December 2, 2010

The name on his lapel tag read: Forest Violette. This young salesman at Fry’s Electonics had a hairstyle true to his first name. Miniature cedars of Lebanon rose from his scalp in spiked perfusion. As I think about it, the little triangular patch of neatly trimmed beard sprouting underneath his lower lip fits his last name….a patch of violets.

I was at Fry’s this morning to buy some ink cartridges for my printer. I mentally prepared myself before going in. My strategy was to walk directly to the first human being I could identify as a Fry’s employee and ask him/her to show me where the cartridges were. I even had an empty one with me to compare for verification. I steeled myself and entered. I never am quite fully prepared for the bombardment of screens and sound and in the past I would have started muttering inwardly, “I hate this place. I can’t take this sensory overload. How can people work in this environment? Who would want to? (actually, I know someone who would like to…my son!!)” This stream of negativity would make me want to withdraw and just be alone. In my solitary withdrawal I would go about trying to find what I needed. Up and down the aisles I would trudge, my eyes slowly beginning to itch and water with the strain of searching, my heart beginning to sink, my mind telling me that they will be out of what I need and I’ve put myself through this for nothing. I’ll have to come back!

But with my new strategy I could avoid all of that negativity and concentrate on connecting with a human being and rely totally on him/her for what I was after. I walked in with a smile, greeted the young man at the Gate of Entry. The wire mesh screening to my right always makes me feel like I’m entering a prison but not today. I said, “How’s it going, Shawn!” (name tag on lapel) I need to buy an ink cartridge. Can you take me to where I need to go?” He had to remain at his post (What a job. It must be an entry level position) but he did point me in the direction I needed to go and gave me an aisle number.
No way was I going to start looking for aisle numbers! That’s the first step towards succumbing to the seduction of standing and looking at all the screens. I headed out in the direction he pointed me and ran into Hakeem. “Hey, Hakeem (name tag on lapel) What up?” Showing him the empty ink cartridge I had in hand I asked him to take me to where I could find full ones. He was in the ‘telephone’ section and took me to the edge of his domain and pointed me towards a desk way down at the end of an aisle. “You need to go there.” he told me politely.

That’s where I met Forest Violette. “Hi Forest, do you have these in stock?” His fingers darted over the keyboard and a message came up on screen that they were indeed in stock and I took them to the checkout section…more cages! The checkout line was short and after Shauna made a little pink slash on my receipt I was out into the fresh air. I felt good! Then, to cap it off, it occurred to me that the reason I wanted the ink in the first place was so that I could run off a copy of the essay I am working on that has to do with the Tree as a helpful metaphor for how one can read the Bible.

…..and who do I meet? Forest!! I broke into a big smile.