Today’s Life-Line is:
There’s something about taking the cart back instead of leaving it in the parking lot…It’s significant…Because somebody has to take them in…And if you know that, and you do it for that one guy, you do something else. You join the world…You move out of your isolation and become universal.
~
P.S. 7:37 pm.
I posted the above Life-Line just after midnight early this morning. I’ve read and appreciated Andre Dubus II’s work for years. I have a similar view of the holiness of common deeds and the sacramentality of the ordinary, what Kathleen Norris calls “quotidian mysteries.” So this simple, little quote about the proverbial AWOL shopping carts strewn throughout parking lots, hiding in bushes, pushed up against mail boxes, turned over on their sides like they had crashed on their own after a night of drinking or maybe just decided to lie down caught my eye.
I went to the bank just before it closed at 5. There were two remaining parking spots immediately in front of the bank. When I went to pull in, one of the two spots had a black SHOPPING CART in it. I kid you not. I stopped and said out loud, “Come on, really? That’s not even funny.” It was staring me down like karma. I pulled in to the other parking spot. I needed to get in to the bank before it closed. I looked at the cart, then turned to look at the grocery store, the cart, the store, the bank, my watch. In order to go into the bank I’d have to walk right past the cart which suddenly felt like walking past a needy beggar. What the heck was this cart doing all the way down here a good 75 or more yards from the Albertsons anyway? I grabbed the shopping cart and pushed it as fast as I could go (which was sloooooow). I picked up another cart on the way in case there are such things as indulgences. As I pushed them into the row of carts outside the doors to the store I felt self-satisfied, turned around, and ran back to the bank to get in just before it closed. I have to be careful what I write. I HATE having to live up to my own posts or be indicted by them.
Happy Monday, Dan! I’ve been meaning to drop a note for some time now to express appreciation for your words, reflections and wisdom-sharing you put together here! It has been a source of contemplation and hope for me in this crazy era of disbelief at how some of our country has dissolved into greed and self-service. Thank you! I immediately had to chuckle at this morning’s image and quote, as I nearly, nearly always return carts at least to the point of closest retrieval for cart-pullers, but usually all the way in…..or hand off with a smile to someone walking in. I consider it a small act of kindness akin to making sure my dish/cup is always returned to the dishwasher, not left on the counter for someone else to deal with. It may be ‘their job’ but I can help make it easier in a tiny way. Stadiums and theaters are the real test – why is it so acceptable to leave all manners behind along with our garbage? Anyway, mostly wanted to offer a word of thanks for your work – especially the reflections over the past two Sunday gospels. Blessings on your day!
Oh, thanks for your kind words, Nancy. It’s always good to know someone’s out there reading. Thanks also for keeping our parking lots uncluttered and safe. It’s a not so random act of kindness.