I smiled at a man at the gas station
And he walked toward my car, smiling back. I liked his jacket -- emblazoned with patches boasting baseball league victories, I think. I would have acknowledged it, but my mind was still recovering from his compliment:
"You have a beautiful smile!"
This was days ago, but it's overwritten the insidious despair that I've come to associate gas stations with. Whenever I pump petrol, I fixate on the dollar signs and the material fact that ancient organic matter extracted from the planet and refined into liquid is getting poured into a contraption with origins and labor unbeknownst to me.
Suffice to say, I get pretty existential about something made so common for our society.
It was a heartwarming interaction, though -- one that has me feeling light and hopeful about the beauty and kindness to be found in the exchanges between strangers.
And before this, I was at the bank. One of the machines wasn't accepting cash deposits, so I fell back into the queue. As that machine opened up, I invited the person behind me to go ahead. They accepted with gratitude -- and, as they stepped forward, a bank employee complimented my hat.
"Thank you, I made it!"
"Cool! A strawberry, right?"
"Yes -- can I give you a sticker?"
"I'd love one! Free stickers!"
"It's of the hat, here--"
"You're going to make my manager jealous."
"Oh! Here's another one, for her."
And on my way out, he held the door open for me. Told me to have a good day. I responded to take care, feeling bright about my art and getting to share it with the people around me.
I wonder too about how many beautiful smiles are shielded by masks during a time where love for our neighbors is so healing. I still like to make a point of wearing them in crowded spaces -- the virus itself hasn't gone anywhere, even if vaccines and tests are more accessible and culture has shifted "past" the pandemic -- but that moment made me glad that I wasn't masking. How else would he have known that I was smiling at him?
I hope they're both doing well. I wonder if we'll ever see each other again.