|
Donut Shop Hope
Shipley Donuts in Friendswood, Texas has provided me more than a few great mornings and several million calories. It has also given me hope.
This weekend allowed me two opportunities to sit with a couple of donuts and drink-milk one day and coffee the other. Watching the staff and witnessing the customers provided an antidote to the poison of today's media and national/international mood.
The staff know their customers; they converse at whatever level the customer is comfortable with, ranging from simple greetings to details of family life. They smile, greet and appreciate the sales, moments and conversations. They seem to enjoy their people as much as the people enjoy the donuts.
The customers tend to leave with smiles, no matter what expression and mood existed upon arrival. I don't think it is just the sugary goodies that make them smile. If that was the case, every Shipley would feel this way. They don't.
The hope I feel is in the (re)realization, the reminder, that genuine, gentle, respectful conversation and interaction can go a long way in improving the minutes and moments of our lives. This simple enjoyment has become too rare, endangered by our own actions and inactions. Only each of us can keep these simple pleasures alive
Listen to Life is a free newsletter about learning and getting more from life by paying attention to our own stories and the stories of others, based on the presentations, writings, photography and workshops by Dion McInnis (www.dionmcinnis.com). Copyright 2009 Dion McInnis. All rights reserved.
|
