Saturday, January 17, 2009

Slow Down

I am listening to a woman speak in slow motion. At some point in life some people slow down. Some people really slow down. “He’s the genuine article,” she’s saying. Unfortunately, no matter how slowly I write, I cannot convey how slowly she talks. What I can do is tell you that I am fascinated by the slow, deliberate way she speaks. And the phrase, “the genuine article,” is a nice one. As a clerk in a fish market, I had a customer who was between 80 and 100 years old. When it came time to pay, she slowly opened her checkbook (it might even have been a cheque book) and then she apologized in advance for how long it was going to take to write the check. “It’s ok, take your time,” I told her. And then she proceeded, in beautiful, old-fashioned handwriting, to fill out the check. I told her it was worth the wait.

I call it old-fashioned handwriting in part because it took her two full minutes to write the check. It is a rare person these days who spends that much of his/her time writing a check. I write checks so fast you’d think the check was in boiling water.

4 comments:

Kirstie said...

I pretend that mine are in the slowest quick sand ever . . . no, really, who even writes cheks (cheques) anymore? Billpay baby.

Anonymous said...

hmmm...fish market. There was one customer like this at off the record. Her checks were beautiful. And took some time. They are a photo memory.

Anonymous said...

Do you know what the old man said as he walked past the fish market?

jonathan said...

Yes but it may not be appropriate for this family friendly bog.