When Blue Moon Fish closed its stall at the Greenmarket permanently on Halloween, there was a line around the block to get the last delivery from fisherman Alex Villani, who had been hawking his catch here for 32 years.

That same day, Irmgard Borner was at his Park Slope stall, and she stocked up on fish to freeze for the winter. “Hallo, I certainly can sympathize with your retirement and wish you all the best. Whenever I bought from you I was sure it was good fresh fish!!!!! I will miss you and your fish,” she wrote in comments here on the blog.

But she was short $4, and clearly the debt was weighing on her. “I was unable to come back in time to give you the money. Please let me know where I can send it to you!”

The reply came a few days later, from Alex’s wife and partner, Stephanie, who told her not to worry about the cash. She also had a message for all their customers.

“Hi Mrs. Borner! Please don’t worry about the $4, we are grateful for your support for several decades (!) of shopping with us at our Grand Army market. Best wishes and we miss you all!”