Reality Bites

This is off-message from my usual postings, but now and then life intercedes in a way that gets my attention.

A few days ago I made a quick run to my regular supermarket – Vons – a California chain owned by the mega-chain, Safeway.

I only needed a few items, so I headed for the quick checkout line. Several people were in front of me, and directly in front of me was an elderly, short, Latina woman. I noted nothing else about her until it was her turn to checkout. She placed on the conveyor belt a single ear of corn.

The employee asked her if she had a Von’s Club card, the kind most stores promote, offering discounts for a litany of items each week. She did not. Yet, the corn was on sale for 25 cents an ear – with a Von’s Club card.

She showed me the 25 cents in her hand. Expecting she would have a problem, I began foraging for coins in my pocket.

To the credit of the Von’s employee, he handed her a Von’s Club card application, and rang up the sale of an ear of corn for 25 cents.

I have no context to this story – I know nothing about her. Our lives only crossed for a moment - a moment that gave me pause.

We all need more moments that give us pause, and touch our souls.