The Kindness of a Place

"Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles and kindness, and small obligations given habitually, are what preserve the heart and secure comfort."

― Humphry Davy

One of the best things about kindness is that it makes us feel good.  There is something about it that enables us to relax, to ease into the moment.

And today being Friday, I thought about a place where I always feel kindness -- the local pizza place that we frequent most Friday nights. With a good-natured sense of humor, the people who work there put up with my special requests -- including pizza with four different quarters.  They usually recognize my voice on the phone and always greet my family with smiles.  They give me the food and let me pay after -- risky, as on more than one occasion, they have called me back as I mindlessly leave without paying.  The other day, a girlfriend and I were admiring one particularly cheesy pizza that had come out of the oven; one of the guys who works there had made it to take home.  Next thing we knew, he brought us several pieces of his pizza, so that we could eat it while we waited for ours.  And on one particular memorable evening, I was surprised when I walked in and the four guys behind the counter sang Happy Birthday to me. 

The kindness of a place feels effortless, just a friendly neighborhood kind of thing, but it's palpable and it no doubt contributes to our lingering -- in our case, it can frequently be for a few hours.  It's a kindness that lends itself to good conversation.  My friends and I have shared many highlights and challenges during long talks at our pizza place.  Admittedly, the pizza is pretty good, but I think we also go for the Cheers atmosphere:  

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,

and they're always glad your came.

You wanna be where you can see,

our troubles are all the same

You wanna be where everybody knows

your name.

from the theme song of Cheers