Dog Treats

It takes some sort of Herculean strength to go out of your way to be nice to others when you aren't in the best place emotionally.

When a new, middle-aged barista started at Starbucks at few months ago, he took an immediate interest in Louie. But Louie's kind of a shy guy, and when this barista would come at him, he'd do everything from cower to growl. The barista made it his mission to win Lou over. Their relationship started gradually, with a hand extended for a sniff, then a scratch behind the ears, and then the shoulders. They were getting pretty well, and then the barista stepped it up by bringing Greenies for Louie.

From my conversations with the barista, the Greenies seem to have started at the same time that he began having some personal problems, financial and familial. And he occasionally doesn’t charge Bryan or me for our purchases.

Recently, Bryan told me that the barista wouldn’t accept payment for his latte, saying, “You’re a good person.”

I don’t pretend to think that me and my husband and our little dog figure into this barista’s life in any significant way. But it seems like he’s going out of his way to be kind, when the world is being pretty unkind to him. Like he’s embarked on a caffeinated path back to a better place for himself.