AOK team member Clark, one helpful dude:Didn’t change the entire world today, but these 3 men were pushing a truck down the road and it was slow moving. I pulled up behind them and waved some sort of gesture insinuating, I’ll push the truck with my car. They moved out of the way and I pushed the clunker into a parking lot of a Popeye’s Chicken. They waved and hollered gracias. I hollered de nada.

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I made a late-night Walgreens run earlier this week. I found myself in line behind a pair of young Korean guys, probably in their mid-twenties. My K-town neighborhood hosts a diverse array of people, Korean, Mexican, white, old, and young, and the Walgreens at 6th and Vermont caters to them all. The cashier at the register, a middle-aged Latino man, was the only person manning the front of the store, apart from a bored-looking security guard.This cashier was doing his best to stay on top of the growing line, zipping people through their checkouts as quickly as possible. While I found his efficiency alone worth appreciating (as the wee hours were upon us), he did not sacrifice sharing a warm greeting with each person he dealt with. When it came time for the empty-handed Korean guys to check out, they requested international phone cards and indicated they weren’t sure which to purchase, much less how to use them correctly. Despite a language barrier, in broken english and with a fair amount of body-language the Korean pair and the spanish-speaking cashier negotiated the ins and outs of the available cards to find a good option. The two young guys went happily on their way as I did shortly thereafter, one AOK observation richer. Kudos to all three, customers and cashier.

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