I just got back from the grocery store. As I checked out, the man bagging held up my drinks and said, “Bags or no bags?”

I shot back with, “Can you do that with my eyes?” And he said, “If I could, would I be workin’ here?”

He kept bagging and said to the checker, “For a minute you looked taller,” and I said, “For a minute, can you make me look thinner?” And so it went.

As we took the short walk to my car, I learned a lot about him.

“How long have you worked here?” I said.

“Twenty years.”

“How old are you?” I asked him.

“Forty,” he said.

“You look much younger,” I said.

“I get that a lot.”

“So what would you like to do if you could have another job?”


His reply was that he was perfectly happy in the job. He went on to say that he never worked more than 4 days in a row. He had stock in the company and he owned two rental properties.

“My dad said he would give me a hundred dollars if I could find a job that would not have to make me work hard and also make me happy. He paid up.”

He is married and has a son. I asked him about an ornate cross and crown he wore around his neck. It was quite heavy. “This,” he said, was made for me by a friend. It is white-gold and can be taken apart.”

The symbol of the necklace did not escape me. Within the confines of the large ornate cross there was a smaller one hidden from view that could be worn by itself. This young man was so quietly confident that he was living the perfect life for him. He had no complaints. Something to aspire to.

As I drove home, I knew this would be my next essay. Humility, enthusiasm, gratitude—all waiting to be discovered within this very ordinary looking guy. If I had not taken the time to engage him, I would not have heard his story. And a good one it was.

Vicki Woodyard