Best Wishes to Yong

Tomorrow is the last day to buy coffee from Yong at Fritz Avani Coffee.
The building at 811 SW 6th Avenue is being remodeled and when the building is all new and shiny there will no longer be a space for the coffee shop.
 Every other week I go downtown to buy bus tickets for people who are in need of them. I have a pattern. I rode the bus until the new Orange Line opened, and now I ride the Max down to Pioneer Square. I buy my tickets from the lady at the far end of the counter who always keeps a small fan by her station. And then I go buy coffee from Yong before getting on the bus to work.
If you go often enough on a regular pattern, then people notice and begin to expect you or recognize when your routine has changed. For a while I always bought a soy chai latte and then I switched to a soy latte. Yong noticed. She was happy I was buying coffee because as she told me, her coffee was good. On one visit she asked my name and from that moment on she greeted me by name. It made me feel good to be recognized and she liked knowing almost before I did what I would order that day. Over time she asked other questions so she knew where I worked and a little about what I did and she shared a bit of herself with me as well.
When you are buying coffee in the morning you can't talk too long or you irritate the people who might be waiting or miss the bus that you need to catch. It takes a long time to learn a little bit when you see someone twice a month and no more, and for only the time it takes to make a coffee.
A couple of months ago Yong told me that the building was being remodeled and that space for her coffee shop would no longer be available in the new design. Her lease would end on the last day of October. She was sad. I was sad. She wasn't sure what she would do. She liked her coffee shop. I liked her coffee shop.
Steadily weeks went by and the time for the end came closer. I felt I had to add in an extra trip downtown, to see her an extra time before she was gone. I bought some bus tickets for my husband a little earlier than I needed to and the monthly pass for myself as well. When I went to buy the tickets the lady at the end with the fan was busy which happens from time to time. I bought my tickets from the man at the other end. I am always asked for ID as if my name suddenly won't match my debit card. I always get it out. I have always felt like an anonymous person.
Then I went for coffee. Yong was not at her coffee shop. I waited and waited determined that I would see her this extra time before the last one. After a bit she arrived along with a whole crowd of people who were also entering the building.
"We had a fire drill" she said and then asked me if  had been waiting long. Only a few minutes I said but she insisted the coffee would be free for the wait. I thanked her profusely after saying there was no need for free coffee. Her generosity could not be deterred. Then I rushed to the bus since I was a little later than usual. 
And then the last week arrived. I went downtown on Wednesday. Knowing it would be the last time I would make it to see her before she closed. It was my regular week for buying packets of tickets. I went to the lady at the end and she smiled and said, "You were here last week too?" I explained that I had come for tickets for my husband then I added that I wanted to see the lady at the coffee place around the corner before it closed. The lady engaged in conversation lamenting the demise of so many small businesses and asked if I knew what the coffee lady was going to do and I did so we chatted briefly and she hardly looked at my ID at all and then I knew. Checking ID was really a required part of her job, no exceptions just in case someone really was using someone else's card -- but she knew me too just like Yong at the coffee place.
I bought my last coffee at Fritz Avani. I went into the building instead of standing outside at the little window. It just seemed fitting somehow. I had a little card for her to thank her for the bright spot she had provided in my weeks. I handed her my punch card and asked her to write down her name since I am only guessing at the spelling. She asked if I had a business card and told me she would email me. I did have a card. She smiled and then came around the counter to give me a hug.
There are many service jobs in our city. People who take money, take a required look at ID, punch our "get one free" cards, notice our routines and maybe ask how we are doing. Some people go about their work determined to just get through the day hardly looking at the people they serve. Others offer the gift of kindness, a smile, or recognition. Their tasks may seem insignificant on a grand scale but are very important in other ways. The manner with which they serve can make or break our days.
I try hard to remember the names of those whose jobs are an important part of my day. I try to be fully present, (not on the phone or lost in thought) and remember to offer a smile, wait courteously, over look small errors, and be polite to those who serve. 
I will miss Yong. I will her smile of recognition and the way she made me feel important. I am sure there are others who feel the same.  
And I am glad the lady with the fan knows who I am. She is part of my life too.
We are all connected.