I don’t usually talk to people there, but today was quite different. I was at the refrigerator area to get some milk. There was an older lady there reaching into the milk shelf. I was waiting to get a bottle for myself. She pulled a container and looked at me, then asked is this what you wanted? I said it was so she handed it to me and then took one for herself. That started a conversation that lasted for 10 minutes. She was quite pleasant so we swapped our life history. It was nice to chat with someone.
I left toward the checkout counter and on the way I saw a nice young woman who works there. We speak for a minute or two whenever I see her. I asked if she was working the checkout and she was, so we headed that way. As she finished checking me out, another woman in line behind me started speaking to me.
The woman behind me said she had seen me before when I was out walking. She then surprised me when she said it was too cold outside and she would give me a ride home. I was shocked! Not only did she drive me home, but she gave me her phone number and said she would gladly take me anywhere I needed to go around town.
Both women were widows. The first one had 6 grown children, 3 are still living at her home, 1 is a college graduate. The second woman has a grown twenty something son living with her. He seems to be a nice young man. She struck me as being Italian, though her last name is not Italian. The funny thing is, a grocery store seems to be a good place to meet widows.
I continue to meet widows nearly every time I am in the grocery store. It is nice to talk with them, otherwise I go for days without speaking to anyone. I’ve begun to talk out loud to myself just to keep the vocal cords working. The one that drove me home never asked for my name, but I did tell her my name is Bill.
Another thing I enjoy is seeing young women with little children. Kids small enough to be sitting in the seats seem to be scared of me. I’ll say hello, but few if any ever talk. I never thought I was scary looking.
Bill
