Opting out of the grandma-grandbaby pool time I was dropped off to enjoy a solo hour all to myself at Starbucks. I haven't been to one in quite a while and was amazed at the crowd. Seemed like all the soccer moms had dragged along their kids (on Easter vacation) for their morning caffeine. Just getting to the counter felt like an absolute blow to all the chiropractor's latest adjustments. I was half-hanging onto the counter/gripping the cane for dear life/shifting my weight so the blood wouldn't pool down to my legs and pull me down with it.
After some very intense 'you will not faint...that was a little to close to fainting...wtf!..just give up on the Chai Tea Latte already! internal arguing I am proud to say I managed to order, get my drink, and find my way to a spot in the tiny place. How I got talking to the young man I found inspiring I am not precisely sure. I think it was on the topic of his Lucky Strike cigarettes. They are an unusual choice for a smoke and caught my eye.
The gist of our talk was this man was downright inspiring himself. At first I didn't understand what he mean when he said he was a resident of *****. I thought he meant a medical student but he immediately set me straight. "Outpatient for a severe severe case of OCD." He used to wash his hands sixty plus times a day, followed by wet wipe. He couldn't leave the house. Sometimes he had trouble just drinking a glass of water, never mind a simple task like making the bed. Yet, after forty days in ****** he was able to function and is finishing up graduate school for a master's in creative writing.
I was impressed. He even has a book coming out later this year. Talk about a lot of inspiration from a single person you meet over a Starbucks beverage. By the end of the hour we had both found something inspiring in each others lives. He shrugged off my amazement but I don't say things lightly. Being able to live with yourself when yourself has its own agenda takes strength most of us don't have. Talking to him reminded me of how little I have been interacting with the people in this world.
Perhaps I need to get out to Starbucks more. More like, I need to continue doing the work I should be doing. Maybe even stop making origami flowers by the many. Spring is here and although it's not supposed to be above the 40s for a while, it still is about time I left the winter doldrums behind.
Just keep your eyes open I think. Never stop making origami, though I'd try something other than flowers. Sometimes the work you need to be doing isn't what you think it is.
ReplyDeleteThe germaphobic OCD ones are bad, my mother sent a patient to the ER for bathing in bleach.
Lucky strikes aren't common. He might be a Mad Men fan. They're unfiltered, and therefore like 3 times as bad as normal cigs. But you don't think about that much when you smoke.