GORDON LIGHTFOOT | Culture
LIFE SAVED
Wellington-based carpenter Miles Randall, 33, arrived at work with a full stomach and a full heart this morning. This was despite suffering a medium-grade hangover, which he has justified under the umbrella of “the silly season”.
Randall woke suddenly after what he described as “a fun but deeply unnecessary” midweek evening with a couple of clients, followed by a sleep so disturbed he claims he “aged five years”. The culprit, according to him, was five pints of craft beer and a sixth that “appeared out of nowhere”.
But just when life felt bleak, the convenience store chain Night ‘n Day on Cuba Street came to the rescue, its pie warmer glowing like a beacon of hope inside the otherwise cold Wellington morning.
“As soon as I saw that pie warmer, I felt something inside me heal,” Randall said, still visibly moved by the experience. “I wrapped my hands around a mince and cheese, and the heat filtered straight down into my soul. It was like being forgiven.”
The tradie says the journey from hating his own existence to actually looking forward to arriving at the job site took roughly three bites.
“You wouldn’t think a pie can change your outlook on life,” he said, “but that’s because you haven’t been hungover, cold, and spiritually lost outside a Night ‘n Day at 7am.”
Randall says he relies on the chain more than he relies on most people in his life.
“How good is Night n Day though? Honestly. I love a bakery or a dairy, but they have a bad habit of being closed right when you need them. Night ‘n Day? Always open. Always stocked. Always ready to catch you when you fall.”
After polishing off a cheeky lasagne topper “for balance”, Randall climbed back into his ute feeling like a new man.
“I’ll still say I’m never drinking again,” he admitted, “but at least I know Night ‘n Day will be there for me when I inevitably do.”
More to come.
