These times provide lots of opportunities for extending simple kindnesses, and taking care of “our chother,” as my children called it when they were tiny.

After a weekend of exploring Social Media with my bro-ski, our Mom and I loaded up her car for the return drive down to the south ‘burbs. However, the Mom-mobile was dead this morning in sub-zero temperatures on the streets of Rogers Park, so we turned to a towing service and were subsequently hauled over to a Marathon Station on Webster and Touhy for a new battery and a quick going-over.

Fortunately for us, the work could be done while we waited, and involved only a two hour wait, which we passed at a Baker’s Square across the street.

There we were tended to by Pattie, who said she hoped she wouldn’t be getting off work any time soon, and who was looking after a roomful of us stopping in to get warm and fill our tummies.

Here’s to you, Pattie. Thanks for allowing me to take your photo and for the reminder that cheerfully pouring unlimited coffee while keeping up an amusing series of conversations with a bunch of strangers is a talent deserving both acknowledgment and celebration.