Woman Leaves Car At Restaurant Overnight After Few Drinks, Finds Note On Her Windshield In The Morning

Aug 07, 2019

Paula Grzelak-Schultz left her car parked overnight in the parking lot of Original Joe’s Bar. When she returned to drive it home the next morning, she saw that there was a piece of paper on her windshield that wasn’t there before. 

Of course, she believed she had gotten a ticket for leaving her car overnight, or a note berating her for leaving it in a private parking lot. But that wasn’t the case in this story!

According to CTV News, Grzelak-Schultz had consumed a few drinks at the bar the night before. Instead of taking the chance and driving home impaired, she chose to find an alternative way to get home safely, leaving her car parked in the lot. When Grzelak-Schultz opened up the note when she came to pick her car up the next day, instead of a parking ticket, she found a gift certificate and a kind letter written from the manager of the bar.

The note was addressed to “Original Joe’s Sherwood Park Guest” and was from the Managing Partner of Original Joe’s, Jay McLean. He wrote:

"Just wanted to thank you for leaving your car parked overnight."

"I'm not sure if you had consumed alcohol at our restaurant or not, but we wanted to thank you for not drinking and driving."

 Attached to the note was a voucher for one pound of chicken wings, on the house.

"Please accept this as a thank you for being responsible. Life is valuable, have a great weekend."

Grzelak-Schultz told the publication that she was sure the note was either a ticket or a complaint concerning the fact her vehicle was parked overnight in the lot. She was both pleased and surprised that the manager of the restaurant went out of his way to acknowledge her judgment.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, drivers who were under the influence of alcohol were responsible for the deaths of more than 10,000 people in the United States in 2016 alone. While you may avoid a wreck when you are drinking and driving, you can end up in jail if you are pulled over and given a field sobriety test. Instead of becoming a statistic, always play it safe- NEVER drink and drive. If you are planning to drink, always make a plan ahead of time on how you are getting home.

A few examples are:

• Arranging for a taxi or car service,
• Plan for a sober family member or friend to pick you up,
• Elect a designated driver within your group of friends,
• Decide on a public transportation route to get home beforehand.

Additionally, if you see someone else try to get behind the wheel after they have been drinking, offer them a ride (if you are sober) or try to find an alternative for them. Enlist help from others if need be! If you happen to see a driver who is drunk on the road or driving erratically, call your local police.

What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us in the comments and we would love if you passed this story on to raise awareness to the important topic of driving safely.