“You may go in front of me, sir.”
Words by Bridgette Fossil
Video by Alex Zuckerman
“Double cap to stay for the lady!” “Two iced coffees to go for the gentleman!” the barista enthusiastically yelled to her co-worker preparing the drinks over a blaring Florence + the Machine song and the noise of the crowded coffee shop. It’s a Sunday morning in Princeton and people are lining up for their fill of morning caffeine at Princeton’s beloved Small World Coffee. Lines are annoying. They are long and often fail to move along at a desirable speed, especially if you are late for an appointment or are still half asleep and craving your large coffee with just the right amount of milk and sugar to start being productive for the day. Like some things in life, lines are always rewarding if you choose to have enough patience to wait long enough in them. Because eventually, you will get to the front of it and place your need will be satisfied. However, you may get lucky if that girl in front of you decides to leave the line for one reason or another, pushing your spot closer to the register, closer to your coffee, and closer to starting your day. Today, for our Random Acts of Kindness Project, I was “that girl”. Sporting my white and orange Princeton Scoop tee shirt peeking out of my blue sweater, I waited in the line at Small World and when I was a couple of people away from the register, I would casually turn around and tell the person behind me to take my spot as I became the caboose of the line. I felt awkward at times; people were confused and sometimes apprehensive and didn’t understand where I was going or why I was giving up my spot. So I had to be persistent and friendly to complete the task. After each person that took my spot ordered their drink, Alex interviewed them for a reaction on the act. Every person was smiling with appreciation. One woman said that it made her morning much better than it had been. As I watched the interview happen from the back of the line I felt like my morning had gotten better too. It was a small thing that I did-letting people just get three steps closer in the line, but to me, the smile on their faces had made my coffee that much sweeter. After I had let about seven people line-hop me, I bought the two large iced coffees that the man in front of me ordered. He was very surprised and was hesitant on letting me treat him, but he gave in after I insisted several times. He was very appreciative and had a beaming smile on his sunburned face while holding his daughter’s hand. He said that it is rare that people do things like this anymore in today’s world and he asked why I was doing it and what made me choose to buy his order. I simply told him I am just trying to do a little random act of kindness today and I thanked him.
