God bless Mr. Gilbert, and God bless whoever is buying his meals.
Yes, it seems like the gifts are mostly anonymous, and Mr. Gilbert wants to know who is giving these gifts to him.
Someone needs to show him the Facebook page that is referenced at the end of the article. It should show Mr. Gilbert not only who started the whole trend, but who is currently contributing to him.
I’m guessing the list of contributors are not just local people.
A couple of years ago I met a nice older gentleman in Subway on Woodward Avenue in Muscle Shoals Alabama. He had on a WWII Veteran hat so I introduced myself and thanked him for his service. We spoke for a couple of minutes and with tears in his eyes told me how bad those days had been. He didn't go in to detail, and I didn't ask. I told him I wanted to buy his lunch and gave him a ten dollar bill. He told me I didn't have to do that, and I said that I wanted to and laid the bill on the table. I said good bye and walked away. I didn't work in that area for several months but when I was back there again I saw him again, at the same time, sitting at the same table. I asked the cashier if he came in every day and I was told he does, and gets the same meal everyday. A turkey sandwich, and a drink. The next day I made sure to beat him there and paid for his lunch, and left before he got there and told them that I didn't want him to know who was buying his lunch. I've been buying his lunch a couple of days at a time since whenever I'm in the area. A few times I had stayed to see his reaction, sitting in a corner and seeing his smile, and asking who was doing this made my day. I've been working in the area again, and was planning on buying his lunch tomorrow for a couple of days because tomorrow will be the last day I'll be over there and I don't want him to put it together that I am the one buying his lunch. Today as I'm sitting there eating he comes in and when he gets to the cashier I heard him tell Mr. Gilbert that his lunch was covered by the lady in front of him. I looked up and she was just walking out, and had a big smile on her face. So I spoke to the folks at Subway and asked them if I started this page would they be willing to keep up with gift cards for Mr. Gilbert, they were excited about it. They told me he is 93 and has been coming there since they opened and would love to do it.
So here is what I want to do, if you are in the area and would like to take part then please go in to Subway on Woodward Avenue and tell them that you would like to buy a gift card for Mr. Gilbert. Everyone on the day shift knows him, I'm not sure about night shift. I will let them know this has started tomorrow, 9-25-15 so that they can let all the employees know. I would love to get enough support to buy his lunch for a year.