Tuesday was a rather busy day for us. We readied the paper with stories, ads, legal notices and the like. Cory worked hard copy-editing, Kelly worked his magic with layout, Leighanna created artwork for ads, Barbie worked at finishing up her ad sales, my Steve checked his legal notices, Steven completed some of his stories for the week, Nick worked on his articles, and I did whatever it is that I do.
Since it was Election Day, after the regular workday was over, Nick, Steven and I prepared for an evening of racing around from one political gathering to another in order to take pictures and collect information regarding our local Congressional and Long Beach’s 7th District Council races. We knew that the polls closed at 8pm, so there was no point in arriving at the various locations much before that. I decided to hang out at the office until it was time to hit the road and figured I could get in a bit of needed time tidying my desk and tending to stacks of paperwork.
Because I decided to stay, my friend/business neighbor Shari of The Undershirt saw the lights and stopped by with her two dogs Hope and Enzo. Seeing them at the beginning of what was bound to be a long night was just the pick-me-up I needed to tackle the evening ahead.
After a short visit with them, I got back into work mode and starting going through the last of the daily emails. Soon I was ready for another break. I was glad when the phone rang and I heard my friend/client Laura Burkhard from Heaven’s Best Carpet Cleaning on the other end. We hadn’t chatted lately, and I was happy for the opportunity and the time for us to catch up a bit.
Seconds into the call, I heard a catch in Laura’s voice and realized she was upset. When I asked what was bothering her, she began to cry and explained that she had just learned one of her favorite Long Beach clients had just passed away. I did the best I could to comfort her. I certainly understand how people can become emotionally attached to customers. I know I do. When her tears dried up a bit, I encouraged Laura to send me an email about this lady she was so fond of and promised I would share it with our readers. Here is her response:
Thank you very much for taking the time to hear my sadness over the loss of our customer, Mona Herzstein.
Mona was our customer for over 11 years and was always a treasure and full of life! It was a very sad day today when I called her residence to schedule our standard carpet cleaning and found out she is no longer with us. I spoke to Mona last year for our normal schedule cleaning, and she indicated to me she had been sick, but was on her way to recovery. I had the pleasure of talking with Mona and dealt with her on a personal level on many occasions. I must tell you, she was one of those wonderful ladies full of energy, laughter, life and positive energy. She was truly a beautifull person, and I’m sure she will be missed by many people.
May her family and friends find comfort in knowing we love her and know she was a fantastic human being!
Sincerely,
Laura Burkhard
Operator/State Owner
Heaven’s Best Carpet Cleaning
