By Louie Ferrera

I had to run to Safeway the other day to pick up a few items. If I’m in a hurry I sometimes use one of the automatic checkout kiosks, yea they’re dehumanizing and one of the many manifestations of our increasingly impersonal society, but when I want to get out of the store in a hurry, I just grin and bear it. Yesterday was not one of those days so I chose a checkout lane with an actual person behind the register.

The sudden passing of my dear friend Kim last week is still fresh in my mind and weighing heavily on my heart. I went through this checkout lane hoping for a bit of real human interaction, I wanted the chance to put some light and kindness out into the world like Kim always did. Kim had a way of making a complete stranger or  someone she had just met feel like a long lost friend. Her manner was so gentle and accepting, Kim would hold them in that intense gaze of hers and and there would be no doubt that she was totally present. So with Kimmy in mind, I got into the queue in Lane #4.

Ringing up the sales was a pleasant and personable middle aged woman named Linda. Her short grey hair framed a round face, smiling blue eyes looked out from behind a pair of wire rimmed glasses. Linda had struck up a conversation with the guy in front of me. He had placed two large boxes of Popsicles onto the conveyor which prompted Linda to tell him that she also liked Popsicles but what she really loved were those 100% fruit juice Outshine Bars. She was going off on how she couldn’t get enough of her favorite flavor, tangerine/pomegranate. Linda’s manner so reminded me of that knack Kimmy had for bringing a stranger so easily into a conversation. I immediately joined in, sharing my love for Outshine Bar as well. While Linda bagged the guy’s groceries, she and I continued chatting. I told her that one of my passions were those coconut fruit bars that are often found in Mexican markets.  I had a few Mounds and Almond Joy bars among my items so she proceeded to sing a line from that old tv commercial; “Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t. Almond Joys have nuts, Mounds don’t”. I just cracked up!

As I was putting my groceries into the canvas bag that I’d brought, I told Linda how much I enjoyed our brief conversation and how nice it was to have had a real human interaction instead of a cold encounter with Siri. She smiled, wished me a god day and went on to the next customer in line. As I walked away I heard Linda immediately strike up the banter with the next person in line.

The world desperately needs more light, more love, more opportunities for meaningful human contact, more Lindas. With the pandemic finally receding in our collective rearview mirrors, there’s really no longer any excuse for not getting to know people, for not lending a smile and a kind word to a stranger, for not bringing someone out of their lonely bubble of isolation and into the light. This was a Kimmy moment for me. With her spirit in mind I tried to do my part to bring the light, to bring the love. Get out there yourself and spread the love. 

Love like Kimmy.