Coffee On The Wall
I sat with my friend in a well-known coffee shop in
a neighbouring town of Venice, Italy, the city of lights and water.
As we enjoyed our coffee, a man entered and sat at
an empty table beside us. He called the waiter and placed his order saying,
“Two cups of coffee, one of them there on the wall.”
We heard this order with rather interest and
observed that he was served with one cup of coffee but he paid for two.
When he left, the
waiter put a piece of paper on the wall saying “A Cup of Coffee”.
While we were still
there, two other men entered and ordered three cups of coffee, two on the table
and one on the wall. They had two cups of coffee but paid for three and left.
This time also, the waiter did the same; he put a piece of paper on the wall
saying, “A Cup of Coffee”.
It was something
unique and perplexing for us. We finished our coffee, paid the bill and left.
After a few days, we
had a chance to go to this coffee shop again. While we were enjoying our
coffee, a man poorly dressed entered. As he seated himself, he looked at the
wall and said, “One cup of coffee from the wall.”
The waiter served
coffee to this man with the customary respect and dignity. The man had his
coffee and left without paying.
We were amazed to
watch all this, as the waiter took off a piece of paper from the wall and threw
it in the trash bin.
Now it was no surprise
for us – the matter was very clear. The great respect for the needy shown by
the inhabitants of this town made our eyes well up in tears.
Ponder upon the need
of what this man wanted. He enters the coffee shop without having to lower his
self-esteem… he has no need to ask for a free cup of coffee… without asking or
knowing about the one who is giving this cup of coffee to him… he only looked
at the wall, placed an order for himself, enjoyed his coffee and left.
A truly beautiful
thought. Probably the most beautiful wall you may ever see anywhere!
