Happy Thoughts

I was struck recently by the happy thought that a complete stranger could have such a significant and (more importantly) positive effect on my life. Actually, they are two complete strangers. A couple. And they have no idea what joy they have quietly brought to me.

I think that most of us never do take a moment to ponder the myriad ways in which a complete stranger can have this effect on us without ever meaning to. The other person - or persons - is just going about his daily existence, unaware of the inspiration he is providing. It is easy to think of the negative effects that Others can have on us. And by and large those Others are all complete strangers. Grocery clerks, department store clerks, Post Office clerks (it seems that all clerks might as a rule be evil), taxi drivers, fellow passengers on public transport, fellow passengers in an elevator, fellow pedestrians on the street or in a mall, customer service representatives. These people we encounter on a daily basis wield uncommon power over our lives: one wrong move or ill-placed word and they can ruin a whole day, forcing men and women from all walks of life to sink to dark and despairing corners of our psyches, conjuring up Mephistophelian tortures and punishments and casting spells of wicked intent.

But the couple of which I am speaking uses its powers for good. Quiet, unassuming good. They are a man and woman, each somewhere in his/her 70s. They seem to have been married for at least 50 years. The right side of the man's face is paralyzed and hangs somewhat on his skull, lending him a slightly sad and humble look. His wife's face bears the lines of many years of laughing and crying and worrying. There is a long story to be read there.

I first encountered them about three months ago at a coffee shop which I began frequenting. They were obviously regulars, bringing their own coffee mugs out of which to sip their morning brews. I go to the coffee shop about four times a week, Fridays through Mondays usually, and occasionally on Wednesdays, and no matter the day, there they are, sitting quietly across a table from each other, reading. Each day it is something different: a novel, a magazine, a newspaper. And what is so pleasant and intimate is how they will each share a line or two of what they are reading, and the other listens and then responds. After so many years together they still have the ability to engage each other, to share new knowledge, to listen to each other. It’s inspiring.

Of course, I could be misjudging them completely. They could have just met six months ago via an Internet chatroom and so everything they do is new and fresh to the other. They could have fallen into a horrible coffee-dependent rut after only six short months, and they are looking desperately for a way out but want even more desperately not to hurt the other’s feelings and so they pretend to be interested in everything the other says.

But I hope that my first instinct is the right one.