With Thanksgiving just a day away, it seems like the appropriate time to say thank you — not only to my dear friends, darling husband, and delightful mother-in-law — but also to those who don’t really (or even) know me but have done something especially nice for me. So, before the producers start playing my walking music, here goes:

1. To the elderly gentleman who not only held the mailbox open for me but who even checked it after the door had shut to be sure my package had made it all the way inside — you know how to make a girl feel special.

2. To the teenage boy packing my groceries who called me “miss” instead of “ma’am” — your mom is a smart woman who raised you well.

3. To the guy on the phone at the ticket agency who understood my point that “seeing Bon Jovi in concert with Jon but not Richie is like having peanut butter without jelly,” and refunded the total price of our tickets a week before the concert date (when we found out that Richie would not be appearing) — You. Are. Awesome.

4.  To the mail delivery person, a woman who cheerfully takes any mail, including packages, that I bring downstairs in the nick of time — you make my day.

5.  To the 20-something waiter who blushes whenever I speak to him — you are beyond cute.

6.  To the bank teller who always changes my $20s for rolls of quarters with a big smile and zero attitude — you make me feel like I’m depositing thousands instead of getting change for laundry.

7.  To the parking lot attendant who, because I got to the lot before the ticket machine was working, waved me through when I left with no charge — you are a gem.

8.  To the pizza guy who knows our delivery order every week as soon as he hears my voice on the phone — you totally rock (as does your pizza — and that’s saying a lot).

9.  To those people who let me pet their dogs on the street because I need my “fix” — you have no idea how much joy you give me.

10.  And finally, to the person who invented putting whipped cream on pumpkin pie — you are a god.

Now, who called the drumstick?

© 2013 Claudia Grossman