The jet black hair betrayed the age shown by the rest of her outward appearance. She had leaped out of the passenger side of an old Mercury that was parked right next to the front door of my favorite Dunkin Donuts. In fairness, the Mercury sagged more than she did, but I think they both wore garments of wood grain.
The Mercury was parked in a spot that was traditionally reserved for foot traffic, but in a snowstorm such as this, anything goes. She was just getting to the counter as I came up behind her to wait in line for my turn to place an order. I could already see my iced tea being assembled by the very capable counter people.
“I’ll have six dozen donuts, mixed”, the woman with the jet black hair barked out. I realize that I say “barked out” a lot on my blog, but she didn’t have a quiet voice nor did she have a pleasant voice. Barking something out is how I hear a lot of people place orders in establishments such as Dunkin’ Donuts. To me it sounds something like the canine variety of sounds typically heard when dogs are gossiping with one another. Barking is not a condemnation, it just appropriately describes how I hear this woman in wood grain.
“SIX dozen?” the girl at the register asked.
“Yes, six.”
“Oh, having a party tonight?” Pleasant conversation is always a good path to take when trying to have a pleasant retail experience.
“No”, she said. “My husband and I are worried about the snow storm tonight and we want to make sure that we’re stocked up.”
Apparently someone had already purchased all the loaves of bread and gallons of milk at the nearby Mini-Mart.
“They say this storm could last through tomorrow.”
I stifled a knowing laugh. People think I’m critical of the folks that live in these parts. I’ve been accused of being downright ridiculous. But this blog entry was just writing itself.
“Make one of the dozen all jelly!” Ok, the bark was replaced by a bit of a squeal with that one. Delight should always be recognized.
“Is today a cookie day?” My iced tea was ready and I was being herded over to another register while the six dozen donuts were being assembled.
“Not today”, I replied. “I have cookies at home.”
We’re ready for the storm.
