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Tuesday, January 28, 2003 Two moments: -- Yesterday evening, I'm in a local drogería/perfumería (a combination drugstore and perfume/cologne store – why that combo? got me; it's a common one here, though) picking up some cleaning supplies. "California Dreaming" is playing loudly on the in-store sound system, an employee stocking shelves near where I am sings loudly along with the Mamas & the Papas. He clearly doesn't know the lyrics and likely doesn't speak English, so is doing the universal let's-make-noises-that-sound-kind-of-like-what-they're-singing thing. Cranking out nonsense sounds in time to the music as if his life depended on it. -- Today, I went back to the travel agency I visited last Thursday, when I made arrangements for a jaunt to Italy a month from now. I've been waiting to hear re: confirmations re: places to stay. I go in, the woman I dealt with tells me that all the arrangements are set. She looks around for the forms to fill out for my itinerary, with no luck. She looks some more, the office is out of them. She confers with the guy in charge, they ask me if I need to have the form, I say, well, yes. Next thing I know, this woman goes flying out the door into the afternoon sunlight and down the street out of view, apparently running to another office. Literally running to another location to see if they had what she needed to help me out. Which is when I realize they were asking me if I needed the material right then, right that moment, as in "is it urgent?" Why didn't she make a call instead of running out the door? Got me. Something like ten minutes later, she reappeared having searched the other location without finding the form. I didn't care – I am blown away when people put themselves out like that. In the moment she went out that door, a teensy bit of my heart when out after her in gratitude for her willingness to (literally) go the extra distance. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I received an e-mail today from someone in northern Vermont, written around 6 a.m. Vermont time, before they went off to work. The temperature at that hour, they said, was around -35 F.(!!!) The temperature here right now, just shy of 4 p.m. Madrid time (golden sunlight streaming down, not a cloud in the sky): somewhere in the neighborhood of 58 F. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For a good time, check out the last couple of entries here, here and here. rws 12:27 PM [+]
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