Yesterday afternoon I sold fireworks. Yes, I was that white-haired woman bobbing behind the big red TNT Fireworks sign at the intersection of Alhambra Boulevard and the Safeway parking lot. I tried to look like a grandma you would want to buy fireworks from. “Yeah,” a young man laughed as he walked past. “Let’s blow things up!”
I’m not really active in my church, but when I heard the call for volunteers to sell fireworks I couldn’t resist. Soon after I showed up, my co-workers sensed I was unfit for the sales part — I overcharged a nice man by $20.("Good! at least you over-charged him!”) So they sent me out to be the bobbing sign by the street. It was hot and maybe pointless — not fun. But I did learn stuff. Like there was a woman who rolled her cart by me on the sidewalk. She dropped her empty plastic water bottle and it rolled away in the wind. She was limping, so I ran ahead and got it. She tucked it away and then lingered, studying the pile of free community newspapers stacked inside a dispenser. When I had turned my back she quickly scooped up all of them but one. Maybe they are her sidewalk mattress tonight.
I did buy some sparklers.
Love,
k
No comments:
Post a Comment