The Coffee Cart at the Construction Site

Every morning, outside the big construction site downtown, a woman named Fatou runs a coffee cart. She's there at five a.m., when the first crews arrive, with coffee, breakfast sandwiches and a huge smile.

She knows every worker's name and order. She asks about their kids. She remembers birthdays. When it's cold, she gives away hot chocolate. When it's hot, she brings frozen water bottles.

The workers love her. On her birthday this year, the whole crew, about eighty men and women in hard hats, gathered around her cart and sang "Happy Birthday." They'd chipped in to buy her a new espresso machine.

Fatou cried. Then she made everyone a free coffee with the new machine. The building they're working on will be finished next year. They've already asked her to come to the next site.