He was bad, He was never good, But one thing that he understood, And she knew, All these lies would come true.

There is something about cheerfulness that always makes life better. Here in Seattle, a few random people never cease to make me smile inside, not because they are funny or silly, but because they are uplifting in everything they do, I quite like it.

Example 1. Rene the grocery store cashier. Rene came to the states in pursuit of a woman and decided to stay; I don’t know if he’s still with her. Every time I buy my groceries, we make friendly small-talk. Yes, we have yet to solve the mysteries of the universe or reconcile my issues with humanity, but there IS something else. Something so genuinely good, so perfectly warm about this man, I cannot help but be happy when I see him.

Example 2. Ti the UPS Store manager. I came to his place once because it was after 5:00pm and the post office had closed. He was friendly and seemed only to want me to have a good experience while he was around. I had to pay double because the company doesn’t do media mail, yet, surprisingly, I didn’t care. I continue to visit Ti with my postage needs. I don’t know that he recognizes me now, but I still believe he holds a level of sincerity beyond that of even the “nicest” ward 19 year old.

Example 3. Lenny the electrician who works at my company. Despite not having a buddy named Carl, Lenny is great. I ran into him once in the reference library. We introduced ourselves, and he never forgot my name. Who remembers the name of an intern!!? Now, Lenny always says “Hi Mike” when he sees me. Even when the guy is tired, he smiles. Even when he’s super busy, he will stop for a few minutes to tell you were to look for DIN rail-mounted circuit breakers and then go on to explain, in detail, the best way to mount your power sources on an electrical panel.

And you know what, these three guys DO remind me, in a way, of someone in Hollywood…

May I learn to be like them all.

On with the Show - The Get Up Kids