He was tall with dark hair and slim. He reminded me of me a lifetime ago. Just like me back then, he was in blue jeans and a white T-shirt every day I saw him at the coffee shop. His nose was buried in his computer, and I figured he was studying at the local community college like so many who came in there regularly. I wish I’d gotten to know him, but you know how that goes...strangers in a room with no reason to interact and all. But one day I happened to be at the cash register early when he came in to order his coffee. The attractive female barista smiled and said hello to him and for some reason made mention of the fact that he was wearing his white T-shirt and jeans, and that she knew him because that’s what he always wore. I thought it was a bit off to bring that up. Too personal and could be interpreted as a slam. He was quiet, but he seemed to take it without obvious offense and trotted off to work on his computer and drink his coffee.
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Yesterday was unique. A very sweet older black woman came up to me in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. Most of the time, waiting rooms like that are pretty isolating. Folks don’t talk to strangers. They’ve usually got enough on their minds being at the doctor’s to begin with, and this was a pain management specialist to boot. But this lady was compelled to tell me something. She walked over, smiled, and asked me if I was a firefighter here in town. You see, all my shirts were dirty (that’s another story about me being too lazy to do my laundry…) and so I grabbed one of my uniform pullover shirts from my years with Durango Fire and Rescue to wear. Then she did something no one has ever done in my 44 years in law enforcement, firefighting, and medical work. She thanked me for my service. All those years doing things on scene to save lives, protect property, and help those in need at all hours of the day and night, and often with no pay…with only one other thank you from a woman whose lost child I returned to her. Yeah, really. I hadn’t even done anything for this woman. I can’t accurately put into words how much her kind words affected me. We need to remember we owe a lot of thank you’s to a lot of folks in this world for so many things they do. Gratitude is contagious. Tell someone today that what they did meant something to you. |
Greg
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