Recently, I was in CVS waiting for my prescription. I used to work in service, so I’m especially polite and patient, but tbh it was taking forever.

After a second, a man sat next to me and started talking to me. Again, I used to work in service, so talking to strangers is kind of fun and nice for me.

He started telling me about how there’s not enough squirrels around and how him and his dog love to watch the squirrels in the yard. I told him about the time I saw an albino squirrel and he was pretty shocked by that. We talked for a little while, then turns out both our prescriptions had been ready and we hadn’t heard our name called.

I was waiting in line again, and he patted me on the arm and told me “Thanks for talking to me. I haven’t talked to someone in a long time.” He was very sincere and seemed genuinely moved that I would chat with him.

This was several months ago and I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Community is so important, and having small talk with fellow community members can really go a long way.