I stopped at the grocery on the way home from an appointment today to run in for some jumbalaya mix for dinner. I picked up the box of flavored rice and a long link of kielbasa for it, plus two other rice mixes and three water refills -- a total of seven items, then headed to one of the two express check-out lanes. It was all very hum-drum and normal. The only part about my activity that was even remotely out of the ordinary was that my teenage daughter, whose appointment we had just finished, was reading homework in the car instead of in her study hall.
Seven items in my shopping cart, I headed to the express checkout. Both express lanes were open so I, of course, chose the lane I thought looked like it might move fastest. As I stood waiting, the tall, slim man at the end of the other express line caught my attention. In business attire minus the jacket, he held two apples and a bottle of water in his right hand and a deli-packaged sandwich in his left. He was doing that little dance that people do when they are in a hurry. You know the one -- stepping back and forth toward the line beside him, seemingly trying to discern which line was moving faster as he did his best to peer over the heads of people in front of him in line.
Just after 1 o'clock in the afternoon, I imagined the indecisive man must be running late on his way back to work. So when he made the decision to lane-hop and get behind me, I offered, "You can go ahead of me if you want."
"Thank you!" He glanced in my cart as he started to walk around me.
Seeing my seven items, the better part of valour took hold of him. "Oh, but you don't have that much. You won't take long..." he began to offer.
I stopped him with the broad waving of my hand in the direction of the cashier. "Go ahead. You look like you're in more of a hurry than I am."
He got ahead of me with, "Thank you. That is very nice of you."
It was no problem for me -- really. I did not think about it twice. I had plenty of time to get through the line. A simple courtesy toward a stranger would do me no harm and looked like it would make his day easier. I was just happy when the tall stranger stopped dancing and fidgeting between the lines. In front of me, he remained virtually silent except for a few polite responses to the cashier during checkout. But then he surprized me.
Turning toward me as he took his grocery bag, he repeated his earlier statement, "Thank you. That was very nice of you."
"Oh, my pleasure!" I smiled after him as he headed for the door.
It was a simple act of courtesy, so natural it was as easy as breathing -- no trouble to me and took nothing from me, yet it helped reduce someone else's stress. How strange that in a nation FOUNDED on Christian principles, a random act following the command in Luke 6:31 is so uncommon that it warranted TWO thank yous from a man I will likely never again see.
Seven items in my shopping cart, I headed to the express checkout. Both express lanes were open so I, of course, chose the lane I thought looked like it might move fastest. As I stood waiting, the tall, slim man at the end of the other express line caught my attention. In business attire minus the jacket, he held two apples and a bottle of water in his right hand and a deli-packaged sandwich in his left. He was doing that little dance that people do when they are in a hurry. You know the one -- stepping back and forth toward the line beside him, seemingly trying to discern which line was moving faster as he did his best to peer over the heads of people in front of him in line.
Just after 1 o'clock in the afternoon, I imagined the indecisive man must be running late on his way back to work. So when he made the decision to lane-hop and get behind me, I offered, "You can go ahead of me if you want."
"Thank you!" He glanced in my cart as he started to walk around me.
Seeing my seven items, the better part of valour took hold of him. "Oh, but you don't have that much. You won't take long..." he began to offer.
I stopped him with the broad waving of my hand in the direction of the cashier. "Go ahead. You look like you're in more of a hurry than I am."
He got ahead of me with, "Thank you. That is very nice of you."
It was no problem for me -- really. I did not think about it twice. I had plenty of time to get through the line. A simple courtesy toward a stranger would do me no harm and looked like it would make his day easier. I was just happy when the tall stranger stopped dancing and fidgeting between the lines. In front of me, he remained virtually silent except for a few polite responses to the cashier during checkout. But then he surprized me.
Turning toward me as he took his grocery bag, he repeated his earlier statement, "Thank you. That was very nice of you."
"Oh, my pleasure!" I smiled after him as he headed for the door.
It was a simple act of courtesy, so natural it was as easy as breathing -- no trouble to me and took nothing from me, yet it helped reduce someone else's stress. How strange that in a nation FOUNDED on Christian principles, a random act following the command in Luke 6:31 is so uncommon that it warranted TWO thank yous from a man I will likely never again see.
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