Old People

I love the old people I meet at work. They often come up to the counter so quietly that I don't even realize they're there. I'd look up from what I was doing and there they would be, smiling patiently even though they might have been there for a while. They always greet me with some form of pleasantry. They are seldom in a hurry since a majority of them are retired. They are hardly ever grumpy as old people are often depicted in the media. Sometimes they take a little longer to come up with the right change for their purchases. In return, they smile patiently whenever I make a mistake at the till. Some of them even try to joke in what I think was an attempt to ease me nervousness. The shopping carts that they push in front of them are meant more as a walking support rather than to carry their purchases. Often that's how I realize one of them was at the counter. They'd lose their balance or control of the shopping cart for a brief second and the cart would make a slight bang against the counter. No matter how gentle the collision, they would always apologize profusely, jokingly blaming their age and weak back. I love the old people I meet at work.