Tuesday, July 17, 2012

"Hey, You're Back!"

by Pa Rock
Desert Rat


It's hotter than hell in the Valley of Hell.   (I may have mentioned that in this space before!)  It is so hot that most people stay in their air-conditioned homes and offices, and only rush outside when they have to get to their air-conditioned cars and go to air-conditioned stores or other climate-controlled places of respite from the hellacious heat.

Not surprisingly, I haven't seen any of my old friends hot-footing it across the base.  Now I am also working in a different building, so sightings of old friends have been exceedingly rare inside as well.  I have been waiting for that "Oh-my God, it's you!" moment, but it just hasn't happened - that is, it hadn't happened until this morning.

As I pulled into the local McDonald's drive-through this morning, I recognized the young man taking orders as someone I had spoken to only a couple of times in my previous life here.  At one point he had mentioned that he needed to find a home, and I had suggested that he inquire at the nearby trailer park where I was living.  Since then he has probably served tens of thousands other customers.  But when he looked out to hand me my order this morning, there was a spark of recognition and a big smile.    "Hey, you're back!" he said.   "Where have you been?  Have you moved back in where you were living?"

I hope his memory is half that good when he's sixty-four!

It's really an ego-booster to know that somebody missed me!

No comments: