I recognize the gravelly voice of Nancy J., a customer of my frame shop. She asks me if I’m open this afternoon; I tell her yes, and ask her how she’s been. "Terrible," she says. "We’ll come up and tell you all about it." The "we" relaxes me a bit–I know then that her husband and herself are well enough despite age and health problems to at least come over here together. I hang up and bid goodbye to Diane G., a customer just leaving. She’s just heard a part of my sad tale and I, her’s.
Small businesses are like that; first name basis, caring about each other’s lives. Not close, as in a friendship, but close enough to share experiences, good and bad when they need telling.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology