Nothing earth-shattering.  Just a little magic at the grocery store today.  You never know where you are going to find it, or it finds you.

So a day or two ago I was thinking, wouldn’t it be fun to run across someone new, who I had an instant upbeat connection with.  You know, the kind of person who laughs at my jokes.

Someone who would really get my humor.  Because let’s face it, sometimes we think we are pretty funny,  but our friends may just be ‘humoring’ us on that.

And we probably are pretty funny, because we wouldn’t have survived thus far in this crazy-ass ascension process if we took life too seriously.  But humor is like art.  It’s subjective.  One man’s joke is another man’s eye-roll.

But, I mused, it would be so much fun to just laugh and laugh with that person.  Someone who triggers my funny bone.  And vise versa.

It was an entertaining thought, but then, as with most thoughts, I let it go.  It certainly wasn’t something I was actively searching for.

So, as I was wandering down the candy aisle at Publix today, there was a guy stocking shelves.  I was reaching for the dark chocolate and he said, “hi.”  I said “hi” back, and within seconds we were exchanging lively conversation with lots of mutual “Right?  I know!! That’s crazy!!! acknowledgements and belly laughs.

This went beyond the typical, obligatory clerk and customer salutations.  It was a real animated connection.

In fact, mid-conversation I blurted an enthusiastic, “I like you!”  That’s not something that comes out of my mouth often, especially with a virtual stranger.  He responded in kind, and we felt locked in a exuberant dance of quips and giggles.

He confided that he wasn’t able to be so open with most people he encounters because they seem…..closed off.

He shared how Publix has become more corporate, and profit-focused at the expense of employee benefits,  taking away their long history of bonuses.

It was the perfect segue and it turned into a lively conversation about how we live in a corporate government, and naturally there was a lot of material to guffaw about.

It was a fun, no-expectations, no-obligation, no-commitment transaction.  Just an in-the-moment experience.  No need to recreate it with each other at another time or place.

MAGIC IN AISLE TWELVE

He mentioned how great it was to live here in such a warm climate. Considering he spent his entire adult life up north, in Iowa.  He smiled widely as he said the state’s name.   Just me repeating the word back to him in the form of a question, “Iowa??” is all it took to launch into more laughing.  There was just this amazing natural flow.  A rare and precious connection that we both seemed to appreciate.

But, the conversation began to wind down.  After about fifteen minutes with each other it felt, to both of us, that it was time to move on with our day, and our respective lives.

He was the delivery and shelf-stocking guy in the snacks aisle.  He said he’s there every Thursday, between ten and eleven a.m. in aisle twelve.   He reiterated before we parted ways, “…..remember, that’s ten, eleven, and twelve.”  I thought that was really clever.

But, if we never meet up again, it wouldn’t matter.  It was the fulfillment of a simple, I wouldn’t even say, request, because I didn’t need it to happen.  That’s probably why it did happen.

Again, in the scope of things, not a remarkable event, not life-altering, but definitely fun.  Even a little magical.