It could seem, I’m sure, that these past few encounters I have shared with you, must be ‘made up’. But, as strange as it is…they have all happened…just as I have told them to you. I think the Lord is teaching me something…in fact I’m sure of it after today…

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I had to make a quick run to Wal-Mart this afternoon for some cooking oil. I wanted to fix Ian some brownies and I did not have enough to make 1/2 cup. I parked near the Garden Center and hurried in. I located the oil and headed to the check out counter. Because it was the middle of Thanksgiving Day, the store was not very full. Wal-Mart, in our town, is notorious for not opening up enough lanes to accommodate the people wishing to check-out…but today there were several lanes with no one waiting. I picked the express lane, since I never qualify for the ’10 items or less’ on my regular trips to shop there. And…right there…waiting for me…was …another one…

The clerk who was working was an older lady, who was not where she wanted to be on Thanksgiving Day. The customer was a man around the age of 70, dressed in overalls, a long sleeved T shirt, a flannel shirt, a down vest, and heavy work boats. He had a full beard, and a pony tail that reached to the middle of his back. Topping it all off was a knit cap. It was 73 degrees here today…he was way overdressed.

The man was in search of some “snuff…the green box…got little pouches in it…and it feels a mite cold in yer mouth.” Well, that is about as good a description as a body could want. The clerk, however, didn’t get the picture quite so easily. “You want something that tastes ‘cold’? None of this says cold on it,” she told the man, “and all we got here comes in a tin box. They ain’t no pouches.” The man tried his best to explain, “hit don’t say cold on it, but it just feels a mite cold in yer cheek, see. It’s just them little pouches in the round box, and it’s green.” “So, you’re looking for a green, round box in a pouch?” she asked. “I don’t know ’bout all that, I just want my snuff…the cold kind…in the little bundles,” he explained. The clerk had reached her limit, so she yelled across the aisles…4 to be exact. “Mary Sue, you ever hear tell of a bundle of snuff that comes in a round box and tastes cold?” Mary Sue, bless her sweet heart, came over and said, “Velma, I don’t know beans about snuff. But, Granny dips a little, and she likes that Cooper’s Ment kind. Here see if this is what he wants.” Friends, I kid you not, this is not a lie…it was Copenhagen Menthol! But, Cooper’s Ment sounds so much like Copenhagen Menthol, I can see where she would get confused.

Well, the old fella’s face lit up. “Yep, that’s it! That’s just what I been hankerin’ today. This’ll do me some more good! How much is it?” I began to feel a little Deja vu as he pulled a hand full of coins out of his overall pockets and dumped them on the counter. “That should cover it, I reckon,” he said. Velma was not at all happy to have to count out the mound of coins, but she plunged right in to the task ahead. First, she separated them into groups…quarters with quarters, dimes with dimes, etc. Then she commenced to counting. And, I commenced to praying…”O, Sweet, Lord, please let this man have enough money to buy this snuff. I cannot deal with the dilemma of whether I should help him out or not. I know snuff is not good for a body, but , what would you have me do? It’s wrong to help someone if helping them is really causing them to do harm to themselves. Lord, I know there is a right answer to this, but for the life of me, I just don’t have the wits about me to figure it out today. Please let him have it the $1.87″ As I was praying, Velma was drawing on her grammar school math lessons to count the coins…”57…67..77″ she counted. I cringed…I knew what was coming…”Sorry, Mr., you don’t have enough. You need another dime.” “Oh, Lady”, he said, “That’s all I got…they ain’t no more.” He looked at her, and she looked at him…and I put my hands in my pockets. My fingers touched something small and round and hard…I pulled it out…and you already know what it was…a dime! I promise you…there was a dime, sitting all alone in my pocket! Just sitting there…waiting…to be used…to do a kindness to someone I did not know. “Well, Lord, I’d say that is a pretty clear answer as to what I should do.”

And, so, I pulled out the dime and laid it on the counter next to his pile of coins. He turned and looked at me, and, in the humblest of voices, he said, “I’ll pay you back next time.” And, I replied, “That’ll be just fine.” He already had the wrappings off the round tin of Copenhagen Menthol in pouches, and was getting ready to pop it in his mouth, and “feel the cold.” He had it out of the tin and into his mouth in one swift move. “Ummmmm”, is the only other thing he said. “Happy Thanksgiving, Mr.”

