When a young couple, Alissa and Barry, sat down at Dr. Salami's diner in Iowa, they received a blank check from a mysterious stranger.
When you’re sitting in a diner booth at a place called Dr. Salami’s Cafe in Pella, Iowa, you probably don’t expect much from your meal except a decent slice of pie and a cup of coffee. But when a young couple, Alissa and Barry, sat down to dinner, they got a little bit more than what they ordered – namely, a check for $100,000.
While the couple was dining, an older man came into the restaurant and struck up a conversation with them. He asked them if they had any children, and when they mentioned their two-year old daughter and said that they were planning to have more, he slid a blank check across the table, telling them to write in any amount they wanted. It was his gift to them, as long as they used the money to buy or build a house. He also told them that he regretted not having any grandchildren, and asked if they might be willing to name their next child after him.
Alissa and Barry thought the mysterious stranger probably had a screw or two loose, but, just to humor him, they agreed to his terms and wrote out a check for $100,000, thinking it was sure to bounce.
The next day, they decided to cash it, just to see what happened. “[We] really didn’t think it was going to happen. It’s too rare for something like that to happen,” Barry told Good Morning, America. But to their surprise, the check cleared – turning into a hefty addition to the young family’s bank account.
This wasn’t the first time the generous stranger’s committed such random acts of kindness. He told Alissa and Barry that he sometimes likes to hang out at the Wal-Mart checkout line and pay for people’s items. Once, he’d bought a new car for a stranger. And on that same day, he gave his waitress at the restaurant a $100 tip.
We’re sure Alissa and Barry are wondering what would have happened if they’d tacked on another zero to the end of that check, but they’re thrilled by the gift from their mysterious benefactor. The lucky waitress was happy to have a few extra bucks for her own pocket, too.
“I hope no one finds out who he is because that is the way he wanted it. He is just a nice guy,” she said.