Our good friend Guy Benson over at Townhall picked up a story today about yet another shocking note let on a restaurant receipt for a poor waitress who represented a point of view the diners did not agree with.

For once, it isn’t a bad thing and every indication thus far is that this is not a hoax.

A group of white Trump supporters headed out for a meal in Washington D.C. while in town for the inauguration. Their waitress turned out to be an African American woman who was no fan of the new President. From the Washington Post:

Rosalynd Harris, who works at Busboys and Poets in the northwest part of the nation’s capital, told The Washington Post she was beaming with confidence Monday after taking part in the Women’s March over the weekend. A group of men from west Texas entered the restaurant and started to chat with Harris. One of the men, who said he was a dentist, complimented her on her smile. Harris, who is black, told the Post she was admittedly a bit prejudice when the men, who were white, told her they were in town to support Trump. After the men had left, Harris picked up their check and found that they left a heartwarming message and a generous tip. They left Harris a $450 tip on a $72.60 bill. Their message read: “We may come from different cultures and may disagree on certain issues, but if everyone would share their smile and kindness like your beautiful smile, our country will come together as one people. Not race. Not gender. Just American. God Bless!”

The restaurant tweeted out a copy of the receipt.

We rise by lifting others. A lovely act of kindness pic.twitter.com/S01SV3w8ts

— Busboys and Poets (@busboysandpoets) January 24, 2017

Apparently Ms. Harris did not notice the receipt until after the gentlemen left, but she was overwhelmed and shared her gratitude with the Post.

The windfall also came at a time when Harris could really use it, she said. A professional dancer, she started waitressing about a year-and-a-half ago to make extra money to pay her bills. She needs to move to a new apartment soon and has worried about how she’ll have enough cash to pay any upfront costs. She scheduled herself to work extra shifts to ensure she had enough, and the extra $450 is “a huge weight off my shoulders,” she said.

But she said the men left her with so much more. Their words were a reminder not to make assumptions. And that so many Americans want unity, regardless of their politics, and to not be afraid to connect with someone as human beings, she said.

“This definitely reshaped my perspective. Republican, Democrat, liberal are all subcategories to what we are experiencing,” she said. “It instills a lot of hope.”

The tipper turned out to be a 37-year-old man named Jason White, who didn’t even tell his meal companions about the tip. White says he just felt moved to do something to remind his kind hostess that there are always good things ahead when you’re an American.

I hope Guy won’t mind if I borrow this beautiful sentiment from one of his Facebook friends to close this out. It cannot be perfected upon.

Basically, there are a couple of realities we are all living in this country. One is the day to day interactions, relationships, and environment–nothing in law limits access according to identity, people get on with each other. We remember the stupid things some people have said and done because they are so much the exception to the rule whether out of prejudice, ignorance, fear or pride. And then there is the reality we are told about by what we learn from others, what we soak in from media and culture, and is debated about in politics. So much of this a distortion of reality that many take with them and cloud our choices– including how we expect others to be monsters in one way or another. In some ways the hatred explains things, empowers or exploits us– and many choose to ignore or deny the first reality.