I hope your Thanksgiving is full of good food, good fun, and lots of good laughs!

I told you…the ‘weird ones’ just sit around and wait for me to walk by and then they flaunt their particular brand of ‘crazy’ right in front of me!

Today, I stopped at a local grocery store that used to be Bruno’s. I never can remember its new name. Anyway, since we are coming up so quickly (or slowly, depending on your point of view) on the move to the Creek House, I do not intend to cook a full course Thanksgiving Dinner…actually, I don’t intend to cook a half course Thanksgiving Dinner. I’m thinking a big pot of Taco Soup will fill the bill nicely. But, I digress…I stopped in to get the ingredients and lay in a big supply of Diet Dr. Pepper. And, it was in the check-out lane that this story begins.

I looked for a short line, and found a lane where there were 2 ladies checking out. I figured I would be out of there in a snap. I figured wrong. First strange thing I noticed…was a wad of something laying on the counter. It was most unusual conglomeration of things I have seen all tucked in together. There was one of those rubber, spiky bouncy balls, and a silver police whistle, there was a coin purse shaped like a fish, and a pair of dice. There was an small football, and a key chain in the shape of an angel, complete with a sparkly halo, and a tube of lip gloss. All of these were somehow connected to each other and hanging from the key chain was a set of about 38 or so keys. She kept picking it up and moving it down the line as she moved along. She seemed to be having an argument of some sort with her lady friend. “You sure you ain’t got 24 cent? 24 cent ain’t very much.” “Well, I said I ain’t got it and I ain’t! You not gonna die from thirst.” “Well, if you ain’t got all high and mighty. Can’t help a friend out for a measly 24 cent.” “I told you I ain’t got it.” And, with this she proceeds to dump her whole, entire purse onto the moving counter. The clerk’s eyes nearly popped out! There were things in that purse that had not seen the light of day for years. I kid you not. There were socks…there were used tissues…there were feminine hygiene products…there was a pack of gum, and 2 bars of candy. There was a hairbrush, and 3 tubes of lipstick, a compact that had broken open…covering the entire contents of the purse with ‘suntan glow.’ And, out rolled several coins. “Here, count this and see if it’s 24 cent. I’m just telling you it is all I got.” The other woman started counting and obviously big numbers were not her thing, as she had to start over several times. I’m not sure if she ever got it right. “Shug, can I have a wet paper towel to clean off this powder?”, she said to the clerk. The poor girl did not know what to say. She handed her a paper towel…dry. “Never mind, that ain’t gonna work…I knew there weren’t no 24 cent in here to start with.”

This is where I could not keep silent any longer. Taking a dollar bill from my wallet, I said, “Mam, I would be happy to share this with you if you don’t have quite enough money.” “Well, why would you want to do that?”, she asked. “I’ve been in the same situation myself and I would be so happy to share with you,” I said. “Why?”, she said again. “Well, I am just trying to be a good neighbor,” I said. “Do you live near me?,” she asked. “No, I don’t think so, I said. “Well, why are you trying to give me money, Shug?,” she asked again. Feeling very frustrated, I said, “Mam, I just figured if Jesus was standing here, He would help you and I’m just trying to do what He would do.”

She turned to her friend and in a huff, she said, “Now, look what you did…got this woman feeling sorry for us.” She scooped up the contents of her purse, and shoved it all back inside…except for the ‘suntan glow’ powder that covered the counter. Looking at the poor woman with her she said, “You won’t never get my 24 cent…you can just drink water.”

And, with that, they walked away…leaving the counter covered with face powder and a lukewarm RC Cola.

I don’t think the clerk has recovered yet.

Three, three, three awards at once! Can you believe it? My sweet, sweet, sweet friend Kat, has awarded these to me today, and I am happy, happy, happy. Kat is one of the bloggers I have known the longest, and I am thankful, thankful, thankful for her friendship!
Thanks, Kat, for the awards…you’re the best, best, best!