Pouring Cups of Joe and Joy
First somebody showed up with a bunch of balloons. Then a cake. Then a big Happy Birthday banner that was stretched across the parking lot next to the Beca’s Brew coffee stand. And people just kept showing up, dozens in all. It was a party—just as Beca Nistrian had envisioned for her pal Will Tinkham. May 10 was Tinkham’s birthday, and she wanted to surprise him.
Tinkham, 32, was born with developmental disabilities and loves people. Nistrian, 30, the spunky owner of the stand in this fast-growing Seattle outpost of 45,000, thought he was wonderful—and a business asset. So she proposed an arrangement: If Tinkham showed up every day for an hour or two and chatted with the customers at her drivethrough window, she’d give him a free drink. Pretty soon, an hour or two turned into the whole day. Nistrian gave him a raise—and put him on garbage detail.
“It’s great,” Tinkham told KOMO News. “I have fun being here and have a great day, and she pays me a lot of money!” Nistrian actually thinks she’s getting the better end of the deal. “He finds the smallest things to be happy about, and
I’m over here stressed about minute things. He finds joy in everything.”
Not everybody appreciated Tinkham’s special brand of enthusiasm. Nistrian noticed that some people would ignore him when he’d say hello. “One customer was extremely disrespectful,” she says. She gave him his order for free and asked him to please never come back.
Nistrian was so upset that she posted a sort of ode to Tinkham on a community blog. She also mentioned his approaching birthday. Without any more planning or prompting, neighbors showed up to celebrate with Tinkham on his big day, and he greeted everyone with a hug and a smile. Among the crowd: four police officers, who gave him a ride in a police cruiser—siren on, of course. “This is AWESOME!” Tinkham kept repeating.
Nistrian was so inspired by all the spontaneous good spirit that she proposed that Bothell establish every May 10 as Cup of Kindness Day. The city agreed, and it even issued a proclamation that declared Tinkham to be “an exceptional conversationalist with a kind, joyous soul.” Soon, others expanded the good cheer. A church gave a group of single moms massages, flowers, and other gifts. The trampoline park let kids jump for free. “If you are ever in need of something,” says Joanna Elder, one of the residents who nominated the town for our contest, “Bothell has you covered.”