought a book with me, but I wasn't in the reading mood, so I decided to "people watch" instead. What caught my eye? The owner.

He was standing at the cash register counter, panning his eyes over the crowd that filled his restaurant. Now, I'm no mind reader, but I recognized the look on his face - it was a look of pride.

I know the look well, because it's the same look that I get on my face everytime someone links to my blog or writes me an email with a destination tip or comments on one of my posts. I've seen this look a thousand times in the past, especially while growing up - it's the same look that I would see on my dad's face each time he gained a new customer at his paper supply business. It's the same look that my mother and brother would get on their faces when a customer would call to tell them how satisfied they were with a sign that one of them had painted for a local business. It's the same look of pride that reminds me that most small business owners will do anything they can to make their customer's experience the very best it can be.

This particular man looked out over his bustling restaurant for only a minute, smiled to himself, then went right back to working that cash register. When was the last time you caught a glimpse of someone's well-deserved pride spreading across his or her face?

We all shop at big stores and buy name brand goods; sometimes, it's just easier that way (and many times it's cheaper, too). All I ask of you is that you make sure that when you're done spending a cool $300 on that new Olympus digital camera, you get your finished photos framed by that friend of a friend who owns the little shop on Main Street. He'll appreciate it, and, in turn, so will you.