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The gas station clerk who remembered my coffee order for 3 years straight. | Ask Anything - nhfree.com

The gas station clerk who remembered my coffee order for 3 years straight.

There used to be this little Shell station on the corner of 5th and Main in my old neighborhood, and I'd stop there every morning for coffee and a pack of gum. After about 6 months, the clerk, this older guy named Mike, just started pouring my coffee when he saw my truck pull in. He always got it right - black, two sugars, with the little plastic lid already snapped on. One day I came in with a bad headache and told him I might skip the coffee, and he just said "you look like you need it more today" and pushed the cup toward me. That small thing stuck with me because nobody does that anymore, not even at places you go every day. I moved out of that town 2 years ago, but sometimes I wonder if Mike still remembers my order. Has anyone else had a stranger in your routine who just got you like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_elliot4mo ago

Man, Mike sounds like one of the real ones we don't deserve.

ninabutler4mo ago

Nod in agreement because Mike really does sound like the kind of guy who'd give you his last slice of pizza and then act like it was nothing. I bet he's the type to show up early to help a friend move and never mention it again. Makes you wonder what I'm doing with my life when I can barely remember to take out the trash on the right day. Doesn't that just make you feel a little bit of shame for your own slacker tendencies?

joseph9324mo ago

Hold on a second, @the_elliot. I gotta push back a little here. Mike sounds decent enough, but I wonder if we build people up too much in our heads based on one good story. I've known guys like that at work who are great in a crisis but terrible at the small everyday stuff, like remembering your name or not leaving a mess in the break room. It's easy to feel like a slacker next to some saintly version of a person we just heard about. Honestly, remembering to take the trash out on the right day is a solid win for the rest of us regular folks.