In the blink of an eye...

The story you're about to read is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Mostly because I don't know them.

Another night, another shift, another encounter worthy of a blog post.

Before we start the story, allow me to pre-text it by trying to describe a tone of dialogue.

Have you ever been at a party, and you saw someone you were excited to talk to? It's not like you haven't seen them in a long time, but you want to say something in a way that gets their attention, so you enunciate their name purposely wrong in what can best be described as an imitation of Pauly Shore. Does that make sense? "Yoo Ruusty, what is go-wing oon?" Can you read that with the dialogue type I am trying to describe, and if so is there an actual name for it? I'm going to call it the Pauly Shore, and you'll want to remember it for later in the story.

A girl walks into the store tonight. she had to be around my age, maybe younger. She is grungy, dirty, and flustered. She asks if she can use the store phone for a local call, which is no problem.

One of the previous customers on her way out knows this girl and asks her if everything is ok. The girl proceeds to blurt out "No I'm not ok, I'm doing horrible, I'm having the worst day of my life! I'm so tired of walking, are you going south by chance?" The friend smiled (odd) and said "no I'm sorry, I'm going the other way and I'm in a hurry. Good luck." She promptly leaves.

So here I am tending to some other customers. This frustrated young girl has dialed a few different numbers, but no one is picking up. She puts the phone down and stays put for a moment, trying to figure out what to do next. I still have people I am helping so I am unable to ask if I can be of any assistance.

Pretty sad story at this point right? Here comes the weird part that makes this post worthy.

A truck pulls into the parking lot and two guys get out of it, entering the store. In the blink of an eye, this girl's entire composure changes. She goes all Pauly Shore, and greets the guy in an upbeat, happy demeanor. "Yo Jeeffery, what is go-wing oon?" He says hi back, they chat for maybe 2 seconds and she smiles. Then she leaves the store. She walks away and I don't see her again the rest of the night.

Of course I am the only person in the store long enough to notice this two second total transformation. I'm left to ponder what just happened as I continue to help customers.

There were some other interesting encounters, but that one was the most post-worthy. I guess there's no end to what we will do sometimes to get people to notice us.

Next shift is Tuesday night.