“My dad was in the Air Force, and my parents later divorced. We bounced around a lot but always came back to Mobile. My memories of Mobile are Mardi Gras and eating.

I have cooked my whole life. My dad owned Smokey Dembo’s Smokehouse on DIP for 18 years, and I ran it for the last few. My dad closed Dembo’s before I could take it over, but I still want to have my own restaurant one day.

After Dembo’s closed, I cooked at Shoney’s, Ruby Tuesday, Cracker Barrel, and a couple of hospitals. Now I work at the Fairhope Waffle House and the other locations on the Eastern Shore. I worked last night from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. I am back for my regular shift that starts at 2. I am also a relief manager. I don’t know how not to work.

I cook from the heart and like to see my customers’ responses. If they walk out happy, then I have a good day.

My fiance also works for Waffle House and she taught me how to serve. If I make a mistake or forget something, I make my customer laugh, apologize, and fix the problem.

Customers see everything that happens in Waffle House. It is not only the cooking; there is a lot going on in people’s lives and we are dealing with all of this in a very small space. It is stressful.

We have regulars who come in with the same orders. I know how they like their toast, pork chops, and grilled cheese sandwiches. A month ago, a couple of cops pulled me over for speeding. They recognized that I cooked for them at the Waffle House and told me to drive slower. They have been back several times.

It is true that Waffle House never closes unless we are in a category five hurricane. Employees come to work no matter what the weather is.

I am a grandmother’s baby, and I always saw her give of herself. She fed everyone and took them in. She just turned 99. She was a strong woman but can’t do all she used to do. She wants to mow the grass, so we let her rake. She taught me to respect women and money and to take care of my family. Everyone is family to me.

When I see someone in need, I help them. I was behind a lady in line at the grocery store. She left her wallet at home, so I paid for her groceries and walked out. She had kids and they needed to eat.

I am lucky to be here. I drowned twice: at the age of two and nine. I have two rods and four screws in my back from back surgery after jumping out of planes in the military. I was a parachute rigger and put parachutes in backpacks. For every five backpacks I put together, I had to jump two of them. I got out when I hurt my back on a jump.

I am proud of my kids and their names are tattooed on my arm. My son plays basketball at a college in Virginia and my daughter is working and going to college to become a lawyer.

Everybody wants to be better than somebody else instead of helping each other. Being better isn’t going to help any of us in the end. We all go up or down after we die—I plan on going up.”

Jay

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Jay’s story is a part of a series about the Weavers—people stitching our communities together, solving problems, and showing how to care for our neighbors. Send a message to Our Southern Souls to suggest a Weaver from your community to be featured on Souls.