I bet you all are wondering why I have this clump of gold beads on my mantle. Well, let me tell you. Yesterday I was at the local Safeway store getting a few groceries for the month. I took the dial-a-ride up there. With dial-a-ride, you have to call them 24 hours in advance to get a ride to and from your destination. Or at least call them the day before you plan to leave. I also had plans to take the dial-a-ride back home. But you have to wait for them. Well, nowadays they have a system where if you want to be somewhere at a certain time, they say they will pick you up 15 to 45 minutes ahead of time. I told them I wanted to be at Safeway around 11AM. So, they told me the driver will pick me up somewhere between 10:15 and 10:45AM. I'm fine with that. I told them I only need an hour there, because I did not plan on picking up many things. So, I opted for a pick up from Safeway around noon. They said the driver will be there between noon and 12:30PM. So I said OK.
Well, the next day came and I got up awful early! Around 5AM. When I get up, I tinker around a bit, mostly on the computer. I usually go back to bed for a mid-morning nap when my eyelids start to feel heavy again, which is usually a few hours later. Well, around 8AM, I began to feel tired again. So, I put Mya out and after that, I left her in the living room to eat while I went back to bed for a light nap. I had hoped the dial-a-ride would not get here too early, that maybe it would get here closer to 10:45. So, I went back to sleep for a little while. I got up around 9:50. I got up and messed around again, this time, checking on Mya. I played with her for a while, and watched a few YouTube videos. Around 10, I knew soon I would have to get up and start getting ready for the dial-a-ride to pick me up.
Well, around 10:10AM, Mya started barking. She knows when someone is coming for me, and she usually barks and runs around when my ride arrives. I ask her "Is the ride here already??" I wasn't even dressed. I look out the window and there was my ride, pulling into my parking space! Oh my GOD!! I had to rush back and get dressed in a hurry!! So, I threw on my sweatshirt and slacks, brushed my hair a bit, though I didn't have time to put it back, and ran out the door grumbling that the driver was too early! I didn't grumble at the driver though, I always treat them with respect. I know they are just doing their job. But all the way to the store, I kept thinking "What am I going to do? I don't need 2 hours there!" It never takes me 2 hours to shop for the month. I get in there, get what I need and get out. I don't linger around. Or I don't really like to.
It was around 10:20AM when I got to the store. I thought "Well, I sure don't need to rush! I have all the time in the world." So, I started pushing my little cart around the store and picking up things I knew I needed. I didn't intend on getting much when I went there, and I was basically done by 11AM. So, I still had about an hour, to an hour and a half to kill. Well, Safeway is not like Fred Meyer, where they sell a lot of non-food items too. So, I couldn't look around the store at other things. I just went to the cafeteria area and waited. I figured with my luck, I'd be waiting there until 12:30. Oh my GOD! How boring!! I hadn't even eaten yet that day! No breakfast, nothing. I avoided getting anything at their deli, because I still had a pork chop from the night before waiting for me here at home. I wanted to eat that.
Well, about 10 minutes after I sat down, this little elderly man came up to me, holding this small chain of beads. He asked me if I had one of those, and I said "no". He said "I'm gonna show you something here." and he started to twist the beads. I didn't know what he was doing, and at first, I thought he was kinda crazy. LOL! He told me "I usually only do this for the ladies because the men look at me funny." I watched him, wondering what he was doing. When he was done, he handed me this little poodle dog he molded out of those beads. I had to chuckle, I told him "Hey! That's cute!!" He said "Here. I'm giving this to you." I thanked him, thinking that was a pretty clever trick. So, I held it, and decided to keep it. I had to hold it delicately, so it would not come apart again. I sat there and played with it a little. Another friend of the elderly man came up and said to me, "That's a very cute little poodle dog you have there." I said, "Yes! I like it!"
Well, the next thing I know, a little elderly woman came up and we started chit-chatting, and she offered to take my groceries out to the car. I said "I don't have a car. I'm waiting for the dial-a-ride." She said "Well, I have a car." At first, I didn't know what she was getting at, as I didn't know her. But it turned out she was the wife of the man who made the little golden poodle for me. She was offering me a ride home. Well, I'm not about to turn down a ride, especially when I might be waiting for the bus for another hour and a half! So, I said, "Well, if it's OK. I don't mind a ride home." So, when her husband was done shopping and gone through the checkout stand, he asked me if I wanted a ride home and I said "Sure." This is Tillamook, a very small town full of farmers and people who are generally quiet. I didn't believe I was in any danger. Besides, these two people looked harmless enough. So, I waited as the husband drove the car around to the front of the store. His wife waited with me.
She told me she's lived in Tillamook for over 60 years, she moved here from Wyoming. She said it got too hot there in the summer, so moving to the coast was relieving. When the husband drove up, he parked the car and opened the trunk. He managed to lift my cart and fit it into their trunk, and I hopped in the back seat. I then showed them how to get to my place. I told them this was a lot better than waiting another hour and a half for my bus to arrive. All the while, I had the little golden poodle he made me securely in my hand. When we got to my place, he parked his car in my parking space, opened the trunk and got out my little cart with the groceries in it and even wheeled it to my front door. I thanked him profusely for the ride. He extended his hand to me and said "Happy New Year!" I said "Same to you guys." Then we parted ways. I asked him at the last minute what his name was, but he didn't tell me. I guess he didn't hear me. He did tell me he was hard of hearing, and I told him I don't naturally talk very loud.
Well, I never learned his name, but I will always remember his kindness. That's why that little golden poodle now sits on my mantle. It's a reminder to me that there are still people out there, in this cold, cruel world, who do still care. Who are kind and considerate. Even though the rest of the world is now going to pot, there are still people out there who will do a simple little favor for someone else. This little elderly couple is a perfect example of that.
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