missing my morning perk

Friday was the last day of the Vancouver Sun newspaper promotion. While that might not mean much to people, it means I won't be greeted with a hearty "Good morning!" from the lovely fella who gives out free copies of the newspaper. During the work week as the morning grind sees groggy-eyed commuters rushing to the skytrain station, he's always been there with a ready smile on his face and a happy "Good morning!" handing out the newspaper for those who will accept a free copy. He's always quick with a kind word, and he's happy face perks me up in the morning. I always make sure to match his enthusiastic "Good morning!" with one of my own, to let him know that I appreciate the effort he puts into the job.

It's so easy to not give a damn: keep your head down, just do the job, get through your shift hassle-free and get out of there once it's time. But, he puts that extra sparkle into it, enjoying the social aspect and his positivity is addictive. While many people may just mumble something under their breath, ignore him and rush on by in response (either they're too weak from caffeine withdrawal, tired from lack of sleep or just plain grumpy in the morning), there are still many (like me) who take a bit of time out of their morning rush to slow down, take a free newspaper and say "good morning" back.

Friday was different. After his usual morning greeting, he let me know that it was his last day as it was the end of the newspaper promotion and he just wanted to say that it's been a pleasure to say good morning to me all this time. I made sure to let him know that I enjoyed saying good morning to him as well, and I'm going to miss him. It's a shame because we need more people like him in this world. Hopefully, he won't be gone for too long and maybe I'll see him again, in some other capacity.

I don't know if you can see him in this picture, but he's the one on the far left.