The Cashier & The Country Singer: A West Alabama Christmas Story

MCCALLA, AL — Fordie Hays isn't the biggest name in country music yet, but his talent and hard work have allowed him to be one of the lucky few to chase that Neon Rainbow full time.

Regularly traveling back and forth from his farm in Magee, Mississippi, to Nashville, Exit 100 in McCalla has become a favorite spot to pull over, stretch legs, refuel and grab a quick bite to eat.

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The 33-year-old father of two boys first moved to Nashville 15 years ago and scraped by working odd jobs until he found his way onto the iHeart Radio country charts with his first single, “Life in the Slow Lane," in 2015. He has since produced several radio-worthy singles and continues to burn up the roughly 400-mile stretch between his Mississippi hometown and the country music capitol of the world.

"She’s not begging in front of Walmart or standing around with her hand out ... She's on her feet working. I respect the hell out of someone like that. So I just had to do something."

- Fordie Hays in an interview with Patch.

But during a recent stop on his way back through Alabama, Hays went in to the same McCalla truck stop McDonald's for a 10-piece McNugget meal ... unaware of the overwhelming good that was about to come out of such an innocent transaction.

"It had been a long day and I had a lot on my mind," he told Patch in a phone interview on Friday. "Then, there's this lady. I stop in there all the time and had never seen her before. When I ordered, she was having trouble with the computer and hit the credit card button instead of the one for cash. But my meal was $5.78 and I handed her $11, not really thinking, and she told me it was too much."

Hays apologized for his oversight and told the elderly woman behind the register that he was having one of those days.

"But then she said 'yeah and I just got started — I don’t get off until midnight tonight.' Then she mentioned how bad her back was hurting," Hays recalled of that afternoon. "It was kind of surreal. I looked up and just told her to keep the change on that deal. But after I left, I just kept thinking about her and felt bad ... like I should have given her more money or something."

That woman was 75-year-old Annie Myrick — a mother originally from Atlanta who is actively battling breast cancer and undergoing chemotherapy.

Working from 2 p.m. until midnight every day but Tuesdays and Thursdays, her unflinching demeanor, in a way, reminded the aspiring country music star of the kind-hearted grandmother who raised him — a beloved lady he referred to as his "person."

It's worth noting that, for a blue-collar guy who enjoys Tennessee caramel whiskey and writes songs about raucous good times — one of which is entitled "There's Gonna Be a Fight" — tears were in his eyes as he hurried out of the Love's truck stop that day.

"She’s not begging in front of Walmart or standing around with her hand out," he said, his thick Mississippi accent now gripped by a mix of emotions. "She's on her feet working. I respect the hell out of someone like that. So I just had to do something."

The chance encounter inspired Hays to start a GoFundMe drive to raise money for Myrick after a Facebook post on his fan page was shared well over 1,000 times. Through his original post, he was able to find out the woman's name, learn more about her story and rally his followers to donate toward making the holidays bright for the hardworking cashier.

Since launching the GoFundMe on Thursday, the online fundraising drive has already collected $3,340 from nearly 100 donors toward its goal of $5,000.

Click here to donate to the GoFundMe drive for Annie Myrick.

"To me, I haven’t been hugely blessed, but I’ve always been able to buy, sell, trade or earn whatever I need and there’s always been enough there to keep myself paid to go to Nashville," he said in a moment of candor and humility. "I'm not rich or anything but I want to give where I can and I hope people out there will, too, so this lady can have the Christmas she deserves."

'You just don't know how much it means. I don't know what to say or how to thank you.'

- Annie Myrick in an interview when asked what she would like to say to Fordie Hays

Tuscaloosa Patch visited Myrick when she was on the clock Friday afternoon, speaking with the 75-year-old when she had quick breaks from sorting cash or taking orders from a steady line of customers. The truck stop is a busy one, just off an even busier stretch of interstate that connects Tuscaloosa and Birmingham.

She admitted she was unaware of the GoFundMe until Friday morning, when she was informed of the effort by coworkers. When told by Patch just how much it had already raised, her mouth dropped and tears began to pool in the corner's of her striking blue eyes — a feature that one can't help but appreciate when meeting her in person.

Myrick went on to tell me how she was driving to work this week after receiving a chemotherapy treatment, when an SUV in her lane left her no choice but to avoid the much-larger vehicle.

"I moved over, and when I did, the curb was jagged, so it blew out my tire and damaged both of my wheels," she lamented. "[The car] is on a doughnut right now. They were brand new tires. I had them three weeks."

Between car troubles, cancer treatments and working on her feet five days a week, Myrick's demeanor is surprisingly warm and positive — at a time when it would be justifiable for her to fold the tent and be bitter with the world.

She was surprised, though, and didn't expect the act of kindness by the rising country music star, much less the outpouring of love and support she has received in less than 24 hours.

When asked what she would like to say to Hays after receiving the news, her smile widened and she said she just simply couldn't believe it.

"I hope you just didn't feel sorry for me," she relayed with a laugh to the country singer. "I didn't mean for anything to come out of what I said. I just made the comment I was supposed to have my back surgery before I had my mastectomy, but it didn't work out that way and my back was hurting, so I just made that comment.

"I had no idea you would do something like this for me and I really do appreciate it," Myrick added. "You just don't know how much it means. I don't know what to say or how to thank you, but do come in the store and introduce yourself."

Click here to visit the Fordie Hays fan page on Facebook. His music is available for download on Apple Music, Spotify and other platforms.

You can also click here to listen to his most recent single, 2020's "More in this Glass."

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com