at the supermarket

[asakiyume]

The cashier was friendly, chatting with people as they came through. The woman ahead of me was buying just icing in a squeezy tube--two tubes of it.

"You decorating cookies? I love decorating cookies!" the cashier said. The customer allowed as to how she had a special recipe for cookies that used cake batter, and yes, she'd be decorating them, and the cashier seemed genuinely thrilled to hear it.

This cashier, she was quite pretty. She wasn't super young--not a high school student or a college-aged kid--but she wasn't old either. Maybe early thirties. Maybe mid thirties. She had expressively draw-on eyebrows, sort of 1920s style, long and arching. She had pale-ish skin and eyes, a wide mouth, and oiled curled hair that was dyed a deep auburn.

So I was quite tickled when it was my turn and I saw her name tag read JOLENE.

Jolene, I don't know if you'd be my man's cup of tea, but I think you're the best!

(I drew this picture of her.)

Comments

[radiantfracture]

Lovely encounter! And winning drawing.

[asakiyume]

It was! If song-Jolene had been half as friendly, then she too could have a stream of enchanted customers (and never mind about the singer's BF).
--and thanks :D

[sartorias]

Someone who enjoys her job--or at least makes a good impression of it!

[asakiyume]

That kind of good nature is hard to fake--if it wasn't how she was actually feeling, she gets quadruple points for effort!

[house_wren]

Thanks for the illustrated story!

[asakiyume]

You're welcome! It's great to have a place to share things like this.

[sovay]

So I was quite tickled when it was my turn and I saw her name tag read JOLENE.

You draw her wonderfully, with words and ink.

[wayfaringwordhack]

Ditto this!

[asakiyume]

Merci, ma cherie!

[asakiyume]

Thank you! She brightened my late afternoon ;-)

[wayfaringwordhack]

I wish everyone had this delightful encounters every day, nay! multiple times a day. How much better we would be for one another and ourselves were it so.

(ETA: I was going to say, "I wonder where the cut off is, age wise, when people can read(or hear) 'Jolene' without having the song play in their heads?")

[asakiyume]

LOL, re: your follow-up remark, kind of old, I suspect! Although YOU know it, and you're a lot younger than I am. But then again, my kids know it too... but maybe from internet memes? And also, Dolly Parton had a resurgence in recent years, so that may have put the song back out front and center.

And re: your initial remark, I truly wish so, too. (more by email...)

[osprey_archer]

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene Joleeeeeeene...

Love your sketch of her!

[asakiyume]

Please pat me on the back for NOT MENTIONING HER NAME TO HER. It took all my effort, but I succeeded.

(and thank you!)

[mallorys_camera]

❤️❤️❤️

[asakiyume]

😁🎶😍

[minoanmiss]

What a beautiful picture!

[asakiyume]

Eeeeee, so pleased you like it. I love your art.

BTW, I started to try the chicken-soup-in-the-oven thing yesterday, but the pot + the chicken + the water needed to cover the chicken was weighing down the rack in the oven, and I had visions of metal failure (probably would not happen, but once you have a vision, it's hard to unsee), so I ended up cooking it on the stovetop instead. But for a long, long time, so the chicken just feel off the bone, like you described. Wow! I saw every bone of the backbone! Amazing. And it's such an abundance of food! I froze some of the meat and some of the stock, and we are going to have a magnificent chicken soup tonight with what I didn't freeze.

[minoanmiss]

Bwee, I'm glad you tried it! I have never had a rack act like that but I usually put the pot on a sheet pan in case of drips, which probably helps spread the weight out. The assemblage can also go on the oven floor (turn the temp down 25 degrees). But/and I am so delighted it worked on the stove too. Yay chicken soup! it is amazing how much food one can get out of one chicken.

[asakiyume]

Oooh--good to know about the oven floor! Thank you!

[athenais]

Jolene! I do love a good grocery store encounter.

[asakiyume]

When your work is solitary, as mine is (as yours was!), it can be an important social event 😅

[amaebi]

*beam*

[asakiyume]

I'll be going back there today... wonder if I'll see her again...

[amaebi]

Please tell if you do!

[asakiyume]

I ended up going to a different supermarket, so I didn't see her, but at the supermarket I went to, there was an older guy (I say that, but he was probably about my age) doing bagging, and when he took my knob of ginger to put in the bag, he said, "I'll handle this gingerly," and I laughed.

[amaebi]

Beautiful!