First Words

This issue is full of stories that I think you’ll enjoy into the holidays and beyond. Our festive cookie article shares memories from Paul Dinkel, Norah Jones and Mark Pollard that reflect the spirit of the season. They welcomed Watershed into their lives with such grace. Their kindness at this busy time reminded me of an incident seared in my own memory from a few years ago … I had chosen the wrong checkout line at Foodland – the one where the lottery tickets are sold. I was behind an older fellow who was choosing his tickets from the plastic sleeve on the counter. Lotto 649s, Scratch ‘n’ Wins, you name it, he was looking for the big win.

I watched and waited, waited and watched. Would he ever finish? But my impatience slowly turned to amazement as I listened to the conversation between the checkout clerk and the gambling grandpa.

She called him by name – Bob – and steadied his hand as he scraped his Scratch ‘n’ Wins, then helped him guide his tickets into the mouth of the lotto machine. When the machine chimed Winner! Gagnant! the clerk met his eyes and lifted his arm in a victory fist. She tucked Bob’s winnings into his wallet, took his arm and walked him out to the exit, and then hurried back to the checkout, apologizing profusely to me. “I’m so sorry, so sorry. He comes in every day. His wife just died. She was in palliative care but she went so fast. I don’t really know him, but he has no one to talk to.”

I stood there stunned – stunned by her patience and her kindness. Then I bought the first two lottery tickets I’ve ever bought in my life and promised that if I won the $10 million jackpot, I would donate it all to our local hospice. I carried my groceries back to my car, sat behind the wheel, and cried. I cried because the clerk radiated the true spirit of Christmas and it overwhelmed me.

And I whispered to myself, if ever there was a guiding light at this time of year – at any time of year – it should be the light of kindness.