Late last week, I dropped by Walmart to pick something up and got in the line where my friend was working. Conversations are always short, because the management frowns on extended chatting with customers, so I'd only been talking with her for a minute, catching up on what we'd been up to. Nothing exciting. She'd gone to see her grandchildren for a special day at their summer camp and was exhausted, and I'd spent the last week and a half cutting a 60 foot long hedge that was as high as 12 feet in some areas down to a more manageable 5 feet. The temperature was in the low 90's, with high humidity and we, like everyone else, were feeling wilted.

While she was cashing out my purchase, someone reached over from behind me and touched my shoulder. I turned around, and there was Gail, my dental hygenist, and her husband John. Gail is another one, like my check-out clerk friend. The main difference is that it's even more limiting carrying on a conversation with someone, with a hose in your mouth and them working on your teeth. But she's a real gem of a person, and we invited her and her husband over for a Gospel Messengers practice two or three years ago and they're still talking about it. That's the only time I met John, so I didn't recognize him, but they both were very appreciative that I'd given them a copy of a DVD of a concert I did for public television many years ago. They really love my book, too and Gail always asks about my music and writing when I go for an appointment.

I introduced my check-out clerk friend to them, and told her how I knew them, and I introduced her as the check-out clerk in my book. It was funny and sweet... like they were meeting a celebrity, and my friend smiled broadly. After I'd paid for my purchase and was walking away, I could see that the three of them were engaged in a lively conversation with a lot of laughter.

Life is very good. Give me the simple life.

Jerry