The Smile Hiding the Frown - A Gentleman Named Tyrone

A couple of weeks ago I was visiting my sister-I like to walk in the neighborhood, where you can find small shops selling their various products-Jamaican foods, fresh fish by the Japanese merchants who hire Mexicans who work really hard to please customers, small restaurants boasting their various ethnic foods. And then we have Vinny's-it's a butcher shop where Vinny, an Italian has lovingly cared for his customers for more years than he cares to tell. It was when his wife died that Vinny started to have thoughts of leaving the store, retiring, to be exact. I met Vinny on one of my visits as I accompanied my sister to the store. He was an old gentleman that was kind and gentle and caring. He took care of each customer, one at a time. He was gregarious, and asked where "I came from"? Well, for those of you who know me, sometimes that's pretty hard - that is to know where I do come from! (smile) At any rate, Vinny and I would strike up a conversation each time I would visit and over the years I grew to really like Vinny and the people who worked for him. Vinny belongs to the old Italian school of hard work, very much in keeping with a Jamaican whose work ethics are awesome. So I could relate to Vinny.

A couple of weeks ago I paid my sister a visit and asked how Vinny was doing. She said he has retired. A wave of sadness flowed through me, I felt we had unfinished business. I did not say goodbye to him. I did not even get the chance to give him a small gift from Boston. I asked her who was running the shop and she told me-I asked her if we could stop by. When I went in, I saw two young African American gentlemen and two Italians and they were enthusiastically trying to follow in Vinny's steps. I engaged them in conversation and asked them to carry on the tradition Vinny had built. They were wonderful and told me Vinny comes to help them once a week as he is "bored" at home. My heart felt better. His presence was still there. As I spoke to one of the African American gentlemen, I asked him how it was for him working there. He said he liked it and enjoyed Vinny's friends as they came one by one to ask for him. By this time my sister who is very quiet, quite the opposite of me, was finished her shopping and ready to go. I complimented the young gentleman that I had been engaged with in a conversation and told him he had a nice smile. He responded thank you "that's my smile behind my frown". That made me sad because I could feel his pain-pain from something I could not relate to, I felt sad for him but hopeful too. I told him I would write about him in the Journal and send him a copy. The point is-if our lives are going to be useful, let's meet each other, one at a time, and make our hearts glad. There are no strangers around us-simply friends if we only reach out.

Rosemarie Greene.