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Transcript

The Woman Behind the Counter · Infinite Threads with Bob Barnett

• 0:00
  [music]
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: hey, hey!
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Infinite Threads.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Bob.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yesterday we met Mark.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: He started the day irritated,
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: helped an older man whose grocery bags split in the street,
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: and then carried a little more patience into a coffee shop.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Behind the counter was Maya.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Mark knew almost nothing about her.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Today we do.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Maya had been awake Since 312 that morning, her mother had called from the hospital.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing catastrophic had happened,
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: but the doctors wanted to keep her overnight and run more tests.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Those, well, those are the kind of words that can sound very calm when everybody else says them.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: We just want to run a few more tests.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: That sentence can keep a person awake for hours.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Maya had spent most of the night staring at the ceiling,
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: imagining every possible version of what those tests might mean.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: By morning, she was exhausted.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: She considered calling in sick.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Then she thought about rent.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: So she went to work.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: The coffee shop was already busy when she arrived.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: The morning rush came early.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: One machine needed resetting.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: A co-worker had called out sick.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody was annoyed because their order had taken too long.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: By the time Mark walked in,
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Maya felt like she was holding her whole morning together with string.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: The register froze.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Of course it did, right?
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: She asked him to repeat his order.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: For half a second, she braced herself.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: She had already dealt with one customer who acted like a delayed latte was
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: a personal betrayal or something.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, Mark looked at her and said, take your time.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think the machines are having a day too.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Maya laughed.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Just a little.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: It was enough.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Mark got his coffee and left.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: He had no idea that his patience had mattered.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Maya barely had time to think about it herself.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: The next customer stepped forward, then another.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Life kept moving.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: But something, something had changed.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Not the situation.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Her mother was still in the hospital.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Maya was still tired.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: The register was still temperamental.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: But for a minute, somebody had not made the day harder.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: That can matter more than we realize.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: About two hours later, the door opened and a young guy came in fast.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Backpack over one shoulder, breathing hard.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: He looked around like he was trying to figure out where he was
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: and what he was supposed to do next.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: His name was Eli.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: He walked to the counter and asked if the city bus stopped nearby.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Maya pointed toward the corner.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Then he looked at the clock above the menu.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: His face dropped.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: I missed it.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Maya said, next one should be about 30 minutes.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Eli stared at the floor.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: 30 minutes was apparently a problem.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Maya could have stopped there.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, she had answered the question.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: There were people waiting behind him.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: She had work to do.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: But something about his face made her ask, Are you okay?
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: He hesitated.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Then he said he was supposed to be across town for an interview.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: His first real job interview.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: He had gotten off at the wrong stop,
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: tried to walk the rest of the way,
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: and now there was no chance he was going to make it on time.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: Maya looked at the clock, then at the line, then back at Eli.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have the number?
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: He pulled out his phone.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Maya said, call them.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Eli shook his head.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: They're going to think I'm irresponsible.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe, Maya said, or maybe they'll think That the bus system is annoying.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: He smiled.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: That helped.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Then he called.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: The first person transferred him.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Then he had to explain the whole thing again.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Maya went back to making drinks.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: A few minutes later, Eli walked back over.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: They said I can come at 11.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: See?
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: He looked relieved, then embarrassed.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: I still don't know how I'm getting there.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Maya thought for a second.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: One of the regular customers, Mr. Lewis, was sitting near the window.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Retired man.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Always reading an actual newspaper,
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: which made him something of a museum exhibit in the coffee shop.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Maya walked over to him.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Mr. Lewis?
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: He lowered the paper.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: She nodded toward Eli.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Is there any chance that you're heading toward Midtown?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Mr. Lewis looked at Eli, then at Maya.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Then he folded the paper.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: I can be.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: Eli immediately started saying no.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't want to bother.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_02: He didn't want to bother anyone.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Mr. Lewis stood up and said, son, I'm retired.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: You're not interrupting anything.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Ten minutes later, they were gone.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Maya went back behind the counter.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: And that was it.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: At least from her point of view.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: She wouldn't see Eli again that day.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: She would not know how the interview went.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: She would not know what happened in Mr. Lewis's car on the way there.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: She had simply noticed a person who looked worried and asked one more question.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Are you Okay.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: That question changed the direction of somebody's morning.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: And here's the part that Maya never knew.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Mr. Lewis had almost stayed home that day.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: The coffee shop was part of his routine.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: After his wife died, routine had become very important.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Breakfast at home.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Coffee at the shop.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Newspaper by the window.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: It gave the day, it gave the day a shape.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: But that morning he had felt especially lonely.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: But he came anyway.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Then Maya asked him for a favor.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: Suddenly someone needed him.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: And it wasn't like they, it wasn't For anything enormous, a ride.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: But that was enough.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: On the way across town, Eli talked almost nonstop.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: He was nervous.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Mr. Lewis listened.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually, Eli asked what he had done for work.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Mr. Lewis told him.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Then he started giving interview advice.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Not because Eli asked for it,
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: because apparently retired men are legally required
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: to give young people advice once they get them into a car.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Not really.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: Some of it was probably useful.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Some of it was probably from 1987.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: But Eli listened anyway.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: When they reached the building,
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: Mr. Lewis said, look them in the eye Don't try to sound impressive.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: Just tell them what you can do.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Eli nodded.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: Then he got out.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: He made it to the interview.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Mr. Lewis drove away.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: And for the first time that morning, he didn't feel quite so alone.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that is the strange thing about the day that we're following this week.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody knows the whole story.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: Mark didn't know what Maya was carrying.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Maya didn't know what Mr. Lewis was carrying.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: And Eli, Eli certainly didn't.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Each person saw only the moment directly in front of them.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: But something, something kept moving.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Mark had been given a chance to slow down at the intersection.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: He carried that patience Into the coffee shop
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: where Maya received some of it.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Then, then a worried young man walked through the door.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: She had just enough room left in herself to notice him.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: And because she noticed him, Mr. Lewis got pulled into the story.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: No one, no one planned any of this.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: There was no grand act.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: That may be what I like most about it.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Human connection often happens that way.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Very, very ordinary.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Someone pays attention.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Someone asks one extra question.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody says yes when they could have said no.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: Then life moves different.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: Tomorrow we're going with Eli, the kid who missed the bus.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because getting him to the interview was not the end of his part in this story.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: Not even close.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: And once again, the people helping him had no idea what would happen because they did.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: I love you guys very, very, very much.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what I need you to do.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_02: Go out there and pass that on, okay?
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Later Gators, see you
• 12:50
  [music]