I am totally in favor of tipping. I always have been and always will be. Those in the service industry who meet or exceed our expectations deserve to be rewarded for their efforts.

For many years, the benchmark was 15 percent. More recently, 20 percent became the norm. That seems reasonable to me. We all have the option of tipping higher or lower, depending on the level of service.

I am pretty good at math, but some people are not. I've known many people who were frustrated at tipping time, often asking me, “What's 15 percent of $37.46?” In this computer age, many restaurants have made it easy for us. The printed receipt shows various options, listing the exact amounts of tips at 15, 20, 25 percent and more. It's nice not having to think.

But even though math is no longer an issue, some folks are either negative about tipping, or suffer from what the online financial marketplace Lending Tree calls “tipping fatigue.” Their recent survey shows almost half of Americans think businesses should “pay their employees better rather than relying so much on tips.” Sure, they could do that, and it would soon be followed by outrage that the lasagna plate just got 20 percent more expensive.

I will admit that I’m taken aback by restaurants that include the tipping option at the very beginning, before you've been served. The ones where you pay at the register and then wait for your food. How do you know if the service will be excellent, average, or perhaps poor? It’s like they’re saying, “Take our word for it. Your service will be amazing!” Most of the time it is, and I want to acknowledge that. But I like to decide for myself.

We all dream of what we would do if we won the lottery. We wake up one morning, check our ticket numbers, and learn that we suddenly don't have a care in the world. No more car payments, no more house payments, no more living from paycheck to paycheck. I have a friend who won a big prize, and then bought a nice house. I love a happy ending, with no strings attached.

I have interviewed two major lottery winners (most prefer to avoid any public attention, and I can't say that I blame them).

One was an elderly man who won several thousand dollars in the 1990s, the early days of the Georgia lottery. He wanted to do what many folks say they would do. He offered to donate his winnings to his church. There was just one snag. His church, or at least the pastor, would not accept the money because it was “dirty.” The lottery, like all gambling, was “evil,” the elderly man was told. Never mind how much good could be accomplished in the church community with all of that dirty money. I was unable to follow up on what the elderly man eventually did with his winnings. Perhaps he found a new church that was willing to clean up his dirty cash and put it to good use.

I met another major lottery winner at a book signing a few years ago. He asked me why I write books, and I jokingly replied that until I won the lottery, that was my retirement plan. He said, “Oh, I know all about winning the lottery.”

His winnings were in “the upper six figures,” he said, and he took the lump sum option and invested it carefully. After taking care of some immediate family needs, he decided to use the remainder as a way to quietly help others. “Do you ever see those stories in the news about a waitress who was shocked to find a thousand dollar tip under her plate?” he said. “One of those was mine. And I've done it more than once. You can sort of tell someone who needs a boost. And I'm blessed to be able to do that.”

I've been a more generous tipper in recent years. Lots of folks need a boost these days. I haven't left any thousand dollar tips yet, but like many of you, I dream of the day I can.

David Carroll is a Chattanooga news anchor, and his latest book is "I Won't Be Your Escape Goat," available from his website, ChattanoogaRadioTV.com. You may contact him at 900 Whitehall Rd, Chattanooga, TN 37405, or at RadioTV2020@yahoo.com