Pam and the Gift of Romaine Lettuce

“Yes!” Pam thought to herself, there was only one person in the 15 items or less line at the grocery store and he looked like he was almost done.

She placed her few items on the checkout belt and started what turned out to be an excruciatingly long wait.  First the gentlemen got in a long conversation with the checker about one of the last items rung up, the price, was it rung up correctly, was he charged for the correct item, etc.  Yikes!

Pam felt someone getting in line behind her and wondered if she should tell them to consider another line but was distracted as she watched the guy drag a checkbook out of his back pocket.  Mesmerized she watched as he slowly filled out the check, mouthing each entry as he wrote the date, store name, amount and his name.  Pam could actually feel the anxiety of the person behind her roll over her toward the front of the line.

Pam glanced behind her and saw and very pleasant looking woman who under any other circumstances would look, well – very pleasant, but was somehow looking exasperated.  All the poor woman wanted was to buy her romaine lettuce and be on her way.  Pam thought about letting her in line in front of her but had a much better idea.

She finally got to the front of the line and quietly asked the checker to add the romaine lettuce to her bill.  She answered his puzzled look explaining that she felt the woman behind her needed something to smile about so please don’t say anything until she was well away from the checkout area.

Janet could not believe she forgot to pick up the lettuce she absolutely needed for her luncheon today.  What should have been a quick stop at the store was not and she felt a bad mood rolling off her towards the guy at the front of the line who was causing the delay, chatting to the clerk and taking his time writing a check.

Janet dragged her wallet out of her purse as she finally got to the front of the line. The clerk told her with a big smile that the lady in front of her paid for her lettuce and had said she hoped it would bring her a smile.  Gosh, she could not even remember what that woman looked like she was so focused on Mr. Slowpoke.

Janet was going to be late for the luncheon but the kindness of that stranger had lifted her mood and she was just going to be late, la-tee-da.  As she walked to her car she noticed an elderly woman struggling with a shopping cart that had suddenly gone rogue on her.  Oh well, late is late, what is a couple more minutes? She helped the grateful women push the cart to her car, unloaded her groceries into her trunk and delivered the cart to the cart corral humming to herself the whole time.

Doris could not believe that the cart would suddenly not move and she was in the middle of the parking lot!  Oh dear, she had run over something which was now wedged in the wheel.  She felt one of her headaches starting as she struggled with the cart.  A pleasant looking woman, who was actually humming and swinging a bag of lettuce, offered to help her get the cart to her car.  She actually loaded her groceries into her car and took the evil cart to the cart corral.

As Doris climbed into her car she realized that headache was gone and that she was humming that pleasant woman’s song.  She was still humming when she got home and as she got off the elevator she thought about the new neighbor who had moved into the apartment across from her.

What was her name again?  Pam?  Doris had bought a huge bouquet of flowers and decided she would make a small bouquet for her new neighbor.  She left the flowers anonymously in front of Pam’s door as a surprise and welcome to the building.

And it really started with romaine lettuce….. 🙂

 

 

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