Each year when I travel to
Berlin, inevitably I visit the same place: the launderette in Wilmersdorf. There is a reason: it is clean, convenient and I have figured out how to use
it. The establishment is more high tech than most because it has a central
board where on pays money and controls the machines. In many ways I look
forward to this stop because I can have clean clothes and regroup for the next
portion of the trip.
Over the past eight years, or so,
I have patronized this particular laundry mat, the same man has managed (or
owned) the business. Although he is stern and somewhat severe, he is always
kind and gracious to people who need help. But for people who do not follow his
rules (some of which are unwritten) he offers pointed advice and directions.
Once, several years ago, he chastised me for placing the wheels of my suitcase
on a table used for folding laundry. I understand why as this helps to keep the
place clean and prevents clean laundry from becoming dirty. Nevertheless, I was
a little embarrassed by his chastisement.
During my visit this year an
incident between the manager and an elder man escalated. The conversation, in
German, was heated and rapid enough that I did not understand what the
disagreement was about. A younger German-speaking customer, folding his
laundry, kept shaking his head in disagreement each time the elderly man spoke.
I reflected as I finished folding my own laundry that the manager’s actions
were why I came back each year. He provides a clean comfortable place that is
helpful and comfortable for his clients. It is one of the small charms of my
Berlin sojourns.
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