A Friend I Met on Saturday

After spying a rack of navy BYU shirts at 25 percent off, I parted ways with my wife and her mom; they headed up the Macy’s escalator to women’s clothing and I began the hunt for something bigger than a large.

Behind me came a high voice, full of personality, “Do you like BYU football and basketball?” I turned with a smile as the tone and inflection reminded me of the animated way my dad used to read The Wide-Mouthed Frog.

My new friend stood about 5 feet tall, a bit portly, a short crop of hair, glasses . . . his bus pass proudly displayed on a lanyard hanging from his neck. I said, “Yes, actually I love BYU basketball and football and I watch all the games. In fact, I love BYU so much I even work there.”

“Really, what do you do there?” “Well, I’m a writer.” “Really?! My mommy’s a writer, too. She was published once in Seventeen magazine but it’s mostly a hobby for her. . . . How do you get to be a writer? You must go to school… how many years of school do you have to go to to be a writer . . . a lot, huh?”

It continued like this for a few minutes, him asking questions, me answering, then asking him a few. He lives in a group home, it seems, and travels by bus to the mall so he can walk around and, obviously, make new friends wherever he goes. When he was ready to move on, I asked him his name. “Justin,” he said. I told him mine, said “it’s nice to meet you,” and reached to shake his hand. Unexpectedly, he reached out with both arms and gave me a monster hug. I smiled as I watched him turn and head out of the store to the rest of the mall.

I’ve never really had much tolerance for strangers inserting themselves into my space but my new friend had such an innocence and sweet personality and . . . let’s face it, he started with BYU sports. Also, I am working on the lesson from my own blog lecture on being kind, and I had recently met my brother’s friend Raymond and he was a cool dude, and, well, to be honest, I always cut guys a lot of slack if their name is Justin. So, really, being open to making friends when you least expect to, can be unexpectedly inspiring.

While I still have a ways to go to fulfill my goal of being kinder (and of acquiring more Polynesian friends), I’ve now added one more to my “other” category. And now I only have to hit the mall to see my new special friend. His bus doesn’t leave until 8:30.