Words Matter

Just Be Nice. Try It

The other day, while waiting in line at the grocery market check out, I listened in on the conversation between an older man ahead of me and the young, frazzled check out clerk behind the counter.

It was busy, the young man was struggling and the line was backing up.

The older man was patient.

“Hi, how is your day going?” the clerk said when it came to be the man’s turn, looking down and trying to hustle.

“Better now,” the older man said. “Now that you’re in it! You’re doing great!”

The young man’s shoulders relaxed. He looked up and smiled, sputtering a thank you, clearly a little embarrassed but seemingly grateful.

I don’t have much of anything else for you today. I don’t know if this interaction changed anybodies life. Was there some butterfly effect that came out of a few simple words? Did the young man pass that on? Did a better mood make him more aware, more alive? Beats me.

But in the end, this is really easy stuff. And don’t harangue me for being a sentimentalist. Words matter.

When my turn came up, the young man, said, “Hi, how are you doing?”

‘Pretty good,” I said. “Pretty good.”