Chicago North Shore Diners: Picking up the checks for sailors' meals

Great Lakes Naval Training Center in North Chicago is where all enlisted sailors start their navy careers.

And the residents of the North Shore are grateful, and showing via their wallets:

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Random acts of kindness are happening in Lake County.

Restaurants on the North Shore say their patrons are getting into the habit of picking up the tabs of fellow diners who happen to be military personnel as a gesture of goodwill.

At Egg Harbor Cafe, a cozy breakfast and lunch spot in Lake Forest, sailors from the Great Lakes Naval Base in North Chicago are treated to free meals several times a month. Diners started picking up the tab after Sept. 11, manager Michelle Rasmus said.

Most of the time, it's done anonymously. All of the time, the sailors are "very grateful," she said.