Scary and Unapproachable

The lady behind the counter at the used bookstore told me that she has noticed that I buy a lot of poetry (she's correct) and asked if there was any authors that I'd like to see them have in stock. She caught me unprepared and speechless. I've never been asked that question. No one came to mind on short notice. I told her that a couple of my favorites are Wendell Berry and William Stafford but that I have their works. Now that I've mulled it over though, I have a few names ..... she told me to let her know if I came up with anyone.

It's nice to be recognized and to have your personal preferences be noted by someone. I'd like to see more of that type of customer service. There used to be a record store in town where the owners would see me drive up and put something on the store stereo system that they thought I might like. More often that not, I went home with their suggestions. 

It must have been one of those days where I didn't look so scary and unapproachable. (I had just shaved my face a couple hours earlier afterall) A few minutes after exiting the bookstore, as I was walking to my car, a lady stopped me and asked if I could give her directions to the Grand Hotel. After initially totally confusing her, (I could see the confusion and being lost in the big city expression in her face), I think I ended with getting her pointed in the right direction with easy to follow directions. Hopefully she didn't have to stop the next person that strolled by for further clarification.