Thank you! Now what do you want ....

I was working in a lil bitty dot of a town called Burnet today. Booming metropolis it is not. It's a conservative little sleepy town of good hard working church goin folk about an hour from where I live. I currently work out there twice a week. I enjoy the drive and find it nice and comforting to be out where life is slower for a whole minute. The Sonic restaurant does a steady stream of business and the local gas station is the morning gathering spot where folks fill up on caffeine and gossip.

I dig it. I'm amused. And as a VERY much citified kid I often feel like big glaring neon bull in a china shop.

And while the Sonic can certainly fill my greasy burger cravings and The BBQ Shak is always tempting with its wood bench and rolls of paper towels I wasn't feeling either of those dining experiences today. I had this crazy notion that I'd try to be healthy and head to to grocery store to pick up something less fried and less BBQd. This was the plan. A lovely salad ... Maybe some fresh fruit. Something NOT accompanied by tots. I aimed my car for the grocery store and took that 18 second drive with great resolve and pride in my good choices.

Now, MY grocery store is more like a bonafide food expo. THIS grocery store is kinda like a large fruit stand with a meat counter and a freezer. I think it's cute. I feel kinda patronizing and snobbish ... Don't they KNOW how cool my grocery is??!!

I walk through the doors and the two folks leaving as I go in smile warmly at me. It warms my heart. I smile back. There is country music overhead and folks crossing off their grocery lists and tending to their babies. But what struck me is that folks were actually talking to each other . They were calling each other by name and asking about their days and families with genuine concern. How weird! A lot of folks ask how you are doing without ever caring about the answer and probably hope you WON'T answer. I think it's sweet, this sense of community ....

Until ..

Community caught up to me and was standing in line behind me.

I found a lovely Granny Smith Apple and, in the absence of fresh deli sandwich selection, chose a healthy (looking) frozen sandwich that I could heat up. I get in line. An older woman waits behind me. Politely. Hair done. Make up in place. She knows the folks in line. She knows the cashier by name. And, in this moment, what she really wants to know is what I'm eatin and why. She asks me if I've had this sandwich before, do I like it, are there others like it, should she try it. I answer politely.

Then it happened. She all but (gently) pushed me out of the way and reached for my grocery selections wanting to read the label, review sodium content, calories per serving, brand name .. And she prefaced all this by saying "I'm not stealin .. Just lookin". She's sweet as pie. But I'm ALL kinds of uncomfortable and reacting in a very citified way. Why is she touching MY stuff (though I've technically not purchased it yet)? Why is she so involved in my lunch? It's just frozen food, people! She clearly must be up to something shady! NO ONE is this curious about strangers or nice just to make conversation. SHE'S IN MY GROCERY SPACE!

Oh good grief ... Really, Wendy?!

I thought for about a second and it occurred to me that this woman was just being friendly and
treating me the way she probably treats everyone in this teeny tiny town. She had random sandwich envy. No harm no foul.

And then I felt sad about my thoughts and first inclinations. What did I think she was going to do? Commit green apple assault? Snatch up my $2.37 sandwich and make a break for it? It's not like she licked the damn thing and handed it back to me.

I don't know what I thought, really. I just know that one second I was appreciating this small town country courtesy and then utterly freaked out and peeved that I'd been the recipient of it.

I was grateful for her extended gesture of friendship. I was excited that another person out there has the same sandwich scrutiny as I do. Lets be clear. She was not being crazy or weird. She had genuine lunch concerns and I had the answers. 

I got over it, realized I was being ridiculous, smiled, wished her well in her sandwich endeavors, paid and left. I walked to my car and was happy for that 6-7 minutes of my life. I was also a bit disenchanted. What kind of life am I living when I immediately expect folks to be shady and I'm automatically suspicious when shown kindness and regard? Seems a bit backward to me.

The thing I didn't do was thank her. 
I should have.