There’s a step that we all take alone An appointment we have with the great unknown Like a vapor this life is just waiting to pass Like the flowers that fade, like the withering grass But life seems so long and death so complete And the grave an impossible potion to cheat But there’s One who has been there and still lives to tell There is One who has been through both heaven and hell And the grave will come up empty-handed the day Jesus will come and steal us away
(Chorus) Where is the sting, tell me where is the bite When the grave robber comes like a thief in the night Where is the victory, where is the prize When the grave robber comes And death finally dies
Many still mourn and many still weep For those that the love who have fallen asleep But we have this hope though our hearts may still ache Just one shout from above and they all will awake And in the reunion of joy we will see Death will be swallowed in sweet victory
When the last enemy is done from the dust will come a song Those asleep will be awakened – not a one will be forsakened He shall wipe away our tears – He will steal away our fears There will be no sad tomorrow – there will be no pain and sorrow
When you have written a song (or book, or created any other piece of artwork), you automatically create something called a copyright. This is a legal protection that nobody else may use, publish, sell or record your song without your permission. In order to protect your copyright further, you should register it with the U.S. Copyright Office. You may wish to hire an attorney or agent to help you with this process, but it is pretty simple. Most people can do it themselves. There is a small filing fee.
In the service industry, such as restaurants, bars, hair salons, valet parking, etc, it is customary to tip. The amount of tip generally reflects the quality of service and is usually figured as a percentage of the total bill. Waiters and waitresses are paid less per hour because it is assumed they will earn the difference from tips. All this we understand and come to expect. The benefit to the customer is the motivation for good service. The benefit to the worker is the potential to earn more money.
Recently, while in Las Cruces, I had lunch in a restaurant where I needed to place my order at a counter, pay the bill and tip in advance, seat myself at a table after picking up my drink, straws, condiments, and eating utensils, and then picking up my food from another counter when it was ready. The food was good but any service requests I needed to go in person to ask. No one checked on me while I was dining. After eating, I then needed to bus the table myself.
Of course, there are many restaurants these days using this model. The questions I’m still trying to wrap my head around are “Why am I being asked to pay a tip?”; “What service is being rewarded by paying the tip?”; and “What basis do I use to determine the amount of the tip?” I had to do all the work myself. This would be paramount to me having to pay a tip at the self-checkout in the grocery store or at the self-serve pump at a gas station.
I’m pretty sure I know how this has evolved, and that it has much to do with the way our technology is designed. Nowadays, even when paying cash, machines have replaced the cashier, who now just supervises the process. In cases where there is a cash drawer you only use the machine for credit cards. In supermarkets, many of the machines accept currency as well as a variety of credit cards. Many restaurants feature a miniature kiosk device that sits on the table where you can pay your bill and tip, even allowing you to split the tab between parties. The tip is added during the process which is customary when paying at the end of the meal. The weird part is that the same process is used when paying in advance, making any tip payment making no sense whatsoever.
Going back to my restaurant experience, I could simply choose “no tip” and then, after my meal, leave a cash tip. But that still begs the question “To whom should I leave any tip?” Server-less restaurants have taken self-serve checkouts at store like Walmart to whole new level. I get why more and more businesses are turning the customer into cashier. It’s to deal with minimum wage hikes. As a consumer I’m beginning to feel like I’m doing the cashier’s job without and, to add insult to injury, I’m expected to tip the establishment as well.
