JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FL -- With her perky smile and bubbly attitude, you'd never know the heartache within. Dressed in a bright pink polo shirt, her long blond hair tucked neatly through a ballcap, 17-year old Courtney Crandall is the smiling face welcoming hundreds of early morning commuters to the Panera Bakery here at the beach.
"Good morning! How are you! She beams to customer after customer as they scan the warm muffins, bagels and pastries behind her and breathe in the aroma of freshly brewed coffees.
But behind the smile and the sparkling blue eyes is the emotional void. The heartache of a young woman who laid her mother to rest just a few weeks before. Back on November 1st, Courtney Crandall's mother was killed in a hit-and-run accident on Lennox Avenue.
Enter the self-named Breakfast Club. Not the Molly Ringwald club of high school misfits, but an eclectic group of Panera regulars who gather each morning for the past four years, have gathered here to solve the world's problems over hot java and toasty bagels.
They are from different countries, religions, generations and neighborhoods, but they all share the spirit of love. When they heard about Courtney's Mom, they opened their hearts --and their wallets.
On this chilly November morning, the Breakfast Club has gathered once again, but there is a distinct buzz in the air. One of them is holding a bouquet of dozen pink roses. Suddenly cameras start appearing, along with the head of the entire Panera Corporation.
Courtney soon learns that her favorite group of regulars have been plotting behind her back in front of her counter. They bring her out to the main floor where the presentations begin.
Next, is Mike Shalz a local Funeral Director, who, with the group's blessing, donated a memorial headstone to Courtney's family a few days earlier. On this morning, Shalz has an envelope for Courtney.
"All of your friends and your family at Panera also appreciate you and appreciate all you've done for all of our guests. So on behalf of all of us at Panera this is a check for $2,000."
"'Cause my mom and dad didn't have any life insurance. Mom didn't have any at all. And it was very overwhelming to have to deal with the funeral and just lose my Mom, which was too much for everybody to handle, especially me. I just couldn't handle it,"
As the applause and hugs filled the room and tears streamed down cheek after cheek, it became clear that while this wasn't exactly a solution to all of the worlds problems, for the Breakfast Club, it was a pretty good start.
And here, at the Panera Bakery just across A-1-A from the Jacksonville Beach water tower, tomorrow will be another day. No cameras, no roses. Just the continuing love between one young woman and her adopted family.
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