Hi, yo, Silver!

 The story about Chairman Joe and WannaskaWriter’s encounter with the dart-throwing couple from Tennessee was pretty charming. I think it reads like a pilot for a Netflix series. I’m not sure what I’d call it, but episodes would follow an adventurous couple, fueled by the joy of meeting people, to places randomly determined by a dart tossed onto a map. I think it has possibilities; I had pronounced enchantment envy after reading Joe’s account of his Minnesota hospitality and the McDonnell impromptu pizza party. The fact that they never learned the couple’s last name was a clincher. Hi, yo, Silver. Who was that masked man? I’d watch.

The lure of Joe’s story stayed with me, and I still felt a little glowy about life the next day when I went to the library. I got my books and settled into a comfy cluster of chairs with two of my older grandchildren to wait for my daughter to finish up. While waiting, I entertained myself, as I often do, by reading book titles, and I said something like that out loud to the kids. To my surprise, a library patron sitting to our left joined our conversation and reported that not only did she also love book titles but that she was a former librarian who used to offer creative writing programs to her community where she invited folks to use book titles as prompts to write stories or poems.  Retired English and Creative Writing teacher that I am, my heart leaped, and off we trotted into a delightful conversation. This former librarian was a treasure trove of information, including accounts of musical excursions around Ireland. Before leaving the library, I’d told her about Word Wednesday’s weekly WILUTW challenge, and we exchanged contact information to keep the conversation going. I didn’t invite her back for pizza, but still. 

Fast forward a few more days, and picture me meandering through the aisles of Job Lot. Consummate bread baker that I am, I reach the Bob’s Red Mill aisle and settle in front of the myriad flours and grains available for my perusal. An elderly employee was busy stocking the shelves, and we got talking. Turns out that this particular day marked what would have been her wedding anniversary. I think she said the 64th. I learned that she got married when she was sixteen, they had three kids, and that her husband was beyond kind, supportive, and handsome. I can’t vouch for her first two comments, but she pulled out a picture of him, and he was a Cary Grant good-looker. He sounded like a nice guy based on her enthusiasm for his life. 

What got me, though, was when she told me that when she got the job stocking at Job Lot, she especially requested the assignment of stocking the Red Mill shelves. As she put it, I’d have a special way to remember my Bob every day. I told her that Jim and I will soon celebrate 56 years which cemented me and my new friend as kindred spirits.We shared a few observations about the goodnesses and challenges of long relationships and sent praises in the direction of her loving, deceased husband. Again, no pizza party, but another lovely moment of connection with a stranger. 

All this reminds me of the old Girl Scout song: Make new friends and keep the old. One is Silver, and the other is Gold. Thanks for the inspiration to be more open, Joe. And, as I said before, Hi, yo, Silver!

One is Silver and. . .