I was almost a year older than the young man at the window of the courtesy booth at Handy Andy where I was a cashier. I was 19, he was 18; I was a courtesy booth cashier and he was a newcomer to town with a personal temporary check that he wanted to cash. Policy forbade us from cashing such checks. I cashed it anyway.

I recognized him and asked to see his driver’s license. Sure enough, the guy standing in front of me was the same one whose photo I had seen in the sports section of the newspaper the day before. It was John Tonelli, a star hockey player who had joined the Houston Aeros at the ripe old age of 18. I welcomed him to Houston. He smiled and said thanks.

He was a bona fide star, having played professional hockey in Canada since he was 16. His arrival to join the hometown hockey team in the new World Hockey Association, joining Gordie Howe and his sons, Mark and Marty, was newsworthy, to say the least. He could have demanded that his check be cashed with a “don’t you know who I am?” attitude. He didn’t. Instead, he seemed pleased to be recognized and appreciative of the simple sign of trust to cash his check despite the sign on the courtesy booth window that stated we could not cash temporary checks.

The next time he came in, he had imprinted checks. So appreciative was he for simple friendliness that he later gave me two tickets to watch the Aeros play the Russian National Team in The Summit arena. “Have you ever been to a hockey game?” asked the star who had been on ice skates since he was a kid.  “No,” I replied. “I’ll get you a couple of tickets for our game with the Russians if you want.”  Indeed, I wanted! The tickets were great, for seats close to the glass.

Hopefully, I will never forget the first exchange with a young man who would become a legend and remember his humility and genuine appreciation. He taught a lesson to always be treasured.