牆壁上的咖啡

一日，我和朋友在洛杉磯一家有名的咖啡廳閑坐，品著咖啡。這時進來一個人，坐在我們旁邊的那張桌子旁。
他叫來服務生說：“兩杯咖啡，一杯貼牆上。”他點咖啡的方式令人感到新奇，我們注意到只有一杯咖啡被端了上來，但他卻付了兩杯的錢。他剛走，服務生就把一張紙貼在牆上，上面寫著：一杯咖啡。
這時，又進來兩個人，點了三杯咖啡，兩杯放在桌子上，一杯貼在牆上。他們喝了兩杯，但付了三杯的錢，然後離開了。服務生又像剛才那樣再牆上貼了張紙，上面寫著：一杯咖啡。
似乎這種方式是這裡的常規，但卻令我們感到新奇和不解。不過由於事不關己，我們喝完咖啡，付了錢，就走了。
幾天後，我們又有機會去這家咖啡店。當我們正在享受咖啡時，進來一個人，此人衣著與這家咖啡店的檔次和氛圍都極不協調，一看就是個窮人。他坐下來，看著牆上，然後說：“牆上的一杯咖啡。”服務生以慣有的姿態恭敬地給他端上咖啡。
那人喝完咖啡沒結賬就走了，我們驚奇地看著這一切，只見服務生從牆上揭下一張紙，扔進了紙簍。此時，真相大白，當地居民對窮人的尊敬讓我們感動得熱淚盈眶。
咖啡既不是社會的基本需要，也不是生活的必需品，但需要指出的是，當我們享受任何美好的東西時，也許我們都應該想到別人，有些人也喜歡這樣的東西，但卻無力支付。
再說說那位服務生，他在為那個窮人服務時一直都是面帶笑容。而那位窮人，他進來時無須降低自己的尊嚴討 要一杯免費的咖啡，他只需看看牆上。
我們要記住那面牆！！！
 
 
I sat with my friend in a well-known coffee shop in a neighboring town of Venice, the city of lights and water. As we enjoyed our coffee, a man entered and sat on 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. As soon as he left, the waiter pasted 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 pasted a piece of paper on the wall saying, A Cup of Coffee.
It seemed that this gesture was a norm at this place. However, it was something unique and perplexing for us. Since we had nothing to do with the matter, we finished our coffee, paid the bill and left.
After a few days, we again had a chance to go to this coffee shop. While we were enjoying our coffee, a man entered. The way this man was dressed did not match the standard nor the atmosphere of this coffee shop.
Poverty was evident from the looks on his face. 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 when the waiter took off a piece of paper from the wall and threw it in the dust 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 welled up our eyes with tears.
Coffee is not a need of our society neither a necessity of life for us. The point to note is that when we take pleasure in any blessing, maybe we also need to think about those people who appreciate that specific blessing as much as we do but they cannot afford to have it.
Note the character of this waiter, who is playing a consistent and generous role to get the communication going between the affording and the needy with a smile on his face.
Ponder upon this man in need. 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.
When we analyze this story, along with the other characters, we need to remember the role played by the wall that reflects the generosity and care of the dwellers of this town.