Grunt Workers

Today I interacted with a grand total of four people. Just four. Two of them were dear clients for whom I thoroughly enjoy working, and I can't write about them. (I have a rule that clients/friends/relatives are verbotin on this blog. Here, I intend to write about the others that brighten my day.)

And that's okay, because the two others were, in fact, FABULOUS!

The first was Khrystine or Krystine or some variant of Christine. She's the teller at the bank. Each time I walk into the lobby, which is about once a month, she says, "Hi Kathie!" in a happy, booming voice that carries across the room. How does she know my name? I know hers, but only because she is wearing a name tag, and the odd spelling on the name tag always makes me think, "that's really Christine". I am stumped, curious, How does she know my name? Anyways, Khrystine was beyond happy today, which is par for the course for her. And so it was, as usual, a delightful experience to bank this morning.

Don't you just love it when the person paid to serve you is happy at their job? It really does carry you through the next half hour or so. I swear, the song on the radio sounds better and the traffic is calmer when I drive away from the bank. Hey, I wonder if we could get federal funding to study the effect of happy tellers on the general population. ... maybe ...

And then, after I concluded a day of househunting with my fabulous clients, I dropped by Whole Foods and made a beeline for the Deli. I was desparately hungry. And what do you know, Bob - a mature man of, I'd guess, 55 or 60 - was in the cheeriest mood. He, too, seemed to be perfectly content on the job.

You know a guy has his head on straight when, in the course of conversation, he tells you that he has only been at Whole Foods for a month, since he was laid-off his other job, and he is thrilled to be in the Deli, since he spent so much time standing on the other side of the counter, these past ten years.

Okay. Hold it there. A guy who used to stand on the other side of the counter had enough money to stand on the other side of the counter. So we're talking about a man, maybe an architect or mid-level manager who used to make real money, but today he's just making me smile. We tasted the Autumn Couscous. He said, "It's only here for a few weeks and I'm addicted. I don't know what I'll do after it's discontinued...." okay, I'll take a pint of that. "And you'll want a taste of our Grilled Salmon, it's delicious today...." okay, I'll take some of that, too.  (Hmmm. I am beginning to think, he was a sales executive!)

After a delightful ten minutes in the Whole Foods Deli, I headed for home, where I am alone again, just the dog and me.

Note to My Children, all of whom have worked as a bank teller or deli clerk: I didn't make this up! This really & truly was my day! Two seemingly inconsequential grunt workers made it special. We'll have to remember that.