When interviewed about why she gave the free lunch, Ms. Kimball explained, "His family is very well known in this town and I can guarantee that if I called his mother, she would have come right in and paid the bill. But I didn't want to get her out of work. I know they would have brought the money the next day. The bill was going to get paid."
After intense outrage when the story became public, the vendor offered her back her job -- but she turned it down and said she'd find work elsewhere.
A momentary sidetrack, but don't worry, it's all to a point.
Readers of these pages may recall a piece I wrote here a few weeks back about Jose Andres. If not, Mr. Andres is a world-renowned chef who is aggressive in his actions and unafraid to speak his mind when he sees a wrong. He pulled his restaurant out of Trump International Hotel in protest of racist comments Trump made about Mexicans. After the Trump administration showed a lack of proper assistance to help Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, Chef Andres organized the World Central Kitchen to prepare meals there for those in need -- and has continued the charity organization ever since. And he has been an outspoken critic of Trump, putting teeth to his actions.
I mention this all because after the initial story broke about the school cafeteria worker broke, it just came to light that Chef Andres called Ms. Kimball a "hero" offered her a job with his company.
No word yet on whether she has accepted.