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You want a San Pelligrino? These orange ones are pretty good… or the lemon for that matter. I said to a buddy of mine as we stepped inside a local southside coffee shop, “I know you don’t like coffee but since I am gonna drink something, you need to have something too.” No one likes to drink by themselves, non-alcoholic or not. What my buddy said after this statement is something that most of us would drive right by. We get so close to someone but (then) somehow our brain forgets about them and shifts back to me, myself and I.

He said, “…how’d you know I don’t like coffee?”  This is pretty bizarre considering he fits the apple/starbuck stereotype look of a coffee drinker. Young, between the age of 19 – 25, currently in school -attends a world renown art school – he is slender, wears cool D&G glasses, an iPhone user and carries the artistic, eclectic persona. I looked over at him and my brain was already imaging a red florescent, flashing sign stating COFFEE DRINKER over his head. Somehow I was able to stop my brain… but how?

This young tastemaker had been over to my house only a few times, which is why he stated, how’d you know I don’t drink coffee? As most of you know I am an espresso head, so when people come over, which is quite often, the Gaggia Classic gets cranked on and the most perfect, espressos are pressed with just the right touch of crema. No, not whip cream like us Americans are so dependant on, CREMA people. It’s like the scent of a woman except the woman is the coffee bean and the scent… well, if you don’t know, chances are you either never will or you have skipped reading this section. So lets move on.

My buddy told me the last time he came thru the house that he didn’t like coffee, to my dismay I asked him if he preferred a soda or if he needed to hydrate? I can’t even remember what he decided to drink that night but something clicked in my head that he DID NOT LIKE COFFEE. I remembered because I was so amazingly shocked he didn’t drink coffee. This is when that little reminder midget in my brain walked over to his reminder chalkboard and wrote, Does – not – like – coffee.

This is the point many of us come to every single day but we somehow either block out these micro events of others or choose to tell ourselves they don’t really matter. If you decide they probably don’t matter, I would have you ask yourself these questions: do you appreciate when someone remembers something about you? Does your opinion and life matter? I would say it is a safe bet that you do matter and yes, your opinion is very valid. But what about others?

Many of us have read the book by Andrew Carnegie titled, “How To Win Friends & Influence People.” One of the portions of this book, which echoed with me for quite a long time was remembering peoples names. Still, to this day, I will do my very best to write down someones name in my phone when I meet them. I even add a reminder of a distinct feature to help me when I see them again. Many of us are the same way when it comes to names, but we forget about the added detail. We think that because we scored the name we are golden.  Not necessarily true.

You see in this day in age, everyone knows this little trick.  So how are you to seem genuinely interested in another human being? You have to do something unexpected. You have to remember details; not just names anymore. Many of you may think this is too difficult and if you do then I suggest you remain where you are. Stop – Right – There, do not read further. I will continue speeding off in my Delorean and let you know what happens.

My buddy was silently shocked that someone would remember a detail about him. I didn’t do this because I need to score points or prove my social skills. Instead, I enjoy doing things for others that I would enjoy. We must remember the value of the human specie. The price of life, mind, personality and how beautiful all of these traits are. We travel each day with an ability to view art in its simplest form. The way someone talks, idiosyncracies, smiles, hair textures, wardrobe decisions, eyes, ears and the soul within each of them. Do we want to know what makes them move and breathe? Have we sat, listened and watched from a perspective of a reality gallery?

Christ knows the details of your life, so why shouldn’t we know the details of others he has created. I find every time I collide with humanity a beautiful moment of life bulbs flashing, creating what we call memories. I cherish these memories and the people who are involved. It really is not difficult, it only takes everything you have. If you value your life, I think you will find these moments with humanity as beautiful as Monet, Picasso or Leonardo’s Sistine Chapel, why? What you create is always more beautiful, because you are in it.

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