Angels

At the end of a productive day, filled with work and Rotary, and a few warm hugs, I went out of the bright bar room into the chill of the dark night.  I sat  for a moment, letting my eyes stray through the windshield, drawn to the door which I’d just closed behind me.  I felt the yearning rise in my chest like unchecked bile from a rotten piece of meat festering in my stomach.

I shook my head and pressed the button to start the motor.

In the parking lot of the grocery store I saw two children scurrying after their father.  I leaned against the car with my hand curled against my chest.  The man lifted the first little girl into her seat and brushed the top of her head in a moment so tender I thought I would collapse to the pavement.

I dragged myself away and into the assault of the relentless overhead lights.  Pushing a small cart, I made my solitary way around the produce section, lifting a few random items into the rigid wire basket.  I remembered the delicious breakfast that my brother Frank had made for me, eggs with hashbrowns from a package in the refrigerator.  Simply Potatoes. “Better than fresh,” he remarked.  “Already cut and seasoned.”

I craned my neck to peer at a spot three feet higher than my shoulders where the package whispered to me from an inch beyond the reach of my lily-white spastic hands.  Turning, I spied a customer getting yogurt at the end of the aisle.  Excuse me, sir, I called.  Are you taller than I am?

He strolled in my direction, laughing.  Everybody’s taller than you are, ma’am, he replied.  He lifted the package down and handed it to me, a smile breaking across his face.

My heart took flight.

At the register, a young man of slight stature, maybe 5-5 to my 5-3, asked me if I had found everything I needed.  As I put the Simply Potatoes on the conveyor belt, I admitted that I had.

It’s the twelfth day of the thirty-seventh month of My Year Without Complaining.  Life continues.

Just a few of the angels which I have encountered in my crazy days.

A few of the angels that I have collected in my crazy days, not all of which sit on a shelf in my breakfast nook.

Sarah McLachlan & Pink Sing “In The Arms of The Angel”

5 thoughts on “Angels

    1. ccorleyjd365 Post author

      That is so funny. More than you know. I am 5′ 3-3/4″ on my left side and 5′-3″ on my right side due to my right leg being 3/4 inch shorter than my left. You and I clearly are twins separated at birth (albeit 20 years apart). If I knew how to do a heart emoji in WordPress I would send you one. Imagine it right HERE.

      Reply
  1. Kevin K

    Being tall has some disadvantages – mainly airplanes and cars, but I always like helping random people reach stuff on a tall shelf in a store. Often I will offer help before they even ask. The smile back is always great.

    Reply
  2. Linda Overton

    I love the fact that most people are willing to help a person reach things on the top shelf. As long as they exist, we will survive the next four years.

    Reply

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