Mitchum & Bengay

        

      Many of my stories begin with a memory.  Sometimes they begin with a thought.  However, this one will begin with a recent experience while at a store.  I love talking to people.  I’m known for always breaking the silence and for striking up a conversation in an elevator.  If you ask anyone I that knows me personally they will tell you I never shut up!  I know how to carry the conversation and keep it going. 
Very rarely does someone talk more than I do or strike a conversation before I do.  However, today it happened. 

              I was out looking for Band-Aids for work because I buy my own.  I don’t like the standard ones they buy us, so I buy either StarWars or Incredibles Band-Aids!  On this same aisle on the opposite side you have different miscellaneous things like deodorant, first aid and pain relievers.  As I walked down the aisle, I notice that there is this older woman in a wheelchair trying to stand up and reach for something on the top shelf.  I immediately go to ask her if she needs help.  She says “Yes!”, extremely loud as if she was relieved that I was there to help.  I walked over to her and she looks up at me and with a smile and exclaims, “Oh thank God you came!  I thought I was going to fall!”

              “I’ve been looking for the roll on Bengay and I only seem to find the patches.  What on earth is going on?”  she tells me this as she’s lowering herself back into her chair.  So, now knowing what she was looking for we began a small scavenger hunt for roll on Bengay.  I found some roll on Icy Hot, but she said it wasn’t the same or as effective.  I’ll take her word for it and remember this when I am needing it in the future.  After about five minutes of searching I found an empty slot of where it was supposed to be.  I told her they were sold out and she replies, “well shit!”  This made me giggle so hard and she apologized for her foul language.  I told her it was quite alright.  To me, it was the cutest thing seeing this tiny, old woman who seemed so proper and sweet use profanity.

              Suddenly she changes the subject by asking me, “Do you know what Mitchum is?  You probably don’t, you’re too young.”  Shocked at this I look at her with a smile and say “Of course I do!  I love that deodorant!  I’m also old by the way!  I’m 37!  When I was your age, I was running naked though the streets, I’m old now!”  Throwing her head back and letting out huge laughter she thanks me for calling her young.   We talked about how fewer and fewer stores carry Mitchum now.  She continues with “Did you know that Mitchum had that deodorant made especially for him?  He was an excess sweater to the point that his armpits were soaked.  So, he hired a chemist to formulate this deodorant.  They weren’t going to sell it, but they did because the demand was high for effective deodorants.”  I don’t know how we got on that subject and I was ok with that.  To just spend a moment with someone learning something new is always a refreshing experience. 

It’s little stories like this that make me so happy to be able to share my everyday life with you all.  You never know what you may learn from someone, by just saying hi or offering a helping hand.  Each one of us has a story to tell, has experiences to write and smiles to share.