heavy boringness

Earlier today, as I made my way into our local Costco, I saw a man pushing his beat-up, out-of-gas, old-school Volkswagen Type 2 Pick Up to the Costco gas pumps. The ancient truck looked like it was on its last legs, but it was obvious that this guy had given it a lot of care and attention over the years.

I noticed that, instead of using bumper stickers, he had written messages on his tail gate in chalk. They were all funny, original, and biting. My favorite read "Will YOUR truck be running in 50 years?"

When he reached the pump and began to walk around the truck to start filling up the tank, I discovered something that I hadn't noticed before. He only had one arm. His right arm ended in a stump at the elbow.

I don't know why, but seeing this—realizing this, after I had seen him push his out-of-gas VW to the pump—filled me with an intense feeling of happiness. I'm sure that sounds lame. Like I said, I don't really understand why it made me feel the way it did. I guess it just suddenly made me feel so fortunate, and blessed, and... lucky to have what I have and be who I am. At the same time, I felt such admiration for this man. I don't know what else he has going on in his life and I'm admittedly projecting a lot on to him, but he just seemed so full of joy and energy and strength during the minute or two that I watched him. I was inspired by him.

Anyway... this is a strange post.

If you're already this far into it, it's too late and you might as well read it on through to the end.

Thanks for reading. Sorry for the heavy boringness. Don't worry though—tomorrow, it'll be back to ephemera as usual from me.