It all began in the dying Alabama town.
It all began in the dying Alabama town.
The Grand Bay Waffle House was filled with hungry customers. Most were working-class. Many were retired.
The sound and smell of frying bacon drifted out of the busy kitchen.
Edward Seward sat at a table. He was a truck driver and repeat customer. Today, he sat alone and his waitress was Tonda Dickerson.
Tonda was in her late 20s. She was a divorced single mother who left her abusive husband a few years prior. She now lived hand to mouth, working shifts five days a week.
Seward finished his meal and tipped Tonda with a lottery ticket he’d bought in Florida during one of his routes.
And so began a snowball of events that would make for a great movie script.