Before I had come to New York, I heard countless stories about rude New Yorkers. Since arriving, I have even encountered a few myself, such as the woman who expected me to hold the door open for her so she could enter Starbucks before I could exit, all while rudely saying, “Will ya let me get in first?” And then there’s the woman whom I knocked into on the subway, and she wouldn’t accept my apology. “Sometimes sorry just doesn’t cut it,” she told me. Sheesh!

Among all of the jaded, full-of-mental-baggage New Yorkers, I’ve run into just as many kind souls. Take our late night body guard/doorman, Smith, for instance. My roommates and I have bonded with him during our early morning strolls back to our dorm after our nights on the town. Sometimes we will stay and chat with him for a few minutes, and sometimes we’ll stay down at the front desk with him for a few hours. He’s an extremely buff, tough guy from Brooklyn, and he’s become our friend.

During one of our conversations on Sunday night, Smith suggested we take a day trip out to Brooklyn to see the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. He said he’d meet us there for lunch, and we’d walk around the gardens. It sounded like a plan. Monday morning (ok, it was more like Monday afternoon) we got on the subway to Brooklyn. We got off exactly at the right spot, patted ourselves on the back and headed toward the garden. We called Smith on the way, and–guess what?–he didn’t answer. Not to be deterred, we walked up to the entryway of the garden, only to find out that it was closed on Mondays! We called Smith again. No answer. We walked back to the subway and went home. Once we were home, Smith finally called and apologized, and he said he would make it up to us when he got to work at 11 that night.

How was Smith going to make up for ditching us in Brooklyn? He bought us a cheesecake from Juniors, which has quite possibly the best cheesecake (the box says the most fabulous) in the city! So that is my testament against snobby New Yorkers. Still, few New Yorkers compare to the Midwestern charm in Missouri. But Smith is an exception.