Just friends who have not met

Over the past month I have had numerous health complications.

 

This past week I battled Influenza B. 

 

A visit to the doctor Thursday confirmed this. Despite having what I described as the worst sore throat of my entire life, the doctor was impressed my throat looked so good. I will share my fool-proof, four-part sore throat treatment plan. 

 

Lots of honey. 

 

Ginger and turmeric tea. With additional ground ginger and turmeric added. (And more honey) 

 

Lots and lots of water. I mean literal gallons. While sleeping, my rule is this: each time I wake up, I drink an entire bottle of water before going back to sleep. 

 

Cough drops and sore throat spray. 

 

The majority of the past eight or nine days has been spent sleeping and recovering from said influenza. 

 

During this time there was some drama at the game store. A rarity. (I own a game store, PlayIt Forward Games in Austin.) 

 

The store was hosting a “pre-release” event this weekend–actually a series of three events, beginning Friday night. My game store sells mainly Magic the Gathering (a card game), Pokemon (also a card game), Dungeons and Dragons accessories (a role playing dice game) and other various gaming accessories including used board games. The events this weekend were for a Magic the Gathering release of its newest set. 

 

Alex, basically the store manager, was running the event of 30 or so people. One of the matches went to time. Meaning the players couldn’t finish their three games in 50 minutes, so they had 5 turns to finish their game and then everyone would move onto the next round. Alec, another employee, walked back and informed the players of this. When Alex went to check on them a few minutes later, he found out they had ignored the request to go to turns. So Alex kindly informed them their match was done: 28 other players would not continue to wait on them. 

 

One of the store’s regulars was quite upset by this. This same regular lectured me last week about how important it is to start events on time because people’s time is valuable. But here he is, getting upset because a match is ending early to respect people’s time. 

 

Alex was quite rattled by this, so I did my best to console him when I talked to him. He did the right thing. He laughed when I shared the story about the person who complained loudly. We really can’t make this stuff up.

 

More store drama. Another customer wanted to pick up the product early. I told him the price, he paid it, then messaged me numerous times over the weekend to tell me the price was “egregious.” Even though our prices were reasonable enough that we sold out on the products he wanted within 24 hours, he labeled it “egregious.” That led to my decision that in the future I will be less accommodating with discounts: As a former employee, Mr. “Egregious” had been paying a reduced price on his purchases.  I told my staff via our group chat that we are no longer giving discounts to anyone other than current store staff. They responded and said we have a problem with customers feeling entitled to special privileges. Another customer called me yesterday because he was told he couldn’t walk behind the counter, go to the customer book and put purchases on a tab–all without telling anyone what he was doing. Now I know the person, so this scenario made me chuckle a little bit. I have known this customer nine years; he is my friend. He’s also only 21, because I met him at the previous iteration of the game store. So in my eyes, he’s still a teen. Picture, in my mind's eye, a kid, walking behind the ice cream counter, serving himself, not paying, and throwing a fit when an employee scolds him for it. 

 

Growing up in New Richland, I remember going to the Dew Drop Inn Cafe. Numerous times customers helped themselves, walked behind the counter, or even waitressed for the lady working because the place was swamped. Yes, customers just helped out. The game store has that feeling a little bit. I’ve employed, at least in a part time role, a dozen regulars during the past two years. I think about the Dew Drop whenever a past employee who is now a customer walks behind the counter to help out. 

 

People often ask me what the game store is like. 

 

I tell them it’s like a bar for nerds: Instead of serving alcohol, we sell games and gaming accessories. I also describe the place like a school lunchroom. There are always people cycling in and out, just stopping by, or staying for the entire day. 

 

It really is a special place. 

 

“We are an open mixing place for the general public, but we are strongly committed to bringing together people who may not normally spend time together in the hope they will become friends, seeking deeper relationships with each other and with the community. A sign I once saw in an old café window proclaimed, ‘There are no strangers here, just friends who haven't met,’ and that pretty much captures what we're about.”

 

― Ray Oldenburg, Celebrating the Third Place: Inspiring Stories About the "Great Good Places" at the Heart of Our Communities