Aw, Peeps!

I was at the Starbucks on Broadway and Bond right when they opened at 6:00 am this morning. I had to buy a couple of those travel pack boxes of coffee for a team breakfast with my triathlon club after our final swim practice of the semester. The cashier told me it would be a few minutes because the coffee was still brewing, so I sat down at a table to read while she prepared my order. Right after I walked in, two homeless men entered the store. One handed the cashier a newspaper, and then asked politely if he could use the restroom. She said yes, and I never saw him again.

The other wheeled his cart to a table off to the side, and stripped down to just a pair of jeans and a sweater vest, no shirt underneath. He looked a little bit like Yukon Cornelius and his upper arms were hairy enough that I was like, Yeah, okay, it totally makes sense for you to only wear the sleeveless part of a sweater. He then carried a bunch of crates to the back storeroom, arranged all the chairs nicely at each table, and straightened up the items in the cooler display. After he finished these little tasks the cashier handed him a large coffee, they both said, “Thank you” and he sat down at a table to enjoy his coffee. No other words were spoken between them, and no one else entered the store. I’m a pretty cynical person, but this was incredibly heartwarming.

Posted December 9, 2011 at 2:32pm in i've had that mariah carey christmas song lodged in my head for four days || home