Wal-mart. . . Although I can mostly find anything I need there, it is a living nightmare to shop there. Especially in the month of December.
I was trying to get my last few items on the Christmas list when I went in today at 4:30 and the place was packed. It took me 20 minutes just to buy my stuff. I was already not in the mood to deal with stupid people.
After getting all my items for the family, I need a few items for myself. . . which means Nair, that lovely removal of hair. I was look at all the different kinds and what would not hurt as much as a hot wax, when i noticed a man next to me looking for something with much frustration. He was in his late 70's, moving slowly with his cane and what seemed bad knees. His eyes were searching for his item with the speed of light and watching him exasperating at himself at how slow he was searching with his fingers, I realized he was going to give up on his search. I walked next to him, watching him closer at to what he was looking for. With just a few minutes of standing there, he turned to me and in what seemed as a distress whispered, "I just can't find anything anymore" It turns out he had bought an electric shaver and the blade had broken and a replacement couldn't be found. It was a first generation model, and all wal-mart had was the third and fifth blades on the top shelf, when the first generation model was on the bottom. I reached up to the top and tried smiling at him as I was stretching my fingers to see if the blade he was looking for was placed in the back of the third generations. Alas, It was not there.
He looked at me and said "I guess I will just need to buy a new one". He picked one up on the bottom shelf and I noticed he had picked up the cheapest one, which happened to be 88 dollars. I looked at the price and my heart sunk. It wasn't fair that he had to buy the same model, when Wal-mart didn't sell the replacement blade which was only 20 bucks. He was to the end of the aile when I snapped out of my thought. I rushed over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to look at me and with what seemed to be a deep sadness in his eyes, I almost forgot what I was going to say, he smiled at me and asked "What, dear?" I blurted out ever so quickly "I think I know how to help you" I think I almost scared him to death. I walked him over to the wal-mart computer, I realized he didn't want to touch it for he wouldn't sit down. So I plopped myself on the chair and began to go to Wal-marts website. In less then two minutes, I found the blade he was searching for. We submitted a need for it at the store and we got the reply that it would be ready for pick up at the Riverton, Wal-mart on Saturday, December 11th, 2010.
As I looked up at the man, he smiled down at me and said "You have very lovely eyes". I take much pride in those, but I knew he was being very sincere, which is hard to find now a days. He then chuckled to himself saying "and lovely dark hair to make those beautiful eyes stand out more, thats a rare site to see" He then uttered a quick "Thank you" and a "Merry Christmas" put on his hat and left Wal-mart.
I didn't believe that I could find joy today. . . When I started this post of what I had found joy in today,I it was originally about the compliment from a complete stranger. However, re-telling this story, the fact is I found joy by bring another person some joy. Because of this man, he made my day so much better. Christmas is a stressful Holiday, I wish it didn't have to be. This was a joy and a review from an old lesson. Look out for the under-dog, no matter the age or what the problem may be. Remember Christmas is not what is under the tree, it's about our beloved brother, who gave up so much for you and me. I'm thankful for the bits of him I found in me today.
Peace and Love.
