In HyVee for an interview. We go into the kitchen. Greg, my interviewer, goes to answer a phone call. As I wait in a booth I see an old man bent over a cane hobble over to a booth across the café, a steaming black mug of coffee in his hand. He puts the coffee and his reading glasses on the table, then gets back up. Half a minute later he comes back with a bakery bag and he slowly lowers himself into the booth. He catches my eye, smiles, and winks, his eye disappearing under translucent, wrinkled skin. He situates his body on the bench, and then pushes the plastic ketchup bottle and the salt and pepper shakers to their place against the window. Then he puts the jelly on top of the silver napkin dispenser. He wipes some crumbs off the table with his hand. Now he is ready to enjoy his pastry and coffee. I bet this man has been performing this routine for years—get coffee, put it on the table. Get pastry. Clean off and straighten table condiments. Enjoy.
What would humans do without routine? What if we truly flew by the seat of our pants every minute of every day? Would the chaos and uncertainty consume us? Or would we be better for it, living in the total amazement of the unexpected nature of life?
Maybe routine is the human expression of pattern. All of nature exhibits pattern: certain plants always have three leaves. Certain trees always lose their leaves in the fall and gain them back in the spring. Certain animals always hibernate in the winter. The tides roll in and out on a schedule. So is it fitting for humans to follow suit?Labels: HyVee |
Name: Ruthie