Waitresses and waiters have been called the unsung heroes in our society.

They are the quintessential multitaskers, having to do many different things in a short window of time ... and with a smile. They must be agile of feet and of mind, having to keep track of several tables while remembering who ordered which food at what table and then taking care of the bill payment at the end.Recently in a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Makenzie Schultz and her husband, Steven, were celebrating their anniversary at a restaurant. It didn't take them long to realize the business was short-staffed. It took 20 minutes to get water, 40 minutes for an appetizer and over an hour for the entree, but the couple didn't blame their server.Although he was running around trying to take care of 12 tables plus the bar and became the recipient of angry barbs from impatient customers, the waiter never acted got annoyed. The Schultzes decided to reward their overworked waiter with a $100 gratuity for their $66.65 bill a 250 percent tip!While paying their bill, they left a message on the receipt: "We've both been in your shoes." Makenzie later said they weren't looking for media attention but wanted to remind people to think of the entire situation before you judge and to always remember where you came from.Last year, another waiter named Michael Garcia also won our respect for refusing to serve a customer at a Houston restaurant after noticing the family making fun of a child who has Down syndrome. Over the previous months, Garcia had developed a close relationship with the 5-year-old special needs child named Milo.A family visiting the restaurant began to ridicule the child, and one man commented that "special needs children need to be somewhere else." Garcia overheard the comment and told the man he wasn't going to serve him.After the family left the restaurant, the story soon circulated online and received national media attention. Garcia was praised for making a stand on behalf of special needs children.Even Milo's mother took to the Internet to express her gratitude toward Garcia, urging restaurant visitors to leave a generous tip for the waiter. Garcia deflected attention from himself, saying that the focus should be on Milo who he called a "gift from God" and about educating ourselves about people who may be different.In our fast-paced, often selfish society it's good to see some who are able to calm things down and respect the feelings of others through their words and actions.By JIM ZBICKeditor@tnonline.com