How is one awarded the Great Guest Award from the Santa Cruz Boardwalk you may be asking? Let me tell you.

My girlfriend and I got ours from one of the Boardwalk’s employees with little pomp or fanfare for helping to free one of his co-workers from the supply closet he was locked in. I was washing my hands in the arcade’s bathroom when I heard some one ask,

“Sir, can you open this door?”. I tried the handle of the door next to the sink basins.

“No,” I replied “It’s locked.” A key slid out from underneath the door.

“Can you open this door?” The key didn’t fit the lock.

“No, the key doesn’t work.” I said as I slid the key back under the door. A few seconds later another key, but probably the same key, was slid out. I tried it and when it didn’t work either I ask whoever was locked in the closet who I should get to help him. He suggested I try the key again and I repeated that the key didn’t work but I would go get someone to help him. A pause, “My English is not very good.”

I responded “No te preocupes, conosco un poco.”

We repeated our previous converation about keys and doors but this time in Spanish and when we got to the point about who I should ask him for help he thought it over and replied “Security”. When I returned with Security the door was opened to let out a skinny and embarrassed janitor. The security guards asked him in Spanish how he’d locked himself into the cleaning supply closet. My Spanish wasn’t good enough to understand exactly how he had gotten locked in but from jestures and the Security guards responses it seemed like the janitor had reason to be embarrassed. Later in the day one of the Security guards came up to me and my girlfriend to say “What you did today was a nice thing, here.” He handed a small magnet to us which read “Great Guest Award” I thought it was just a little tchotchke they probably give out all the time, but if Google search results are to be believed, we’re the only ones!