Thank you, Bertha, for sending my friend $12.

The back story: I recently wrote a column about a friend who waited on a table during the Fourth of July weekend in Hayward -- likely the busiest season of the year for our town. which triples in size during the summer. The restaurant was jammed and dinner took a while. The customers, wanting to make a point, tipped something like $2 on a $200 tab.

Only, they didn't make a point -- other than they were cheap and petty. Non-tippers don't know the circumstances. Someone could have called off. There might be equipment issues. A manager might have understaffed.

But what they non-tippers should know is the restaurant is jammed. It's a holiday weekend. Dinner is going to be slower than usual. Relax and enjoy an additional beverage.

Well, here comes my friend Bertha, who reads the blog and my newspaper. She sent a $10 bill to help cover part of the tip and her usual $2 bill for good luck.

"OMG tell Bertha I love her. That's so sweet," my friend texted me.

Here's where the story gets sweeter: My friend's grandmother, who passed just last year, also gave out $2 bills so my friend has a collection of them.

Now she can add to her collection a special bill from a friend neither of us have met, making it extra special.

For all the difficulties we have personally and in this world, it's stories like these that make better days.

Peace unto Ukraine and peace and $2 bills unto all of you my brothers and sisters.