I've had some interesting conversations with my friends lately about the grocery store! I recently moved to a new area of town and people are just not friendly at the grocery store. I am disappointed that no one talks while they shop. I'm thinking that I have moved to a snobby community, then I talk to my friends and they are wondering why I want to talk to people at the grocery store. Is this something that people generally do not want to do? Is focusing on your grocery list that important that you can't connect with someone in the aisle? I guess each time I leave my house, I'm on a mission to find someone that I've never met, someone with an interesting story, someone that I can connect with. Isn't life about people, or has it become more about the groceries?
Now, I have to tell you the story about the man I met at the grocery. The only person in 3 months that has talked to me during my shopping. I was just getting over a cold and still coughing like crazy when I entered the soup aisle. There stood a tall, slender, older gentleman wearing a Navy ball cap and he looked at me and said "you better stop that smoking or it will kill you!" Ha! I've been waiting 3 months to talk to someone, make my connection at the grocery store, and this was the beginning of my first conversation. I was so excited that someone spoke to me, that I smiled and said, "I don't smoke and never have". Then I said, "well, wait, I did smoke one cigarette in 8th grade with a couple of girlfriends behind the church house that was located across from the middle school and I choked and coughed until I was sick and I never smoked again". He said, "did you get in trouble?". Now we were off and running. I finally made a connection. So, as the story goes, he was the nicest man and a rebel at that. He told me of his life in Wyoming, how he never follows the rules. He cracked me up when he said, "you know those forms that say don't sign below this line, well, I sign below the line just to spite". He made my day and I hope I made his. He looked to be in his 80's maybe, and I wondered if he lived alone. Maybe his grocery store escapade may be the one time that he gets out and connects with people. I'm so glad I met this man, I never asked him his name, I actually didn't even think to. I just felt like we were old friends catching up.
So whether you like to talk to people at the grocery or not, try and connect with someone today!
