TALKING WITH STRANGERS
Jul
13
Chef from Iran who created 2022 Grammy Award desserts!
Zooming and staying in touch!
I walked up San Fernando street in downtown Burbank, stopped at the ARTELICE patisserie on that Wednesday. My son-in-law had taken me there earlier and the chef, originally from Iran who had supplied the desserts for this year’s Grammy Awards, waited on me.
As I completed my treats, a gust of wind swept my paper plate on to the floor. The girl at the adjacent table jumped up, picked up the plate and with my permission, carried it to the trash. We ended up talking for about an hour that day. When I thanked her for being so considerate, Rifqa shared that her mother would have chastised her not to help. She had grown up in Michigan’s Chaldean community after fleeing from Baghdad and had recently moved to New York.
Four days later on Sunday, as I was heading for the airport, I went back to have another ham & cheese croissant and to pick up some macaroons to take to my next stop in Portland. We met up again. We decided to stay in touch as she headed back to New York and I home to Seattle.
Rifqa was excited to share with me that she had followed my recommendation of listening to Simon Sinek and the lifestyle recommendations of “Infinite Mindset” as she looks for a more fulfilling job and life partner.
Likewise, I continue confirmation of the value of sharing my stories, starting with my ethnic heritage and life experiences that has brought me to my current eighth decade of life. What a lot of fun it is to talk with STRANGERS to keep LEARNING!
