PART DOS
The Mayor of Einsteins
It’s Good to be the Mayor!
My Carolina!
The Mayor of Einsteins
It’s Good to be the Mayor!
My Carolina!
One morning about five years ago, as I got in line for my morning coffee and bagel, I noticed a small pretty young Mexican woman efficiently taking orders and cutting and smearing those tasty Einstein’s bagels. I would learn later that this is the way she approaches any task she undertakes. She wore a black Einstein’s tee shirt and bagel ball cap with her black hair strung through the back adjustment band like a horse tail through the back of its blanket. Beneath the low riding baseball cap there was a warm smile and happy, but tired dark eyes.
I passed through the line almost daily, exchanging the usual pleasantries of customer and server. As Carolina and I got to know each other little by little through my morning coffee and bagel routine, I finally asked her name and she said, “Carolina”. I thought it was a beautiful name. It fit her perfectly. I would soon learn that her full name is a bit more complicated than the simple beauty of the name, Carolina. Mexican naming patterns are still a mystery to me.
As I sat across a table with her for the first time, I really noticed her genuine natural beauty at close range. Her skin radiates a smooth flawless complexion, the color of creamed coffee or soft sweet butterscotch. Her features are angular with high cheekbones and a straight nose that reflect the beauty and best of her Mexican heritage. Her teeth are the whitest of white and as straight as any braces could produce. Her smile is warm and perfect. She has a wonderful sense of humor that actually manifests itself at its best when she is talking and laughing with her Mexican girlfriends. She wears little makeup. She does not need makeup to accent the beauty of her classic features.
Carolina is married to Raul. Raul’s features and coloring seem to be a little more Spanish in the spectrum of Mexican native coloring. He is dark fashion model handsome, about six feet tall and thin but not skinny. He has the athletic look of an aging soccer player, which he is. His hairstyle is usually a moving target. Currently it is fairly long and has some flecks of gray reflecting his forty-one years of age. He wears a small earring on his left ear lob for whatever reason young males do that. As a younger man he did some things in his life that were not good. Without Carolina coming into his life, he may have wound up on the dark side of society. His love of Carolina and Carolina’s love for him, along with her strong character and strong beliefs in what she wanted from her life pulled Raul to a path of responsibility.
My relationship with Carolina began to grow when she invited me to celebrate the purchase of a home and her son’s eleventh birthday party. I was flattered that she would include me in this celebration. In fact she really didn't even know my name. When her manager commented that Sam was coming, to her party, she asked, “Who is Sam?
I could have easily made some lame excuse and bowed out, but I did not and gratefully accepted. It was a wonderful party. She told me the party started at 2:00 PM. As is my habit, I arrived promptly at two. This was my first lesson in Mexican culture. A few of her American friends arrived within an hour. The Mexican invitees didn’t start to arrive until after four. This I learned is actually a part of their party culture. There is American time and a Mexican time I stayed the whole day and had a wonderful time. The food would be the first of many meals I have shared with the Reyna family. Carolina is a fantastic cook of the foods and recipes her mother taught her in the south of Mexico. Perhaps even more important she loves to cook for family and friends.
I started giving her a little daily hugs, as I left the Einsteins to begin the rest of my day. I loved the warmth of that small sign of affection. I like hugs. It became part of our near daily routine, much to the amusement of her fellow workers. Carolina was no longer just one of those nameless and nearly invisible people who occupy the service industry. She was now my Carolina. The love I feel for her is a father’s love for a daughter. I feel an inner desire to help and protect her to the extent to which she will allow. In Minnesota she is void of relatives. Someone should look after her interests, and she should have somebody to talk to when needed. That
someone is me, and I know she has made me a better person. She, Raul and their children are a purpose in my life.
Carolina and Raul have allowed me to be a grandfather to the kids, Luis, (14) Ricky (8) and Maddie (3). I am a grandfather in every since of the word; trips to McDonalds, Einsteins, the dentist, the doctor, school programs, baseball games, movies, Christmas and birthdays, or just hanging out. I love them so much.
