Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Bernadette

Updated for 2022



I stopped in at my neighborhood Dunkin' Donut shop the other day. I was on my second cup of coffee and for some reason I was feeling sorry for myself. I quickly came to my senses.

The door opens and in rolls a lady named Bernadette, sitting atop a four-wheeled scooter. Now mind you, this particular donut shop is housed in a 1,000 square feet space with five or six tables and a dozen chairs. Bernadette maneuvers her way to the counter, wheeling her vehicle around the chairs, the tables and the 15 customers, all of whom were awaiting their orders.

I was amazed how she handled the situation. She backed her Victory Pride scooter close enough to the counter to place her order. And there she sat. Bernadette took a few dollars out of a white envelope, paid the cashier and proceeded to devour her newly-acquired sugar-filled donut. At this point, I just couldn't help myself, so I proceeded to walk up to her and we ended up having a pleasant conversation.

She introduced herself and said she was 77 years old. She proceeded to tell me the brand name of the scooter and explained that recently she had a bit of a problem due to the fact the battery needed to be replaced. I asked her how far she had motored this morning. "Oh!"she said. "I live up near Speedway and Alvernon."

I quickly calculated the distance. My goodness, that's a good two miles. Bernadette asked me my name and then she said, "Danny, it was nice talking to you." I went back to my seat, took another sip of coffee, looked out the window and watched the traffic scurry by.

We all have our troubles, and we figure out a way to survive in this crazy world. For some, like Bernadette, they shrug off their troubles and keep rolling along. I didn't have a donut, and that's probably a good thing. I left the donut shop and I watched Bernadette roll on down the highway, so to speak. 

I had a great cup of coffee. I was now ready to roll, too. I left the donut shop with a lot better attitude and a smile on my face. And come to think of it, Bernadette left with a smile on her face, too.


No comments:

Post a Comment