Summer closure/The profound value of a gift culture
It's been awhile, I noticed, since I posted about gifts. A decade ago, I'd present ideas for occasions like Mother's Day, or suggest that an especially well-priced piece of jewellery would make a great gift. I still think quite often about gifts, but wasn't the other morning, when I stopped by a coffee shop a few blocks from home where a barista stamps a loyalty card with each purchase; I'd earned enough a free coffee. The young woman smiled, prepared my latte, and then handed me a plump blueberry scone. "I don't think this is my order", I said. (Lone barista working the morning rush, you could not pay me enough.) She replied, "Yes it is!" A gift out of nowhere, from a stranger; this was indeed a sweet moment. Another coffee shop used to have a gift card wall; you could buy an extra beverage and leave it for a designated person, with an optional message ("Shauna, t'es ben cute!"), or for anyone who needed one. That stopped du...
