Everyone Has a Roll
As a young adult, Ingrid traveled from Sweden to London and settled down in the West End of London. She and her wife set up a bakery, playfully named Everyone Has a Roll. This bakery produced both sweet and savory rolls. The rolls soon became popular in her neighborhood, but people in more distant neighborhoods never heard about the delicious rolls.
One day, one of her customers asked, "Why don't you tell people in other neighborhoods about how tasty your rolls are?" Ingrid looked the person up and down. "Well, it's not my job to spread the word about my rolls. I spend all my energy making the rolls. If the rolls are good, then my customers ought to spread the word about them." After a moment's pause, said added, "Everyone has a role to play."
This customer looked surprised – as if they had never heard this idea before. Maybe Ingrid had a point? Worth thinking about.
The next day, one of Ingrid's regular customers showed up. A shy widow, she rarely spoke. She lived on a very meager income, but yet every day she showed great generosity at Ingrid's bakery. If her bill for the rolls was $6 that day, she would hand the cashier $12. If the bill for the day was $8, she would hand the cashier $16. She never wanted any change. That was just her chosen role. She adored this bakery and wanted to show her appreciation in deeds, not words.
On a hot August night, an electrical wire caught fire in the bakery and the bakery burned to the ground. Thankfully, nobody was hurt, but Ingrid had to rebuild. One of her customers said, "Why don't you set up a GoFundMe?" Ingrid replied, "That's not my role. If my customers care about this bakery, then one of them will set up a GoFundMe."
Sure enough, the shy old widow walked in an hour later and handed a slip to Ingrid with the GoFundMe web site she had set up.
Ingrid looked at the printed page — the URL carefully handwritten beneath — and smiled. "So this is your roll today?" she asked. The widow gave the smallest of nods, her eyes glistening. "I just thought," she murmured, "maybe everyone could have a little dough in the rebuilding."
Word spread faster than Ingrid could have imagined. Neighbors, old customers, tourists who had once stumbled in for a cardamom bun — they all donated. A musician down the street offered to hold a benefit concert, calling it Rock and Rolls. The florist next door promised free window boxes once the new shop opened. And every person, in their own small way, took up a role.
Months later, when Everyone Has a Roll reopened, it was even warmer, brighter, and more fragrant than before. Ingrid decided to add a new flavor — "The Rebuilder's Roll" — filled with cinnamon, apple, and just a hint of ash-colored poppyseed to remember what had burned but not broken.
At the grand reopening, Ingrid stood behind the counter and said to the crowd, "I used to think my job was to make the rolls, and yours was to eat them. But I see now that every good thing in this world needs many kinds of hands. Some knead, some bake, some share, and some rebuild. Everyone really does have a roll — and a role."
And from then on, the bakery's new sign carried both phrases, side by side. Visitors would stop, chuckle, and then grow quiet for a moment — realizing that beneath the pun lay a truth warm enough to rise.
(This writing is donated to the public domain.)
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"Wisdom begins with wonder." - Socrates
"Learning happens thru gentleness."
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