how we do the little things...
“Whose voice was that,” asked Calliope, “yesterday…at the grocery store?”
“Soft and gentle,” added Urania.
“It was Maya Angelou…Baby, You know what’s right…just do what’s right,” Thalia performed her best Maya imitation.
“It’s been a while since we saw that clip of her repeating her mother’s teaching,” said Urania. “So good…her mother liberated her! Oh—and now I wonder…do we have our homework done?”
“You can set down your look of panic, Nia. We have complied out list of traits that make our hearts warm up like little lanterns…we’re good,” said Calliope.
“Now let’s let her tell the story about the Kleenex…there’s math involved…and our time is better spent listening to the cardinals,” said Thalia.
I’d picked up a cellophane wrapped bundle of three Kleenex boxes—190 tissues per box—$5.99.
Further down the aisle, more cellophane wrapped three packs of the exact same brand—144 tissues per box—$2.99.
Can you see the bundle of 144s was a better deal?
I set the 190s on the shelf with the 144s and threw a 144 bundle into my cart.
Maya said…Baby, You know what’s right.
I picked up the bundle of 190s and carried it back to its right location.
How we do the little things paves the way for how we do the big things.
Just wonderful! I’d never heard/watched the Maya Angelou piece before. A wonderful tribute to her mother and sound advice for anyone with an open ear... and heart.
And the Kleenex teaching was thought provoking. First, your choice of “cellophane” describing the three-box wrapper brought this to mind. It’s invention provided the world’s first transparent, clear wrapping material. I once read that in its infancy, shop keepers (jewelers, fine clothing) kept their supplies of cellophane in safes!
Second, and pardon my meandering brain, I wondered if the lower price per tissue for boxes of 144 was the result of how “144” is called a “gross?” Wintertime with red, runny noses... Logically I would guess “no.” I can’t recall the last time I heard “gross” referencing 144.
P.S. I just read that the words “grocer” and “grocery” are derived from “gross,” a throwback to times long ago when items were more commonly sold by the gross!
P.P.S. Cardinals have regional dialects, too! After my move from PA to FL, I was shocked that the FL cardinals sounded so different from the ones I grew up
hearing! Tell the Muse Squad...
As always, glad for the jumpstart your writing provides.
How we do the little things paves the way for how we do the big things.
This is a great statement...also helps see how the the big can be achieved through the little.
Cardinals are a delightful distraction...