Days like that are fun to be in. I was walking over to the grocery store, wearing my favorite jacket (which by now is severely shape-challenged), carrying a tote bag over one arm. I recall that the sun was winking.
Suddenly a carload of teenagers appeared out of nowhere, like misdirected lightning, and hurled their vehicle around a corner. They missed swiping three pedestrians by a hair. A thin hair.
I jumped. The suddenness of it threw me into an unsettled place, and I began walking overcarefully, as though I were sidestepping broken glass. By the time I arrived at the store I was in a fret. My mind was chattering - always a bad sign.
So I needed to recenter. There was a friendly little delicatessen planted right next to the grocery; I went inside the deli. Immediately I was engulfed in that delicious aroma common to all delis everywhere: spiced meats, cheeses, garlic, tomato sauce, creative pastas. You know: food cooked the way you wish mom had cooked it.
There was a huge, eclectic beverage freezer in back; I pulled out a mainstream soda and took it over to a table. Sat down, drank some soda, inhaled the glorious essence of deli. For a while I just sat there with closed eyes, remembering how I felt when the day began, and how the sun had waved hello to everyone.
After I while, my mind got quieter. I thought about how much fun it is to be a teenager, full of vim and vitamins and ready to attempt spirited speeds in your car.
A moment or two later, I began to see they meant no harm, that carful of youngsters; they were simply trying out one of the planet's toys with sixteen year old abandon. Their energy scared a few of us; it hurt no one.
As I thought about the way minds work when they are in teen mode, and recalled the years I had worn that very same mindset, I began to relax even more. Not long after, I even managed to start chuckling over the entire incident.
The deli owner saw me smile and asked me why. I told him the soda had turned out to be especially nourishing, and then inquired if he had some fresh sliced turkey. He did. I bought it. It was lovely.
On the way home, no car swooshed by me at a dizzying pace, but if it had I would have been ready. I would have stepped back, paused, and tossed a pound of Peace after it.
Fair's fair.
Send comments to Elsa Joy Bailey
And when you're finished shopping and browsing in the marvellous
London Mall, stop by and visit my homesite:
Back to the London Mall