Thank you, Joanne.

Let's take a moment to talk about a little known super power. A super power housed in the largest conglomerations of countries the world round. A super power whose attributes include the ability to exchange knowledge and resources, the ability to sway a day in one direction or the other, good or bad, and the ability to evoke tears of joy and gratitude or provoke screams of anguish buried in darkest portions of a man's soul.

The super power of which I speak?

The person on the other end of the Customer Service phone line.

Over the past few days I have been trying to return a package purchased online. In order to do so, I've had to call the Customer Service line. Several times. And then some.

This process has, at times, made me question my sanity. I've talked to approximately a million different people who have all been embittered by the system. I always try to be especially nice to customer service employees because I spent a summer as a technical support representative. Consequently, I know how difficult it can be to deal with people who are calling with the sole intent to whittle you down into a weeping pile of insecurity so that you'll give them the full refund, even though you would have given it to them anyways.

So after speaking with an endless stream of jaded customer service professionals, I called one more time this morning in a final attempt to get all of my questions answered. This time I spoke with a woman named Joanne. I will probably name my firstborn after Joanne in her honor, girl or boy. She was so wonderful! She was pleasant and helpful, and I think I thanked her over one million times.

Her day started well. My day started well. Her kindness made such a difference in my morning, and hopefully my not being an irate, belligerent customer made her day a little easier too. It was a beautiful thing.