The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Day 021

Sunday, February 27, 2021

Recipient:

David, Walgreens, Evans & S. Marion

It's Sunday, 9:45 PM, and I've got to go out and find a stranger.

*sigh*

Walgreens is one of the few places one can find the Twist of Lime variety of SkinnyPop Popcorn, and I'm running low, so I decide to drive over. The store appears empty except for the cashier and another employee.

Two bags of popcorn. One package of cotton squares. Zero strangers.

I don't know the cashier, but I recognize him from prior visits. He's nice. 

Is that enough of a reason to give an award? No. Maybe. I don't know. 

It feels like cheating somehow. It feels like I'm failing. 

Oh well, I say to myself, maybe it's good enough to give the slip of cardstock because maybe it will brighten his day.

I move to the side so I can write out the thing but before I do it occurs to me to say:

"I'm just curious; do you like working here?"

He responds:

"This might sound weird, but I like giving good customer service. Making sure people are happier when they leave than when they arrive."

Fan-flippin'-tastic.

We talked some more. Walgreens is just one of his three jobs. He spoke with great pride about working at Sweet Cooie's, where they have chosen him specifically to train new hires in how to offer excellent customer service. Then he let me take his picture, and it was time to go.

 David, mission accomplished.

 

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Day 020

Friday, February 26, 2021

Recipients: 

The family of four, Park Burger, Platt Park

Said family was sitting at an adjacent table. 

The little boys (approximately one and a half and three years old) caught my attention because:

1. they looked like they were the same number of years apart as Tim and Isaac, and
2. they were acting in the manner of so many siblings, now the younger one wrapping his little fingers around his older brother's neck, now the older brother flattening his little brother like a pancake on the booth seat. 

I couldn't help making a friendly comment.

Me, standing at an acceptable social distance: Pardon me, but I'm just curious -- what's the age difference between these two?
Mom: A year and a half.
Me, pointing to Tim and Isaac: Just about the same.
[laughter]
Mike, from our table: It goes fast!
Mom, looking at Tim and Isaac: They're sitting so calmly...there's hope for us yet!
Me, to Mom: Yes!

Me, to myself: Everything is relative!

Tim and Isaac

 

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Day 019

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Recipients:

Matthew and Audrey, The Irish Snug, Capitol Hill

My insistent hunger plus a craving for Guinness steak tips drove us out of the house in a hurry, hoping to get to the restaurant in enough time so we wouldn't be those customers. 

You know the ones: they saunter in ten minutes before closing, order a house salad and tap water, then stay for two hours. (Actually, this worst case scenario is only a guess because I've never worked in food service. Feel free to set the record straight.)

The Snug did not have steak tips -- and dear Snug management, please tell me this is a temporary, pandemic-fueled decision and not a permanent change -- but it did have Matthew and Audrey. 

They put delicious food and drink in front of us with great haste and and smiles behind their masks. Matthew was also responsible for cueing up "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" by BSA fan favorites, Hall and Oates.

Friendly service at The Irish snug, in an Irish snug.* 

Win-win.

*What's a snug? Find out here: The History of the Irish Snug: Mental Floss

 

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Day 018

Monday, February 22, 2021

Recipient:

Anaya, Whole Foods, Cherry Creek

I ask this question a lot, especially in the checkout line.

And it's not empty air. I really, genuinely, want to know.

Me: How's your evening treating you?

Anaya: Great!

Cool. Definitely not a common response.

Me: If you don't mind me asking, what is making your day great?

Anaya: Life!

Ah. 

A kindred spirit. Extra-cool.

She went on to say that life was good, it's important to appreciate it, and make the best of it. 

I do not remember what she said that was cackle-snort-inducing.

I do remember her joyful, grateful response, and how grateful I felt to witness it.

 

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Day 017

Sunday, February 21, 2021

Recipient:

Meredith, Sweet Cow, Platt Park

True confessions: I have had this award in mind for a while now. 

Figured anyone who was sitting at the open window, withstanding below-freezing temperatures on a dark winter's evening to take orders from crazy people for whom "ice cream weather" can be translated as "all the weathers", was well-deserving of an award.

The fact that Meredith did so in good cheer and with excellent attention to the finer points of name-spelling was the cherry on top of my outrageously delicious hot fudge sundae.

 

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Day 016

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Recipients:

Jack & Grant (plus their parents and friend of parents), Platt Park

Mike and I were walking down Pearl Street behind this group:

A half-block up, two men, one pushing one of those car seat-type-strollers.

Fifteen feet behind them, a woman and a toddler.

I was already amused by the toddler, who was determined to exercise his still-developing gross motor skills not on the smooth sidewalk, but on the bumpy and precarious roadway verge filled with fist-sized rocks, where he was making a stumbling beeline toward a young tree only slightly taller than he. When I turned to back to look at him as we passed, the serious expression of intense concentration on his tiny face as he reached for a thin, papery leaf was hilarious and made me laugh out loud. 

"They're with you?" I asked the two men who had paused to let the rest of their party catch up.

Jack (the toddler), Grant (the baby) and their folks were in town to visit their friends (new to Denver) and see for themselves if they'd like to relocate here. They asked us if we lived in the neighborhood, and we all had a lively conversation about Platt Park, places to eat, drink, get groceries, and so on. We gave them our recommendations, and this award.

 

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Day 015

Friday, February 19, 2021

Recipient:

Melany, Michaels @ River Point, Sheridan

A search for more metallic pens and cardstock that wouldn't absorb the metallic rubber stamping ink led me to Melany. We had a thorough discussion about writing implements and the search for the perfect match of pen and paper. I showed her my self-designed rubber stamp. She showed me the staggeringly fabulous, 100% reproduction-worthy Valentine's Day card she made for her boyfriend -- white ink on black cardstock, intricately sketched, two skeletons embracing, hand-lettering that looked like bones.

I was energized by the whole interaction. Yes, there was the joy of talking with someone who's as much of an art-supply geek as I am. More than that, she responded as a person and an artist, rather than strictly a sales associate. She didn't have to. She could have recommended the materials and sent me on my way.

The openness with which she shared her work and herself, well, that's one of the little miracles of human connection. That's one of the things that makes life worth living.