Life with a glue stick

Yesterday, I was sent on an errand for my mom, who was having me pick up some home-grown honey that we get from a gentleman in town who sells it to any locals who know about it.  


She called the man first to tell him I was coming by. When I pulled in the driveway I turned off the car and got out. I had been there once before but never actually met the man myself; at least, not that I could remember. My mom had given me instructions so I could find where he lived and also informed me that he had a lot of cats. When I saw a couple of empty pet cages at the front door, I knew I was at the right house. Since the front door was blocked I went to the carport door and knocked. In a few moments an elderly man opened the door. 


I said, "Hi, Mr......."
I told him my name and said that my mom had called earlier about me picking up the honey. He talked in a very slow and deep voice when he asked me how many jugs we wanted. I said two. He left the door open and went to his dinning table where the honey was. He wasn't at all what I expected him to be like. He had extremely white hair and was using a cane to walk, despite the fact that he looked in good health for his age. Obviously, he was much older than I had originally thought.


When he came back with the honey I paid him and told him to keep the change. He said, "thank you ma'am." Then he said, "You're a mighty pretty young lady," in that same deep voice and I told him thank you. My parents taught me growing up to always say please and thank you, yes sir, no sir, and to always ask people how they are doing when you greet them. I tried my best to use these manners when I spoke to him. I think he appreciated that and the way he spoke to me said that he was in no hurry to end the conversation. I was pressed for time though, and so I thanked him again and got in the car. As I backed up and drove down the street I thought about what he may have said further or what kind of questions he may have asked me if I had not been in a hurry.


It lead me to think about how sad it is that most people today are in too much of a hurry and far too busy with their own life to show interest in someone else's.
On several occasions over the past couple of weeks I have run into people who have reminded me of this. Even though I had been short on time, I tried to honestly show that I appreciated this gentleman as a person. It seemed that he recognized this and told me, "thank you for buying my honey." 


I replied by saying, "Well, thank you for providing it," which hopefully made the impression I wanted to give. When I got home my mom told me that she thought he was even older than my grandparents. Of course, age isn't everything... and by the way, I'm not calling anyone old here; but in this case it made the difference. When this gentleman was my age it was a social custom to say please and thank you, and at least pretend that you honestly valued the person you were talking to. He comes from a generation that was taught a lot more than just manners. Today...


I have met people my age and older who do nothing more than blow you off when you're trying to have a conversation with them and can't even look you in the eyes. But I've also met and know many others who are very polite and possess those rare traits that used to be a staple in a society that has almost completely left us. Down here where I live, people would call these rare traits southern hospitality. Others might just call it being polite or mannerly. But I like to call it walking in love... 

Real love always shows sincerity and care for others. And I've found through experience that walking in love is like living with a glue stick. It will get messy at times, but it sure keeps things together... and if you're lucky, it just might stick to someone else:)