Years...

Went to pick up prescriptions for CM at the local Pavillions.

I was next in line after this elderly lady.

The EL was pretty disheveled.

She had one of her pants legs inside her short sock and the other not.

Her white shoes were pretty dirty.

She had a small scarf hairpin' d in place.

Her jacket was somewhat dirty/stained.

She didn't look homeless.

I would guess that she's in her 70s...

She didn't have anything to pick up.

Instead, she asked them where she can find something.  The person behind the counter told her where to find it.

Then the elderly lady (EL) asked about getting a Covid booster.

The person behind the counter (PBTC) explained that they accept walk-ins on Monday through Friday 9-11 AM.

Then the EL asked for a business card.

The PBTC checked and told her that she didn't have any.

Then the EL asked for a piece of paper.

PBCT looked around and found a piece of paper for her.

Then the EL wrote something down on the paper and stuck in in her small notebook.

Then the EL asked about the booster again and the PBTC gave her the same information about the walk-in times again.

Then the EL asked where she can find something (her original question).  The PBCT patiently told her where it is again (down aisle 3 which is directly next to the pharmacy area).

There was a lot of pauses for the EL to ponder her follow-up question or to ask the same question again.

While I was waiting and listening, not perfectly patiently, my mind wandered.

I imagined the EL as a young elementary school girl.

Then as a teenager.

Then as a young woman.

Then as a young adult.

Couldn't really create a good image since I only heard her speaking from behind.  It's difficult to paint a clear picture but I could make a fuzzy image of the EL as someone younger, in the 1950s or 1960s, with her whole life ahead of her.

Wondered what passed in all those years for her to be where she is now.

Any tinge of impatience left & I felt slight regret for feeling any impatience in the first place.

All in my head...