Tuesday, January 29, 2008

A Letter for Roger - Today's Small Thing





I work nights at the front desk of a nearby hotel, and man, the stories I could tell you. We have some very strange guests.
We also have a few really wonderful guests. Our hotel rooms are kind of studio style, with a kitchen and stuff, so we have some guests who have been there for a couple of years.

One of those guests is Roger. He is this kind, old man who seems to be a permanent resident on the third floor. He comes down most nights to say hello and usually spends some time chit chatting. I have heard about tornadoes he has lived through and wars he has fought in. He is just such a genuinely sweet person and he is one of those guests that makes my job a little more pleasurable.

He will also call me at the end of my shift to wish me a safe drive home. It's like he's my grandpa, telling me to drive home safe and be careful on the icy roads.
And like a grandpa, I think he watches from his window some nights too, to make sure I make it to my car safely, since my shift ends at 11:15 at night.

Most nights, when he comes down to the front desk, the first thing he asks me, is if he has any mail. And the answer is always the same. He never gets any mail. I always think to myself that I should mail him something, but then I get busy with my day and my kids and everything else, and I forget.

But then I saw what today's small thing was, and knew just what I needed to do.

Today's small thing is to write a letter to someone you've been meaning to write to, and put it in the mail.
So, I grabbed a thank you card from my stash, filled it out and addressed it to Roger.

It was fun and I know he will appreciate it. And I will actually mail it, because that way the day shift will get it, place it in the bin for mail for our guests, and call his room to let him know he has mail. And I bet he will be so excited.

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