Passing Ships

With most of the people we see every day…we’re like ships that pass in the night. We see there’s someone over there…but we don’t often experience their light. One of the things I love about working in a bookstore is how our ships slow down as they pass one another in the night…how, for a moment, we get to experience…and share…in one another’s light. An old man came into the bookstore…every step he took was strained… His shoulders were stooped forward, his head bent down…and in his left hand he held a cane. With his posture fixed in that permanent position…his eyes only able to see his shoes…I imagine seeing all the books on our shelves was difficult to do. Most people who walk into a bookstore like to browse by themselves…in the warmth of the books they love to bask…so we welcome them in as they enter and let them know…if they have any questions…to ask. This man browsed for a while…up and down the bookshelves he did look…when he finally approached me at the counter he said, “I’m looking for a specific book.” “You found it!” He said as I handed it to him…his smile made his face seem to shine “I bet it was on the top shelf.” he said… I nodded…as his eyes shifting up to meet mine… And with that we began a conversation…he said he once lived in Dunedin…told me how he rode his bike before to his accident…how he was so much more active…how there was so much more he could do…before his body was bent. He said it’s amazing how fast life can change…how it doesn’t always go the way we design…how his life changed that day in his car…when he was hit by another car from behind. He’s already had surgery on his back…and more surgeries are planned…. He’s in town to consult with his doctor…about surgery on his right hand. We talked for a while…and I found myself forgetting about the curvature of his spine as he told me about more about his life and I told him a little about mine He paid for his book, put it in his backpack and as he shuffled out the door I could swear the light from his ship, like mine, glowed a little brighter than before. I thought about him, again, as I closed the store…after turning out the light…. glad our two ships had a chance to meet and not just pass each other in the night.