It is always nice to sit back in an evening and think of all the things that made you happy during the day. It’s surprising how many little things are the last-outs, the ones that cheer you the most, the first things that come to your mind and make you feel good..
For me, people simply being pleasant, smiling or laughing, and being friendly are always things that make me happy. Having a neighbor with a few bee hives who also can give you a jar of terrific honey is pretty great any day. But it’s amazing, when you stop to count them, how many reasons there are that other people give you to be happy in a single day.
For instance, Navesink Plumbing had to do repairs in my apartment, and both Mike, the owner, and Will, a very astute assistant, showed up smiling and ready to work. Work they did, for more than an hour, did a terrific job, cleaned up beautifully afterwards, and did it all with professionalism and smiles.
Then at The Girls Café in Highlands, well, there are always smiles and laughter there, it was great to see smiles on the faces of every person at every table and at the counter. And smiles and jokes from Vera, Cathy and Charlie as well Nice to see Marty Byrne and his wife come all the way over from Red Bank for a weekly breakfast just for the charm of the place.
Then at the Atlantic Highlands Library, where everyone of the staff is always smiling and eager to help, it was great to see so many kids sitting quietly reading a book or working on a craft, or going through some books on the well-stocked shelves in the children’s section. Brings smiles to faces just to see the youngsters actually enjoying hold a book rather than a computer or cell phone in their hands.
At Bayshore Pharmacy, they are always greeting shoppers with huge smiles, a few jokes if Rich the pharmacist comes out from behind his pharmaceutical domain, and at the counter, happy people who can’t wait to scratch out their lottery tickets and see winning combinations. Just like Andy and his crew at Jaspan’s Hardware Store, where they never seem to have a bad day!
The biggest surprise however, was at the Atlantic Highlands Planning Board meeting, where everyone of the board members came in just minutes before the scheduled time to start. Everyone of them was carrying a briefcase or packet or papers, and everyone greeted all they passed, each other, and actually looked happy to be taking on what looked like a very long night of work. In the end, it seemed their smiles were even a little bit bigger when each of the applications was continued until the next meeting for a variety of reasons. Yet some still took time to stand outside and chat and laugh a few minutes before heading home for some unexpected time relaxing.
And those guys at the Public Works yard are always happy and helpful.
Life really is pretty wonderful.
