Lena

Lena makes salads at the Market Street Supermarket. I asked her to make a goat cheese and greens salad with chicken, with the blush wine vinaigrette on the side. Lena patiently listens to each customer, and makes the salads with a quiet courtesy. She puts the ingredients in using notes on a card posted on the side of the salad platform case. Lena is pretty young compared to me. I wonder if she attends college when she is not working, or if she makes salads her career. We exchanged proper expressions of "please" and "thank you" and "have a nice evening".

I step down to the hot meal section. I eschew the salads my wife likes in favor of roast turkey, greens and a roll. Somewhat unusually, Lena manages this counter as well. She adds my turnip greens and my green beans. We exchange "please", "thank you" and "have a great evening" all over again. Through the efforts of such diligent, polite people as Lena, the world is made livable.