Thanks to an odd scheduling quirk, I was able to enjoy three consecutive days off from URS. That’s not really important to the story, but you’ll be happy to I enjoyed spending time with The Wife and fixing my dead server. Or not.

My return to work was easygoing because I was refreshed. I joked with my colleagues and conversed with customers. Even something as minute as a roll of quarters provided interesting fodder.

“What do you need,” Maude1 asked me.

I opened my cash drawer. “The big thing is quarters. I could probably use some fives and ones, but quarters right now.”

“You made me come up here to get you quarters? You could have just called.”

“Yeah, but you would have had to come up here to get this,” I said as I handed her a $10 bill.

What might strike you as mindless dribble or a poor attempt at an interesting open is actually more significant than that. But give me a few minutes of your time before you rush to judgment.

A couple of old ladies walked in the door. I charmed them with a wisecrack about how much it was raining outside. Another customer walked . . . . .