Yeah, we talk to everybody. I realized this was a cultural thing when I moved up North. On one of my first shopping trips the poor cashier looked lost when I started chatting with her about our move and my kids. It took a bit for me to realize it wasn't just her that didn't have much to say, none of the cashiers seemed to want to share what was going on in their lives in that 10 minutes we crossed paths.
All that was for those of you who might not understand when I tell you Mike and I had a life-changing talk with one of the bellhops at our hotel this weekend.
He was a nice young man. He said he was a student. I asked where. He said Savannah State. I asked what his major was. He said Chemistry. Then, he added, "But I don't really know what to do with that degree." Well, I jumped all over that. Told him about a friend of ours who works in the Chemical industry and how they couldn't find any young Chemical engineers. Well, by now we were up in the room and Mike told our young bellhop how to find more information on the field. Charles, yes, we were on first name basis at this point, told us how appreciative he was and then he said, "When I graduated and told my uncle I was going into Chemistry he told me no one in our family was that smart and I shouldn't do it."
Stunned, we proceeded to tell him we were both first generation college grads in our families and he was a smart, personable young man who most definitely could prove his uncle wrong. We watched the relief in Charles' eyes and the straightening of his shoulders as we continued to talk. I don't think life-changing is too strong of a description.
See, that's why we talk to everybody.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Kay, I don't know about cashiers, but bank tellers always talk to their customers! We share our life stories, the state of the economy, the weather, money woes, and health issues. Bank tellers, bartenders, and shrinks have a lot in common. We're all there to listen and make out customers feel better!
Awesome to hear from you, Donna! Sure would love to sit and chat with you like old times. And, I didn't realize that about bank tellers - thanks for letting me know. Love hearing from you!
Hey Kay, I love the title of this one and would make a great article. Having lived in the north and south (and west!), I love reading stories about cultural differences. You can always find humor in them! Keep up the writing:) I'm going to start a blog too!
So glad you liked it, Cindy, and thanks for the encouragement. Can't wait to check out your blog - so get to it!
Post a Comment