Fort Lauderdale -
Carmen was way too cheery, even for my taste. She was working the rooftop breakfast club at my hotel. She was sweetly overbearing, repeatedly asking me just as I took another mouthful of food whether everything was to my liking.
My private thoughts about wanting her to be quiet and back off were belied, of course, by my smile, pleasant disposition, and gratitude. I learned a long time ago that it’s just too cheap and lazy to be a crank and cynic.
That’s when I decided to turn in the direction of the skid. Carmen would be working the club my next four days there anyway, so I asked her about herself and what she loves about her job.
It became instantly clear how much pride and satisfaction she invests in her work. She loves to please people and she authentically cares about her guests.
As our morning conversations continued through the week, we talked about jazz and classical music. That’s when she told me that her son had died a few years ago from a brain aneurysm at age 33. He loved jazz and classical music and left her with hundreds of CDs that she listens to fervently and in his honor.
We hugged. Tears came to our eyes.
And then there was Todd. He worked the doors at the property. He let his love of life, family, and Jesus be immediately known. I turned in the direction of the skid with him, too, learning a bit about this very nice man, his family, and this retirement job that he does so well.
I was walking the corridor one day when Todd greeted me with characteristic enthusiasm. “Have you seen our cathedral yet?” he asked. I told him “no” and inquired whether it was an actual cathedral. It was not. He pointed instead to an adjacent ballroom. It was a grand, breathtaking space with cathedral-like acoustics. It was at that point he sang a devotional hymn so glorious that it brought tears to my eyes - again.
Later that same night, I returned to the ballroom alone and attempted to sing part of the Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Had anyone been around, I’m sure this would have brought tears to their eyes, too, but for very different reasons.
Nonetheless, Carmen and Todd remind me that “if you try some time, you’ll find, you get what you need.”
Image courtesy of NC DPS.