Greetings!

An elderly woman, Mary Barnstable, was a frequent shopper at a local supermarket. She would stop in several times a week and more than once a day occasionally. Her purchases never amounted to much and she always went to the same checkout line and cashier, regardless of how long the line was. The number of items in her basket certainly qualified her for the Express Lane but she did not use it, not ever.

The cashier at the lane she always frequented was a fellow in his twenties, Bill Mitchell. Mary knew his name from the ID badge he was required to wear on his black uniform vest. Bill had been serving Mary for several years.

One day last week the store was nearly empty. The checkout lines were as well, except for Bill's where there were two people in line. Five other cashiers looked up as Mary pushed her basket along but she headed right for Bill's lane. One even called out as she passed, saying, "Hi, I can take you right away!" Shaking her head and silently mouthing a thank you, Mary went and  patiently stood in line where Bill was working.

Soon it was her turn and now there were no other shoppers in the area.

Bill scanned a pound of red grapes, two cans of tomato soup and a small bag of goldfish crackers, putting each in a plastic sack. When he finished he said, "Hi, that comes to $6.73."

Mary reached into her purse and handed Bill seven dollars. He rang it up, counted out the change and gave it to her along with the receipt. Mary began to pick up her purchases when Bill asked, "Excuse me, would you mind if I asked you a question?"

"No," Mary replied, just a bit hesitantly.

Bill continued, "I am curious. You have been coming to my lane to check out for quite some time, even if it would have been lots quicker to use a shorter line. Do you mind if I ask why?"

Mary thought for a moment and answered, "My husband Michael passed away several years ago. Our only son died in a car accident and we always kept pretty much to ourselves. I was so lonely when Mike died. I need to get out of the house so I go shopping for a few things now and then. When I first began coming to this store I went to whichever checkout line and cashier was quickest. One day it was your line. I have been back to you ever since."

"Well, I am always glad to see you," Bill said, "but I still don't understand why."

It looked like there were tears forming in the corners of Mary's eyes when she told Bill, "All the other checkers would take my money and leave the change and receipt on the counter for me to pick up and put away. You always smiled at me, said 'Thank you and come back soon.'" Then you would put the change and receipt in my hand, just touching my palm." A tear rolled down her cheek. "You make me feel like a person again when you do that."

Mary smiled at Bill, picked up her little shopping bag and headed for the door.

Reach out and touch someone. It takes so little effort  and can mean so much.