Peas

I'm quite sure there must be a support group for persons who are voluntarily out and about at 6 a.m. on a Saturday. Having a lot to do one weekend, I ventured out early for several errands, crossing off each one on my list as I accomplished them, planning my route in advance for efficiency, and taking traffic short cuts to save time. Next on the list was grocery shopping so I landed at my favorite store at 7:02 a.m.

Tooling into the parking lot at such an early hour was a breeze compared to how it is coming later, when there is non-stop swarm of cars and pedestrians all day, so I felt lucky as I selected a parking spot close to the door and proceeded in to join the handful of other customers who were there at that same time. Getting a cart? Easy – they're all indoors and in the cart corral area. Getting down the aisles? Also easy – in the aisles are a few stock persons, an occasional customer, and me.

In one of the aisles I reached for something on a high shelf and heard, "May I help you with that, ma'am?"

I turned around, saw an older gentlemen wearing a store shirt and the name badge, "Paul", smiling at me and ready to assist.

"Thanks, and I found just what I needed."

"Oh, that's great," he said, and continued, "Things on the higher shelves aren't easy to reach. I'm glad you found it."

He had such an engaging and sincere smile that I found myself in no hurry to move on. Imagine that – Miss-Efficiency-in-a-Hurry-me can spare a minute.

So Paul and I started chatting. I learned that his shift started at midnight, he worked throughout the night stocking and straightening shelves and that he would soon be heading home to rejoin his cats, who miss him when he's away.

I said, "Well, you've certainly got customer service down pat – have you worked here a long time?"

"Oh, thank you, ma'am, but this is just my fourth day here. And I do love working here. I get to meet interesting people and I get to be helpful. That's what I like."

So we continued our conversation. I ask, "What's your philosophy of being helpful and interacting with others?"

Without a blink he said, "I always try to see things from the other person's perspective. I know what I'm seeing out of these eyes” (taking off his glasses and blinking), “but what is the other person seeing out of his or her eyes? And I listen. To me, you can't listen enough."

We then compare notes about the saying, "You have two eyes, two ears and one mouth, so look and listen twice as much as you talk."

Paul said, "I like that. It's so true. That's my formula for success in dealing with others."

I say, "And wouldn't it be a world of peace if more of us did that?"

Then I point out that he's holding a can of peas – we should give peas a chance, don't you think? And in the New Year spirit, that would bring peas on Earth, too! We both have a good laugh.

“See you again, Paul.”

[Sr. Nancy Linenkugel is a Sylvania Franciscan sister and chair of the department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio.]