When we finished eating, I got up and went to pay for breakfast at the cash register. Monica waited near the door, where two ladies were sitting having their own breakfast. Monica and I had already guessed they were both teachers, you can just tell, right? 

Once I had paid, I could see that one of the ladies had engaged Monica in a conversation. The other lady, a trim, smartly dressed gal at 5 feet 2 inches in pressed jeans and western shirt, her white, short cut hair framing her bespectacled, slightly wrinkled face, approached me.

“Are you the person who bought our group breakfast the other day? I wanted to thank you….” 

I had a moment of trepidation about that group breakfast purchase. I had a momentary flashback to a previous breakfast a few weeks ago. Monica had been backing up into a parking spot, and the group at the window table had been making faces. 

The older guy was shaking his head at us, expressing disapproval at Monica’s parking efforts. I had seen that head wag before, but from my own Dad, and knew it well. It was the old, white dude disapproving shake, “Look at the spectacle they’re making.” Realizing I might be wrong, I decided to spin it a little.

For fun, I started waving at them and smiling broadly. They finally waved back and smiled. Maybe I was wrong, but that’s why I smiled and waved. 

Then, ignoring them except for a casual wave, we went in to eat breakfast of our own. I had my regular breakfast (you can see it at the top of this blog entry). We ate, but quicker than the four oldsters near the door surveying the parking lot like their own driveway. Then I had a thought. I laughed aloud. I told my wife, and she said, “If that’s what you want to do.”

It was a way to have some fun of my own with the four people who appeared a little older and grumpier than me. 

Before I left, I decided to buy their whole group breakfast. It was a fitting return for their actions, and who can argue with a free breakfast? To be honest, I even delighted in that they would have no idea who paid their way. That would surely drive them crazy.

I laughed all the way home.

So, back to today. Jen, the lady who walked up to me, told me she was a teacher for a Baptist private school in San Antonio. She and her friend (a retired teacher) had noticed that Monica was carrying a bag displaying my employer’s name. It was one of those old bags from a previous event, easily over 10 years old (but in mint condition, of course). 

She asked, “Oh, you have gone to that event?” Then Monica told her, “My husband works there.” When I came over after paying our bill, she told me about her work, then asked, “So you work there?”

“Yes, I do.” I then pointed out that the way she was teaching writing and reading to her students was in line with the research on generative note-taking, outlining, and summarizing. I was warming up to a lecture on evidence-based instructional strategies, but then she said, “My tech skills needed some work, so I took some online courses.” 

Then, taking two steps back as a strange look came over her face, I heard the recognition creep into her voice. “Are you Miguel Guhlin?” she asked me. I knew that look. Every year, I am blessed to run into people who appreciate my work and/or writing. I just hadn’t expected it to happen at my favorite taco joint on a weekend while I was dressed in shorts, black trimmed Oofos flip flops, and a maroon baseball cat.

When I allowed I was that guy, she took two steps back and excitedly told me about how much she appreciated the online courses I had designed (and taught), what a wonderful job I’d done. I tried to shrug it off, but she continued.

As she continued, I thanked her and congratulated her on her efforts as a teacher and what she was doing. After all, she was making a big difference for the kids she worked with and, as best I could tell, applying evidence-based strategies. I explained to her why they were so effective (brain research), quoting Mike Bell’s analogy of wearing a path between two gates. She had never heard that, and I reassured her, “I was ignorant when I was teaching, not learning it until a few years ago.”

She also asked me about ChatGPT, and I pointed her to some resources I’d stumbled upon, and of course, where she could find work related blog.

Finally, noticing the time, I tried to excuse myself. I could only think, “My cover has been blown, I wouldn’t be able to go back to our morning taco place” (they are regulars apparently). 

“Jen, you’re running 15 minutes behind yourself,” said her retired teacher friend. We parted with her promise to connect and take more courses.

Wasn’t that a great experience to end the work week, and start the weekend, with? It’s nice to be reminded that the work we do touches so many lives, people we never imagined who would benefit. I was also struck by the fact that she didn’t know why her approach to writing and reading was so effective.

I’m also glad I didn’t stomp over the day I bought them breakfast and let my temper triumph over good sense. Who can’t help like someone who buys them breakfast? Haha. Obviously, I still have some work to do on myself.

All’s well that ends well, I guess. 😉

Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure