"Bonnie in Vidal"

My next stop was a town called Vidal.  It was no more than just an intersection of two roads with a gas station, but it held wisdom, beauty, and kindness inside.  Her name was Bonnie and one of the relatively unimportant things she taught me was that the town's name was pronounced, V-eye dell.  I think I said something about how small the town was, and pronounced it like a hillbilly askin' about his dinner.

When I walked in the door, I heard her scolding a young child for playing with one the nick-nacks.  Then, with almost the same tone, she told the child's mother to be sure to lock the bathroom door and to return the key.  Her voice reminded me of a combination of a drill sergeant and a catholic-nun-schoolteacher.  It was a very forceful voice… but there was something in it that caught my ear.

I looked around the 10 foot square room, glancing back to her a couple of times, as I reached out and pretended to touch one of the nick-nacks… then yanked my hand back, as if it had been slapped with the proverbial ruler.  I'm not sure if she noticed my antics, but if she did, she didn't give me any indication.

I was infatuated with her voice.  The confidence and the clarity… but hidden in there somewhere was a definite loving, caring soul.  I didn't tell her she made me want to cuddle up next to her and nestle my head on her bosom.  I knew the drill sergeant in her would not allow her to let a strange man show her that type of affection, especially since we hadn't even shared a word between us… yet !!

I handed her my credit card to hold, so I could go back outside and fill up Honey's tummy.  While I was giving my best girl her meal, I was trying to think of how to approach this woman, and try to find out something about her.  For some reason this woman was very important to me, and I didn't know why.

When I went back in to sign for my gas, I still hadn't come up with a definite angle of attack.  After I took my card and was ready to leave, I blurted out… "Excuse me ma'am, but I was wondering… do you have any children?"  She cocked her head… wrinkled her brow… and looked at me with one of those what the hell are you talkin' 'bout looks, that I seem to get more often than not for some unknown reason.

Before she said anything, I added, "I was noticing how you run this place.  I see you have a lot of respect for it, and want others to show some respect too… and that made me wonder… if you have any children… are they respectful too… are they successful and are you proud of them?"

I had stumbled upon the correct formula for making a new friend.  Her face relaxed… a large smile grew upon it.  Her eyes began to sparkle, and when she responded, her voice had changed dramatically.  She had dropped her guard, and her voice was soft and melodic.  There was no one else in the store at that time, so we chatted for several minutes, mostly about our families, and how lucky we were to have been given such great human beings as children.  As I had suspected, this woman was a genuine human being… someone worth something to society… a mother… a teacher… a business woman… and a gas station clerk.

Turns out she didn't make such an effort to take care of the store because she owned it… she did it because that was the kind of person she was.  It reminded me so much of the way my parents raised me.  Respect seems to be a dwindling attitude these days… I sure hope parents get back on track about that soon, or this world is gonna get a lot worse, before it gets better.