Ordered Chinese carry-out from Asian Carry-Out on University Blvd in Adelphi. I have been ordering from there since 1994, but in the past few years not often at all (like maybe 2 or 3 times in an entire year--(and some years in the past decade, not at all...) However, in the 90's my ex- and I ordered from there often: monthly or twice monthly on average.
When I arrived to pay for and pick up my order (Taiwanese Rice Noodles and Mixed-Vegetables) the place was very quiet. It was around 5:45 pm. I recognized one of the men milling around the kitchen. On a few occasions in the past 20 years, he'd delivered orders to me. He was now clearly nearing 40, and I thought how I had known him when he seemed like a teenager--and how he'd weathered the years well.
Because the place was so slow, the young girl who was readying my order asked him to check me out on the cash register. While doing this he suddenly looked up at me and said, "Thirteenth Avenue."
I replied (because I didn't understand what he had said), "What?"
He smiled and said, "seven.....seventy-two. Seven-two....one?"
Apprehending his thought process, I smiled and replied, "Yes! Seven-two-one...Four. Thirteenth Avenue." He not only recognized me, but remembered my address--that was delightful.
I said, "It's been 20 years."
"Twenty years?" he responded.
"Yup," I affirmed.
I've ordered food from this place (a generous estimation) 75 times in 20 years. I haven't had any contact with him in 5 years. Yet he made that connection.
And that was the most detailed "conversation" that we have had in all that time.
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