A funny thing happened to me on the way to buy a shower curtain

So there I was, in a very long line up at Winners, buying a new shower curtain and liner for my sister’s upcoming visit. I didn’t want her to think she had the kind of sister who lives with a discoloured liner, from neglect. It’s hard to buy a liner and resist a Kate Spade curtain with grey polka dots so I grabbed that too.

The line was long so I had time for sad-happy thinking. I thought about how funny my dad was. He could really get a room going. He told great stories and he told them well. We did have to ask him to ease off the number trick where you do math contortions involving the alphabet as well. We just didn’t think it captivated groups of people as much as he did. That was us helping him.

Just as I was thinking those thoughts about funny Dad, an older guy two or three people up in the line, wearing a bright orange vest to alert traffic to his presence I suppose, turned right around, looked me directly and straight in the eyes and said, “Can I tell you a joke?”

“Okay,” I said. And he told me a joke about a gps asking to get out of the car of a bad driver.

“Can I tell you another joke?” he followed up, warmed up.

“Sure!” I said. And he told me a joke about why gas stations charge money for air. The answer is inflation, of course. Although I couldn’t guess that.

“Thank you,” I said to him. “Those are pretty good jokes.”

When he was paying I overheard him tell the gps joke to the cashier, and a little of the magic was lost, I admit. But still, it was lovely. And why shouldn’t he tell his jokes to everyone he can at Winners?

A little choked up, and also very warm inside in a good way, I called my sister to tell her what had just happened. Often, in the last year and a half, when I call my sister it is so she can talk me out of a tree, make me laugh, jolt me out of sadness, listen tenderly to me. Or just complain together about this and that.

I wanted to tell her about the dad-man with the corny jokes, but I also wanted to call her happy.

I think that’s an important thing that we can do for the people who might be helping us. Let them know when you are having a good day too, and not always just the bad days. Try for a one in five call ratio, maybe.

Then, I opened Spotify and chose a play list. One of my saved lists is called “Saddest Songs of All Time,” a collection put together by Fight Night Records. I also have a playlist called “Top 30 Funeral Songs,” which is better than it sounds. A lot of hymns. Some Bette Midler. Leonard Cohen, obviously.

I made a conscious decision to find a different, happier playlist. I found “Happy Hits!” and “Cleaning Bangers.” Then I drove to McDonald’s for an ice cream cone, which Dad and I liked to get whenever we could. Sometimes they are small cones, I find. A little on the non-generous side. But the kid working the drive-thru that day gave me the biggest one I had seen in a while. I said “Wow!” like my dad would have. And I really meant it.