Is This Mike On?

For the longest time, they wouldn’t talk to us.

We would see them from our third-floor apartment and wondered if it was something we said. To be honest, we were on the wrong side of the tracks. They were managers about our age with a little girl, living for free in a trailer below us. We were tenants going to school. It would never work.

I tried everything, including at least a head nod in passing. It was either a spasm in his neck or he might have responded back.

If I said hi, I would get a grunt or something like unto it in return.

But we didn’t give up. It wasn’t that we were stalkers or anything. I was determined to break down that wall.

I remember the day I returned with the white bag full of glazed doughnuts. I walked up to him outside as he was working on something.

“Here, these are for you,” I said, handing them to him.

Always carry doughnuts with you.

His eyes widened. His jaw dropped in surprise. We talked for a few minutes until I went back to my place.

From then on, things were different. When they saw us, they were first to initiate a greeting. We would often stop and speak with them in front of their trailer.

It wasn’t long before she invited my wife into the trailer and they became good friends.

A few months later, he finished school and they prepared to move. Would we be interested in the manager job? It would mean free rent along with other benefits. After their recommendation, we met with the owners who promptly hired us.

It was an opportunity which proved to be a big blessing during our very lean college years.

We owe it all to the doughnuts.

Photo from here

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