Friday, February 25, 2011

...And a better tomorra!

Town population: 3,200
Location: 42 miles NE of Dallas, TX

GOOD MORNING! HOW ARE YOU TODAY? WHAT CAN I GET FOR YOU? That's how I 100% of the time greet my customers and yes I literally do shout it when they first enter our store. Why? Um, because I do? So judgemental! And when they leave, I calmly express my appreciation for their business with "thank you very much, you have a great day today!" *insert BIG smile* Repeat! Being in a small town you get to know everybody and their biz and vice versa. I mean, the entire town has the hubs cell phone number for goodness sakes. And no, I'm not exaggerating when I say the whole town does. He's kind of a local celebrity - the high schoolers even have a song made up for him!! Then again, who can't love him. He's such a social butterfly (unlike hermit crab moi).  On the up side, getting to know all the locals has helped us establish a large, loyal customer base and we love catching up with them and going to dinners/rodeos/get togethers with them. Mike and Lela are the hubs and I's inspiration as a couple. They are so much in love with each other even after 50+ years of marriage. The way Mike looks at Lela and gets all jello and teary eyed... *cue unanimous awwww* On the bad side, getting close to the locals is hard on us. We become very involved in their lives through their ups and downs. We've put in a good mileage at a few hospitals the past few months unfortunately. I'd rather rack up those hospital visitation mileage than to hear the unforgettable news of a dirt nap. Sadly, we lost one of our good customers turned close friends, Sid.

Sid was one of the first customers I got close to and has a blunt but hilarious sense of humor. He always orders an apple fritter, and almost didn't make it to our wedding. He was a tough cookie and recovered well enough to attend. We were ecstatic to know that his presence will preside on our big day. When I pipe out my farewell line at the shop, he always responds with, "And a better tomorra!!" It never fails to make me smile from ear to ear and giggle. Now, I will never hear his response at the shop again nor see his smile and hear his crazy sense of humor when we visit him on an off day. Sid - thank you for being a part of our lives and never failing to make us smile when we see you. Rest in peace our dear friend.


Taken by Colorband PhotoArtisans
Cropped by me

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