Characters

Sweet elixir of life. Precious moment of hope. Promise of a new day dawning. Cleanser of all failures past. Irrevocable blast of joy. Glimmering dream that today may be completely different from all that went before — with no task left undone, no problem unsolved, no challenge unconquered. My daily drive-through is as certain as the rising of the sun and ebb of the tide. I drive through, therefore I am. The rich aroma wafts through the window and washes over me like a hug from Nona. Likewise the cheerful smile from the barista de jour. He/she greets me like I'm a valuable human being — it's part of the job description, sure, but I don't care. I’m fine with it. Today will be better because I circumnavigated this Mecca. My venti-coffee-with-one-ounce-of-cream will accompany me through a 12- or 14-hour day. It will flavor every conversation, every paragraph, every phone call, every meeting. Yes. They know my order before I place it. Yes. It costs WAY too much for ...

Today my Starbucks-addicted daughter and her friend strayed into a local Tim Hortons. The two got an unexpected and sweet surprise when they ran into an older couple they had never met before. (A — Why did they stray from Starbucks? and B — What age are they calling "older?" I'm hoping the couple was at least 10 years my senior. It's the only way the story works for me.) The man said he wanted to give them something, and he pulled out these two little shirt shapes made out of dollar bills. He said to them, "Now you will never be broke and will always have a shirt," and told them to dream big. One gesture — Couldn't have taken more than 2 minutes. Cost a total of $2. And now these girls will have 2 tiny momentos tucked in their wallets that will bring a smile to their faces for who knows how long. Each time they see them, they'll remember the day when two people they never met before were kind, and sweet, and gave them something better than...