Odd Conversations

I really enjoy quirky conversations, especially when you get a person on the job to show you a different face than their normal customer-service persona.

I stopped in at JoAnn Fabrics the other night, hoping to find some cute chicken panels that I want for my kitchen, but of course they didn't have any, this being JoAnn's. But they did have some clear vinyl that I needed for a tablecloth, so I took it to the cutting counter.

And there was a young man. I am serious. I don't think I've ever before had fabric cut by a young man at a fabric store. He had long ski-slope sideburns such as were in fashion in 1976, a piercing or two, and the nicest eyes and a warm smile. "Did you find everything?" he asked.

"Well," I said, "I'm wondering if you have fabric panels with chickens."

"Hmmm," he said, "I don't think so. In fact, I'm pretty sure that we don't, because if we did, my wife would buy them, because she loves chickens." His eyes looked happy when he said "my wife."

Oh my. A nice young man who is noble enough to marry the lady of his life in this day and age, and he works at JoAnn Fabrics with great cheerfulness and professionalism. Wow.

"Do you raise chickens?" I asked.

"Yes, three of them. That's all you can have in the city limits, I'm told. We have a Buff Orpington, and something with red..."

"Rhode Island Red?" I offered.

"Yes! And something black. I can't remember the name." Neither could I.

These chickens, he said, lay an egg every day, actually every 27 hours, just like the experts say they should. What about mine?

Well, they lay pretty well, but they're getting old and slacking off.

His eyes lit up again. Oh, did I know that someone in England let chickens watch TV and it extended their laying life? In fact, what they really liked to watch was screen savers, and the most effective one was the flying toasters.

Amazing. Thankfully it was late and there was no one waiting in line so we could talk freely. But finally we exhausted the subject and I left, oddly encouraged about life.

Then yesterday I took Jenny to the dentist and she wanted me back in the room with her so I could hold her foot when she gets shots. She needed three, with about 5 minutes of waiting for each, so we had lots of time to talk with the dentist.

How did you decide on this field, I asked him.

Well, he was in college, taking general courses and trying to decide what to do. He was somewhat artistic, so he wanted to do something with his hands. But he was also working in the produce department at Albertsons and knew he wanted something with more of a future than that. And he wanted to make a decent living.

Meanwhile there was this girl who was a really good friend, and the two of them went to the beach one day, and were talking about what he should do. She thought about all these criteria for his future and came up with the idea of being a dentist.

He said,

Quote of the Day:
"There was just something about that day and what she suggested and the brown swimsuit she was wearing, and it all came together for me, and that's what I did."