Duty Calls

Consciousness came crawling back from the edge of oblivion as I slowly recognized where the annoying sound was emanating from. I pushed “accept” on my phone and listened to the electronic voice coldly say, “Get up now.” 3 a.m., right on time as usual; not much chance these electronic gadgets would give a guy an extra 15 minutes. No time to lie around complaining. People were counting on me.

I went through the usual morning routine (shave, shower, dress) and was out the door by 3:35. My destination was only 2 miles away, so by 3:45, I pulled into the empty parking lot that surrounded my store. The key phrase here is “My Store”, not some branch of a conglomerate. This place is all mine and the banks.

When I started working in this business, it was for one of the big chains. I hated it! The hours were the same as I work now, but the pay was low and I felt like a minor cog in a massive machine. Now, I have the satisfaction of knowing that my customers appreciate my hard work.

By 4 a.m. the kitchen lights were on, the ovens were warming up, and I retrieved the first batch of dough from the refrigerator. My little shop ran like a well-oiled machine because it had to. My regular customers would start arriving by 5 a.m. and if I wanted to keep them coming back, I couldn’t waste their time. At 4:15, it’s time to make the donuts!