If it had not been for Einsteins, I would have never discovered this joy in my life. It is always amazing how fate or God’s plan or whatever brings two strangers from far different circumstances together as friends for life.
I passed through the line almost daily, exchanging the usual pleasantries of customer and server. As Carolina and I got to know each other little by little through my morning coffee and bagel routine, I finally asked her name and she said, “Carolina”. I thought it was a beautiful name. It fit her perfectly. I would soon learn that her full name is a bit more complicated than the simple beauty of the name, Carolina. Mexican naming patterns are still a mystery to me.
As I sat across a table with her for the first time, I really noticed her genuine natural beauty at close range. Her skin radiates a smooth flawless complexion, the color of creamed coffee or soft sweet butterscotch. Her features are angular with high cheekbones and a straight nose that reflect the beauty and best of her Mexican heritage. Her teeth are the whitest of white and as straight as any braces could produce. Her smile is warm and perfect. She has a wonderful sense of humor that actually manifests itself at its best when she is talking and laughing with her Mexican girlfriends. She wears little makeup. She does not need makeup to accent the beauty of her classic features.
Carolina is married to Raul. Raul’s features and coloring seem to be a little more Spanish in the spectrum of Mexican native coloring. He is dark fashion model handsome, about six feet tall and thin but not skinny. He has the athletic look of an aging soccer player, which he is. His hairstyle is usually a moving target. Currently it is fairly long and has some flecks of gray reflecting his forty-one years of age. He wears a small earring on his left ear lob for whatever reason young males do that. As a younger man he did some things in his life that were not good. Without Carolina coming into his life, he may have wound up on the dark side of society. His love of Carolina and Carolina’s love for him, along with her strong character and strong beliefs in what she wanted from her life pulled Raul to a path of responsibility.
My relationship with Carolina began to grow when she invited me to celebrate the purchase of a home and her son’s eleventh birthday party. I was flattered that she would include me in this celebration. In fact she really didn't even know my name. When her manager commented that Sam was coming, to her party, she asked, “Who is Sam?
I could have easily made some lame excuse and bowed out, but I did not and gratefully accepted. It was a wonderful party. She told me the party started at 2:00 PM. As is my habit, I arrived promptly at two. This was my first lesson in Mexican culture. A few of her American friends arrived within an hour. The Mexican invitees didn’t start to arrive until after four. This I learned is actually a part of their party culture. There is American time and a Mexican time I stayed the whole day and had a wonderful time. The food would be the first of many meals I have shared with the Reyna family. Carolina is a fantastic cook of the foods and recipes her mother taught her in the south of Mexico. Perhaps even more important she loves to cook for family and friends.
I started giving her a little daily hugs, as I left the Einsteins to begin the rest of my day. I loved the warmth of that small sign of affection. I like hugs. It became part of our near daily routine, much to the amusement of her fellow workers. Carolina was no longer just one of those nameless and nearly invisible people who occupy the service industry. She was now my Carolina. The love I feel for her is a father’s love for a daughter. I feel an inner desire to help and protect her to the extent to which she will allow. In Minnesota she is void of relatives. Someone should look after her interests, and she should have somebody to talk to when needed. That
someone is me, and I know she has made me a better person. She, Raul and their children are a purpose in my life.Carolina and Raul have allowed me to be a grandfather to the kids, Luis, (14) Ricky (8) and Maddie (3). I am a grandfather in every since of the word; trips to McDonalds, Einsteins, the dentist, the doctor, school programs, baseball games, movies, Christmas and birthdays, or just hanging out. I love them so much.If it had not been for Einsteins, I would have never discovered this joy in my life. It is always amazing how fate or God’s plan or whatever brings two strangers from far different circumstances together as friends for life.
TO BE CONTINUED
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