Recovering addict shows appreciation for EMTs by picking up their breakfast tab


When a group of six EMTs got ready to pay their bill at an IHOP in New Jersey last week, the manager told them to put their wallets away — their $77 check had already been covered.
The EMTs from the Toms River First Aid Squad were handed a note, which read: "Paid, thank you for all you do! Have a great day!" It was signed, "Recovering Addict." The EMTs asked the manager if they could thank the woman who paid for their breakfast, but she had asked to remain anonymous.
It was the end of a long shift, and captain Alyssa Golembeski said "we were all a little fried." Receiving that "thank you note, it was the nicest thing anyone could have ever done for us," she added. "I couldn't stop smiling that entire day." Golembeski said she'd love to meet the woman in person, and commends her for "getting into recovery and for beating the disease that is addiction."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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