I spend a lot of time at the new RaceTrac gas station and convenience store, west of Lake Worth on Lake Worth Road and Congress Avenue.
No, I don’t need to fill up my car daily. And I’m not addicted to the Swirl World frozen treat section, but that could change in the next few weeks considering all the tasty goodies that are sold there.
I hang out at RaceTrac a lot because it’s a good, clean, and inviting place to plug in my laptop when I’m working in and around Lake Worth, something I’m now doing four days a week — a new mandate from our editors to fully embed ourselves in the communities we cover.
When you hang at a spot, you get to know folks. And they get to know you.
Today, for instance, while buying a bag of Fritos and a Pepsi, La’Cree Dawkins, a store manager, who has seen me in the RaceTrac before, asked what I did for a living.
“I want your job,” La’Cree said, even before knowing what I did.
When I told her, she frowned.
“Oooh, that’s too much typing,” she said.
It is. But you also meet a lot of interesting people and get paid to be nosy and ask a lot of questions.
That didn’t seem to interest La’Cree, a 25-year-old single mother who lives in West Palm Beach.
She was interested, however, in getting a story written about her in the paper.
“I have a birthday party coming up soon,” she said. “Can you give a shout-out to that?
Sorry, La’Cree, it doesn’t work that way.
But, we chatted for a few minutes before I got back to prepping for tonight’s City Commission meeting. Talk to people long enough and chances are you’ll find something interesting.
La’Cree may be working at RaceTrac, but her ultimate goal is an admirable one.
One day, she wants to run an in-home day care center for single moms.
“Day care is expensive,” she said. “I can’t afford it so I want to help other women who can.”
Now, La’Cree, isn’t that more interesting than a birthday shout-out?
If I don’t see you next week, I’ll know why.
