Tuesday 3 February 2009

The Stop/Go guy

Why is it that people who do the most boring, monotonous job were the ones to bring the joy into my life today? Not that I was needing a joy injection, I’d been driving quite happily into town, very proud of myself when I reached the sealed road that I dodged every single pot hole down our road. Too often my mind wanders while I drive and I forget to stay wide on this corner, keep in close on that and wham! I am potholed again. But not today, today I was master of the dirt road. So yes, all was well in my world!

On the other side of the village I noticed a cloud of dust, then roadwork’s. The guy holding the Stop/Go sign raised it and wiggled it a bit to get my attention. (I admit I may have been approaching a bit on the fast side and he was probably concerned for his future.) In my day to day quietly-at-home-on-the-farm life I don’t talk to many people and when I go out, tend to speak to other motorists or animals I pass. I don’t feel the need to share the details but I can’t let a fast car, or a slow car or a good looking animal go by. Naturally, a man wiggling his Stop sign could not be ignored. As the car slowed I said to myself something like, “OK, buddy, I see ya, keep your hair on.” And to atone for giving him a fright (more likely he was very annoyed thinking oh no here comes another one who’s going to spray me with stones and dust), when he gave me the Go sign, I gave him the usual wave - and a smile.

You should have seen the smile I got back! Took me by surprise, I can tell you. So often these guys appear many miles away, you wonder if they should be trusted with a Stop/Go sign. But not this guy, this one was very with it. (Maybe he’d just been hauled back unexpectedly from far away!) Alert! and the world needs all the lerts it can get. Certainly needs more like this young man. I admit I was a bit concerned that, in smiling at me, he had taken on board a mouthful of dust.

Having been bestowed a beautiful smile I felt so good. Not only a master of the road today but a receiver of smiles, too. Convinced it was a wonderful world I drove very sedately through the road works, trying not to kick up too much dust. There was no such greeting at the other end of works, the young lady there was too busy raising and wiggling her sign to slow down an approaching motorist. Give her a smile I advised the driver as I passed him but I doubt her heard me, the window was up to start with.

I resolved to pass on that smile. If that young man can stand there in the sun, covered in dust and still smile at the passing world then so can I.

My first stop was at a hardware store (spray unit) and my first attempt at a smile was met with “You OK there, luv? Give us a hell if you want a hand with anything!” Doubt if my thank you and smile was even noticed. Then to the garden centre within the same store where the sales assistant beat me to the smile and even the lady I bumped into with my trolley turned and laughed first. Geez, what is it with people today? I have a bloody smile to give away and can’t beat anyone else to it. Even the girl at the check-out was first off the mark!

Ahh, but next came the supermarket and that could be more of a challenge. Didn’t start out well though. The first lady I noticed was wearing a striking black and white top and I’m rather into black and white at the moment. Already saying in my head “What a terrific top!” to her I smiled and was very promptly ignored! Now I know I had a smile to give away but even so, I don’t like to smile at blank spaces, even blank spaces in great tops, so I turned to find another face. I got in first on this one! The face smiled back, turned away, then whipped back again, the smile broadening. It was an old friend and not only did I get the smile but a warm hug as well. Bonus!

By the time I left the supermarket I was feeling the strain a bit, it can be darned hard work giving away smiles in that place. I think I did quite well but can’t claim total success.

But by then I was on my way to meet my friend, Chris and her neighbour, Liz and there’s never a shortage of smiles with those two.

Time to turn the car towards home, maybe I’d get one last smile from the Stop/Go guy. But, no, it must have only been a quick job, the grader and team had packed up and gone. Someone else had a treat waiting for them.

1 comment:

  1. Just keep on writing, and never stop. *S* donquixotic

    ReplyDelete

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