It's My Pleasure

Last week an elderly gentleman approached my register to order lunch. He was standing alone but was ordering for two, and he wasn't sure which menu item he was supposed to select. He said, "Last time we shared a salad. It was big enough for both of us, it was very tasty, and it was around $8. Do you know which one that would be?"
"Well," I said, "we have several tasty salads."
I glanced at the wall behind me where the menu is located but quickly realized referring to it would be useless. The salads were on the opposite end from where we were standing, and besides, this gentleman seemed a bit hard of hearing. I knew he wouldn't be able to understand me while I read the menu, because I would have to be turned away from him so I could see it...
I happen to know, however, that we have printed menus in a little cubby on the wall. So I walked around the counter and grabbed one, then went to the gentleman who wanted to order a salad to share with his wife. We stood side by side and I showed him the descriptions of each of the salads on our menu. And when we read about the Market Salad he said, "Yes! That's the one!"
Satisfied that we had solved the mystery, I put the menu away and went back behind the counter to put his order into the register. As I was entering the information we decided on a salad dressing, and discussed how the lid from the salad could be used as a second plate. We also agreed they would probably both like to have a cup of water for a drink. And as we were finishing up, this very sweet gentleman said to me, "I am 94 years old. Thank you for being so gentle with me today."

True statement: The memory of that interaction still delights my heart. And the sincere gratitude expressed by that 94-year-old man inspires me to seek more ways to be gentle with everyone I meet.