One of the best things I’ve found about relocating to a small town is the hospitality in most of the service and restaurant establishments.
Tonight I stopped by the local downton Subway and stayed to study. They only opened this location a year ago and I have already found this downtown location one of the best franchises in the area. The employees have been trained well enough to be efficient with their order taking and hold a pleasant conversation with the patrons.It is also nice to realize that the employees are familiar with my standard one or two orders — considering they see multitudes of people over a weeks time.
There was a young gentleman (Jake) tonight who while he was sweeping floors was able to hold a short converstation. He was notably concerned that he would get his work done on time — an admirable quality showing his conciousness as a paid employee. I was at the subshop long enough to require an additional sandwich, so Amanda suggested a flatbread egg sandwich — great choice.
I was studying Spanish phrases at a table when two customers sat down next to me. They were string musicians discussing how to switch-play a violin. I pulled up a video of a fiddler explaining the difference between the left-handed and right-handed violin. See Video.
OK — it was bold of me to interrupt them and step into their converation — but that is how you meet amazing people in your life. I interupted carefully and showed them the info I found online about customizing a violin to be held and played in the non-traditional way. I found out that they where freelance musicians hired to play in the local college musical “Into the Woods.” We had a 5 minute conversation and then they ran off to the rehearsal that was to last at least three hours.
Spanish guitar is my favorite form of guitar music. It is incredibly expressive and exhilarating and uses the instrument in so many unique ways other than just strumming chords.
Chance encounters, maybe I will see them again, maybe not — but it was a connection through food and music.
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