My favorite trio of kids came into my line today. They greeted me as they usually do. I will be in the middle of checking out some a customer and then out of nowhere a kid will scream, "HI MIRANDA!" That's how I see these girls each time. I grabbed the nearest container of lollipops and I let them choose whatever flavor they want. Today they were accompanied by their grandma.
ME: How has your morning gone?
GRANDMOTHER: Oh, same as usual. We get up, do some exercise, we go to the store and then we go home and do some reading.
I love that they are active with their grandparents. I learned that the other girls' names are Sunny and Eva. Miranda, of course, is not a hard name to remember. I imagine the girls live with their grandparents. I wondered about the girls' parents. Maybe they just stay with the grandparents during the day while the parents work. Maybe the parent have died. Whatever the case, I would never dare ask such a personal question to strangers. I was happy that the kids are happy though. Their grandparents seem so nice.
Instant Cheer
A woman and her husband came into my line.
ME: Hi! How are you today?
WOMAN: Ugh, Don't ask. I am having the worst day ever.
ME: Uh oh.
She definitely looked like she was having the worst day ever. She had her head buried in her hands while I scanned and weighed groceries. I wanted to help.
ME: Ma'am, may I show you something that I think will cheer you up? If it doesn't then I swear I will leave you alone.
WOMAN: Okay, sure.
I ran over to the magazines on register 2, pulled out Bark magazine and opened it to the feature on Seth Casteel's Underwater Dogs. I handed the magazine over to the unhappy woman and showed her pictures that looked like this:
and this:
She laughed.
WOMAN: That is pretty hilarious.
ME: Did it cheer you up a little?
WOMAN: Yes it did.
The woman's husband came over and she showed him the pictures. He laughed too. Dogs are the best. It's hard to be completely unhappy around dogs, or even while looking at pictures of them like these. I am the owner of two beautiful, silly dogs. I am never unhappy for long while they are around. I feed, walk and play with them, they love me in return and I smile. I decided that I should keep that Bark magazine handy for the next customer who was having a bad day.
A Word of Advice
Do not playfully use military jargon in front of a war veteran. A man came into my line wearing an Air Force cap.
ME: You served in the Air Force?
MAN: Yes, I served in Vietnam.
ME: Thank you for your service. You must have some amazing stories.
MAN: Yes I do. I had to have my heel sewn back on.
I was very aware of my foot all of a sudden. The veteran asked me for a pen which he placed on the check writing counter. It rolled off and fell to the ground. Whenever that happens, whenever anyone drops anything, I say what I said to this veteran.
ME: Oh no! Man down!
The veteran bent down and picked up his pen, then shook his head while he wrote his check.
Stupid Miranda.
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