I'm a 36 year old librarian who loves to run, read, do yoga and hang out with my friends and family. I ran the 2008 & 2009 Boston Marathon for Team Eye & Ear to support the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Go Team Eye & Ear!







Thursday, May 1, 2008

Circle of Trust

Last night a button fell off my favorite leather jacket, but fortunately I heard it hit the sidewalk and safely stored it in my purse. The buttons are covered in the same leather the jacket is made out of, and it would be virtually impossible to find replacements. I toyed with the idea of sewing it back on myself; however, I am a terrible sewer and even when I try to sew a simple button, it looks like I used a stapler instead of a needle and thread. On my way into work I stopped at a dry cleaner and asked the woman behind the counter if she could sew my button for me and tighten up the others that were loose.
She was about 5 feet tall and 90 lbs, but she spoke as if she were built like a linebacker.
"You can't do this yourself?!" she demanded incredulously.
"Well, I think you would do a better job than me." I was immediately frightened of this woman, and thought that the best strategy would be to butter her up. "It's my favorite jacket, so I thought I should bring it to a professional."
"Ah... yes! Yes!" She wasn't looking at me anymore and instead was focusing on the jacket with such intensity I thought she might burn a hole through it. "OK! Do not move!" And with that, she took the jacket in the back and I stood still for 8 minutes. How did I know it was 8 minutes? I didn't check my cell phone for the time out of fear that she was watching the security feed in the back room and would know I had disobeyed her order to stand still. There just happened to be a wall clock in front of me, along with a sign that said, "We will make you look good!" and "No credit cards!"
She came out from the back room and showed me the jacket. "You will like this!" And, in fact, I did. All of the other buttons had been reinforced with a thread that perfectly matched the jacket and the other button was back where it should be. "How much do I owe you?"
She looked at me closely, leaned forward and said, "I like you and I like your jacket. I will give you a special price. Normally the cost is $10, BUT! I will only charge you $5."
"Oh, thank yo-"
"DON'T TELL ANYONE!"
"Uh, ok... thank you." I took the jacket and started to leave the store. As I started to push through the front door, she cheerfully said, "Have a great day! Please come again!"

2 comments:

Suldog said...

I love stories like that. I had one at my place a while back that you might like to read. Here's the url:

http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com/2007/01/dangers-of-sniffing-glue.html

Kris Lucius said...

doesn't blogging about it violate the circle of trust?