Ponderings in Publix

Oh boy, here we go again with life lessons being doled out in public. If this keeps up, I may have to start shopping online and having food delivered! Seriously, I really love that I have matured enough in my walk on this wild globe to embrace changes to routines and I am always searching for a lesson in the unexpected. The more open we are the more that is given to us. I like "me" much more now than I did when I was raging against all in a untamed fury of ignorance. Now, on to the latest encounter in a grocery store.......

^{Image Source Pixabay}

Here recently, I had the luxurious pleasure of leaving work a bit early. Now don't get me wrong, for the most part, I love what I do, but who doesn't love that sneaky schoolboy feeling of playing hooky? Since I knew I would have extra time built in my day and I was off the next day, I decided to stop by Publix and pick up the ingredients I would need for cream cheese potato soup.(Recipe to follow fairly soon!) As I was leisurely meandering around the store getting my needed ingredients for this fantastical concoction, my mood began to get better and better with each item placed in my basket.

Now with all of my items gently resting in the bosom of my basket, I began my trek to the check out line. As I make the all-too-important decision of which lane to choose. Since I only had enough items for my soup, I choose the express lane in the hope of getting through the line quickly and on to my culinary delights. Little did I know that, for whatever reason, management decided to stop the line in the middle of people checking out to "count down" the register. I'm not sure what that was code for but apparently in involved having agents fly in from Washington D.C. to verify that the cashier was doing what she was supposed to because it felt like it was taking an eternity!

While the Feds were busy making sure everything was tip top with Publix cashiers and methodologies, the gentleman behind me decided to strike up a conversation. He was an elderly male who started out by thanking me for everything that we do ( I was in uniform). This led down a plethora of rabbit holes that eventually ended up him explaining how he grew up on a farm in rural south Georgia, actually not too far from my hometown. He recalled with a smile of satisfaction on his face about his first summer jobs on the farm, learning about hard work, and how he longed for those days. He mentioned he was drafted for the Vietnam War and how drastically things changed for him. He recounted how twisted and jaded he felt after living the horrors of war and how it was those old dirt roads and hard country living that brought him back to humanity.

I only interjected a word here and there just to show I was paying attention, but honestly it was one of the best conversations I have had in quite some time and it made me really evaluate my past and all I had to be thankful for. Although I had extreme financial difficulties growing up, I consider my childhood to be an excellent one. Hardship taught me the art of contentment. It taught me to find happiness in the simple and the mundane. It allowed me the chance to hone my imagination and find the extraordinary hidden in the everyday ordinary. This little conversation with this fascinating old guy brought all that rushing back to me and allowed me to be thankful in a whole new way. Thank you, Mr. Standing -in-Line-Guy. I sincerely appreciate the conversation and the lesson you brought with you to the express check out lane!

 

Originally published on my Weku blog!

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Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://papacrusher.vornix.blog/2018/11/01/ponderings-in-publix/

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All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter,
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
-Tolkien