Nameless friends.

I'm pretty good about learning the names of my servers in restaurants, but what about everyone else I come into contact with?
I see several people at the market regularly. Nameless faces at the gas station, Starbucks, the drug store and the burger joints. The gal who sells me my bus pass every month. The butcher, the baker and the produce stocker. The gal at the McDonald's drive-up. The other gal at the In & Out. The fruity guy at Taco Bell who gets all flirty with me. That raven-haired chick at Corti Bros. Deli. The Barbara Streisand look-alike who dispenses my glasses and all those bar tenders! The people at the tasting rooms and the guy with orange gloves who waves at everyone. The guy with the hilarious comb-over hairdo at Pardee Camera. Seriously, it's worth going in just to see this monstrosity.
The guys at the bike shop and the guys at Home Depot. The guys at Blue Collar supply, the re-store and Red's plumbing (actually, his name might be Red). My neighbor down the street. A few of my neighbors down the street. My mailman. 20% of the guys who show up for my bike rides. The gal I saw in dance class the other night who knew my name. The guy who lets me in to Costco. The other guy who checks my receipt on the way out. The guy who delivers my paycheck to the office and they guy who hauls off the recycling bins.
All of these are examples of people I come into contact with and even have lengthy and friendly conversations with. Some of them for years. We talk about all kinds of things that would seem to be common ground, yet we never connect in a meaningful way. Each of us resigned to be a nameless acquaintance who will eventually fade once they get a better job or I start shopping somewhere else.
I guess we can't be friends with everyone, but we can be friendly!