Hi,
This is Clay Stevenson,
And welcome to Of Mice and Moments,
A podcast that finds significance in the small moments.
I don't make a point of befriending strangers.
Generally when I'm in public,
If I'm by myself,
I am engaged in something to myself.
I'm looking at my phone,
Listening to a podcast,
Or taking a moment to rest my weary eyes.
Yesterday,
While in a state of solitude,
Something small happened that caused me to break out of my lonesome reverie.
As I was slowly pulling out of a large parking lot in my 2000 silver Ford Flex,
Don't let it fool you,
It's a family car,
A glorified station wagon,
But not a minivan,
So therefore I'm holding on to some semblance of life before kids,
Or am I?
As I was rolling slowly toward the parking lot exit,
A college student crossed my path.
As a flash of blonde hair moved in front of me,
I noticed how determined her trek seemed to be.
Mind you,
I had no intention of coming between this young college student and her destination.
I especially couldn't imagine that rolling down the window and shouting at her would be the best idea.
A strange man,
Driving a silver station wagon,
Shouting at a college student in a parking lot isn't necessarily a welcomed occurrence.
However,
That's what happened.
It started out pleasantly enough,
My voice raised,
Hey,
I know this is awkward.
In an attempt to make it less awkward,
I pointed out that it was awkward,
And in doing so,
I'm pretty sure I did the thing that I was trying not to do.
At this point,
The student gave me a puzzled and slightly startled look.
I could already tell that this wasn't a conversation she was excited about.
Not only had I stopped her mid stride,
But I had rolled my window down and shouted at her.
From the silver station wagon,
Again,
A strange bald man with a scraggly beard.
I could hear her thoughts in the look on her face.
Who is this creepy guy?
This is not the kind of encounter you would like to have as you make your way to class your junior year in college,
Probably running a little late and thinking about a test you have next,
Or the argument you just had with one of your best friends.
But there we were,
And I was in too deep with nowhere to go but to finish my thought.
Hey,
I know this is awkward,
But you dropped a banana back there.
I then grinned a cheesy grin,
Internally laughing at the silliness of the statement.
You see,
As she was moving headlong in a fevered pace across the parking lot,
I noticed a banana had come tumbling out of a little box she was holding in her hand.
I could only imagine that this was a snack and maybe she needed it for a little boost for that test or quiz she was thinking about,
Or maybe she was saving it for after work later in the day.
She immediately thanked me and rushed back to scoop up her banana,
Inspecting it to make sure no real damage had been done.
I could tell at that moment that that banana had meant something to her,
Albeit probably something small.
But now,
Maybe my willingness to break through the awkwardness,
To ignore the potentially uncomfortable taboo of calling out to a stranger from the window of a moving vehicle,
Maybe my willingness to be engaged with someone else at a human level rather than remaining glued to my music or podcast had helped influence the life of someone else in a positive way.
So now I wonder,
What if instead of accidentally noticing a way to help someone else,
I always made a conscious effort to look for dropped bananas?
