I was on the brink of one of my soon to be patented all-night late-nights – so I stopped on the way home at a little convenience store to get a big hot tea.

I know that I could have made tea at home – but I figured that at the store – they would have the one magic ingredient that my cupboard was missing . . . lemon. I was wrong – they were a lemon-free zone.

Any-hoo, I went in – it was slightly after 11:00 at night – and the place was surprisingly busy. I went over to the tea station – made my tea – and listened to some of the verbal shenanigans that were going on around me. Once the sugar was in and the tea was made – I went to the line and waited.

Are you wondering why I’m telling you this seemingly banal (“the state of being commonplace; something without freshness or originality, insipid”) story about nothing much more than nothing?? Well – then I am glad that you have made it this far – because here comes the payoff.

When I got to the front to pay, the bill came up to $1.42 (I had gotten the big big big size). I already had a dollar in my hand – but dug into my pocket to see if I had the change. I pulled out exactly 42 cents. I exclaimed “OH! Look . . . forty-two cents on the nose!” The cashier then – without breaking stride and in the best way I can imagine this line being delivered said “Yeah man. Ain’t nobody better than you – man . . .”

It was the greatest.

He gets a gold star.