Karen and I returned from California in the wee hours of this morning, and I’m struggling to adapt back to East coast time. I usually become reflective when I sit around and run out of things to do (as tends to happen on coast-to-coast flights), and I found myself thinking about people. Not the family we were visiting, or their wedding that was the reason for our trip, or the beautiful West coast visages. I was thinking about a guy at Starbucks.
Knowing my addiction, it was a given that, as soon as we arrived in town and settled into the hotel, I needed to know where the closest Starbucks could be located. It served as an oasis away from the wedding-related craziness for several of us. There was one guy working there every morning. He remembered us. Asked us how the wedding had gone as Karen and I stopped for breakfast on our way out of town. Gave me a free cup of coffee. I remember his face and his voice very well.
I remember the homeless person in the parking lot as we returned to the car asking for a few dollars in the hopes of eating his own breakfast.
I remember the guy I was sandwiched into on the first leg of our return flight, and how, despite the fact that I was more than a bit irritated that I ended up in a seat next to him instead of my wife (who was two rows up…that airline won’t be seeing my return business), turned out to be a cool guy with an interesting perspective on life.
I guess it struck me as I sat around vegging…I mean, resting and recovering…this afternoon that we tend to disregard those things. We forget people we meet, that we come into contact with even for a brief period of time. We let these moments go by us when our stories cross someone else’s, when the plots of two separate genres mingle for a moment. I’ve had it strike me before, sometimes in poignant ways, but it has been staying with me today.
Our technological advancements have minimized human contact. When we do have contact, we tend to voluntarily make it as minimal as possible (like the flight attendant who I decided didn’t warrant any eye contact when she asked for my drink order because I was upset about the seating screw-up). In doing so, have we left something essential behind? Are we losing a piece of our souls when we neglect to take the moment to connect with someone else’s? What’s it like to remember the name and small pieces of the life story of someone you just met because you were taking their coffee order?
I’m sad to say…I’m not sure I know any longer.
But I intend to re-discover the mystery.
Loved this one… Yes, it’s the people in your life, the ones that you know and the ones that you don’t that can make the biggest impact on who and what you are. I don’t remember where I heard this story but the final exam to a group of doctors was to name the cleaning lady’s name. (same lady cleaned up after them every day for a year) Sad to say NOT ONE knew that name. Enjoy the journey. Let us know how it turns out.