Berto - Gone but not forgotten

Tom, Betsy, Patrick and I are toying with the concept of a second coffee break, sometime early to mid-afternoon. And, although we feel extreme loyalty to Mary and our other friends at the Starbucks a block and a half away, we have been walking across the street to the new Starbucks for our afternoon pick me up. It’s not that we are being unfaithful, certainly not to the shareholders. But if you want something other than what you always order every morning, you need to go to a different Starbucks so as to avoid the embarrassing moment where they push the already prepared morning drink across the counter to you with that we-know-you-and exactly-what-you-want smile on their face. From then on they will always hesitate every time you come in. It is not worth upsetting the equilibrium, especially when 5 other Starbucks are all less than 2 blocks away.

Berto is gone, and this time I fear he is gone for good. The building management recently completed some renovations in the lobby which evidently spilled over to the security services. Berto and his light-blue shirted friends are gone. In their place are a tougher looking bunch of guys with midnight blue uniforms. For the most part, these new guys look like the kind who know how to use the guns on their hips and are not afraid to use them. Still, as you may recall, I had cultivated a passing friendship with Berto as part of my “know the guy with the gun before the shooting starts” program. Now I am faced with chatting up one of these thugs, none of whom have been overly friendly. In some respects it is like switching the channel from Andy Griffith to The Shield, and maybe I should find comfort in that instead of grousing.