I Met a Man

The other day I was in my local Walgreens buying birthday cards. As I waited in line, I noticed the young African-American man at the cashier's checkout talking to his middle-aged female customer. He spoke with a friendly smile and genuine interest in the woman's comments. Next in line was an elderly woman with short grey hair and the days of her life etched into her face. She was buying toilet paper in bulk and a few other things, and her items came with coupons. The young man explained to her that she didn't have to have two Walgreens coupons for two identical items, that just one would do, so hopefully that would save her some time cutting out the coupons. He went on to explain that manufacturers' coupons were different, that she would need a separate coupon for each identical item. The way he explained this to her, the way he looked at her as if she was a valuable human being who deserved respect, struck me as so unusual. Young men tend not to really notice older women. Since we're no longer fresh and pretty and our sex appeal died with the coming of wrinkles, sagging skin, and some extra weight, it's not often that an older woman feels special in the eyes of a young man, especially a stranger. 

When it came my turn at the register, the young man treated me just as kindly, just as friendly, just as engaging. We had a nice conversation about candy donated to the U.S. troops overseas (I had just bought a KitKat for a serviceman/woman). It's hard to put into words how this young man came across. It was almost like being in the presence of an angel. We live in a world where young men kill their families, strangers in a movie theater, fellow students in a high school or college, first graders in an elementary school, schoolgirls in a one-room Amish school. We live in a world where people pump up the volume on their car/home music to stadium-level, where people are routinely rude, inconsiderate, angry and thoughtless. So when a young man working as a cashier in a Walgreens drugstore treats you like he actually likes you, stranger though you be, treats you like you are real and valued and deserving, well, you just have to write about it (after you have called the manager of the store to tell him about his exceptional employee). 

The young man's name is Omari (and I hope I spelled it correctly).

Thank you, Omari. You bring light to darkness, love to emptiness, peace to discord, goodness to evil.