I drove to Meijer to get a bag of dog food, not feeling like driving out to tractor supply store in Beavercreek. I got distracted in the garden section and ended up buying 10 bags of crushed stone for $.79 each, and 10 hostas at a dollar 25 each. I forgot all about the dog food.

I stopped in Dollar General to purchase a bag of dog food, and while walking from the front of the store to the back continued to hear an elderly man bitterly complaining about everything in sight. Naturally, he followed me up to the checkout and stood behind me grumbling about the temperature in the store, the cheerfulness of the staff, and anything else that did not particularly suit him.

My iPhone announced that I had an email newly arrived, and as the cashier was checking my items, I looked at my phone. The gentleman grumbled, “when I was your age we didn’t have those kind of distractions.”

I knew I was taking a risk, but I could not pass up the moment. (And at this point in reading, I am sure my mother has already reached for a package of Tum’s.). I looked over my shoulder at the gentleman, and chuckled, “I am sure it was a great disadvantage being born after Alexander Graham Bell.”

I heard a gasp from the cashier, and saw the gentleman’s eyebrows rise to his receding hairline. For only a brief second, he looked a bit stunned, and then began howling.

“That was excellent. I can’t wait to tell my friends at lunch today. You made my day.”

As I was leaving, and returning my cart to the corral, I heard him cheerfully chatter with the cashier.

I’m glad I took the risk.