Laughter can come sneaking in.

My Wish For Your Christmas Holiday

Today, as I left Wal-Mart and drove down a side road, grumbling about the upcoming Christmas season and my long list of worries, I saw something that penetrated my ‘pity party’ focus.  Coming toward me was a man, on crutches.  He was pulling along behind him, a rather large, two wheel cart piled high with what was obviously his possessions.  They were wrapped in black plastic bags and he was sporting a plastic bag as his jacket.  He would put the crutch forward, and then pull himself up to it, dragging the cart behind him.

I stared hard as I drove by him but he never looked my way.  Amazingly, I found myself making a U-turn at the next intersection.  As I pulled back up to him in my noisy pickup, he was taking a break against a retaining wall.  Not really knowing what I was going to say, I got out and walked up to him. 

I told him that I have room in the back of the truck for his cart so could I give him a ride somewhere? 

He replied, “Naw, I’m not really going anywhere and I’ve got all day to get there.” 

I was kinda taken aback by that.  I thought about offering him money but somehow got the impression that he wouldn't take any.  So I said, “Well, it’s a beautiful day.  How about if we just enjoy the sunshine a minute?” 

He said,  “Sure thing.”

I leaned back against the wall, feeling the warmth of the concrete blocks sinking into my bones.  For the next 45 minutes, he and I talked about the weather, the snow on Mt. Lemmon and whether the skiing would be good this year.  (Turns out neither one of us knows anything at all about skiing but we both offered our opinions)  I found myself laughing with this man.  Laughing was something I hadn’t done in quite a while. I wanted to ask him about his story, how he came to be leaning on that wall but I didn’t.  Sometimes when you tell a story too many times, it becomes too painful.  

Finally, I asked him if I could buy him a cup of coffee. 

“I’d love one,” he said, “but I don’t see any coffee shops around here.”

I knew there was a McDonalds in Wal-Mart so I offered to go get the coffee.  When I asked him how he takes it, he told me,  “Extra cream and sugar.”

The poor man didn’t have any way of knowing that I don’t drink coffee so therefore had no idea how much is ‘extra’. 

Anyway, when I returned, I had 6 creamers and 6 sugars. He carefully poured 1 of each in his cup and I watched as he pocketed the remaining ones.  He looked at me and nodded.  I simply said,  “Wise man.”

He sipped his coffee and I drank my Coke while traffic whizzed by us.  After a while, he said.  “Thanks for the coffee,  I should be getting along.”  As he struggled to balance on the crutch and adjust the rigging for the cart, I tried not to notice.  I turned to go to my truck and said,  “It was nice talking to you.  Thanks for your time.”

He replied,  “Yeah, no problem,  I’ve got a lot of that.”

What I should have thanked him for was for shaking me out of my self-absorption but even more, for making me remember how to laugh again.  Everyone needs that; Everyone has had loss, at various levels. Laughter can come sneaking in during the most unusual opportunities.

My wish for your Christmas holiday is that you find laughter in the most unusual opportunity.  And may you pass that blessing along.

Jaye