It's 2 p.m., and Susan McRoy and I have just begun our interview -- a customer leaves Madison Market, fumbles in her purse, and extends a folded one dollar bill to McRoy, who beams, hands the woman a paper.
"This is my first paper of the day," she says.
"Your first one?" the woman asks, incredulous -- she's a regular, and knows that when McRoy sells papers, they tend to go pretty quick (what she doesn't know is that Susan has been selling papers for about five minutes).
"Thanks a lot!" says McRoy with a grin.
That interaction kind of sums it up for Susan McRoy: not only is she consummately approachable and gracious, but she never takes her eye off the ball. And did I mention she sells a lot of papers? A lot of them.
Susan McRoy is this week's Vendor of the Week, and if you want some good vibes and a decent read, you can buy a paper from her in front of Madison Market on 16th Ave. and Madison St.
McRoy was introduced to the paper in 2001, though she didn't sell papers full-time until March of 2005. Since then, she's been Vendor of the Month and was one of the top three vendors in August of last year.
Recently, since Real Change affords a flexible schedule, she's been weaving and selling blankets to area merchants. McRoy, who also graduated fifth in her high school class, now plans to pursue her business in earnest.
One of McRoy's pieces, in fact, was once appraised at $400.
"At the time, I was flattered, but now I'm taking it seriously!" she said.
Naturally, McRoy wanted her customers to know how much she appreciated their patronage. But she had another message for them and all Real Change readers:
"I'm doing really well," she said.