The closest Taco Bell is in perhaps not the nicest part of town, but they are fast and surprisingly accurate with the orders. When a quick dinner is called for, I heed the toll of the bell.
Last evening, I was at The Bell and had placed my order at the kiosk. This is one part of the pandemic that I didn’t care for at first, but a kiosk that is set up well is pretty nice if you are a little picky about your order.
I stepped to the side to let someone else order while I waited – and of course I had paper with me to fold. I had started a crane when a guy came in to pick up a door dash order. He was black, mid-twenties I’d guess, and dressed like he was working on a burgeoning rap career. Hat off to the side, large gold chains, gold teeth, etc.
I describe him only to paint the very different pictures between us – me being the standard-issue Old White Guy. Of course there is more to meet than meets the eye and the same can be said for this guy as well – but we both did what everyone does in these circumstances in that we just left each other alone and waited for our food.
Except that the motion of a “test-flap” of the paper crane caught his eye and he looked up from his phone.
“Did you just make that?” he asked, surprised, and I nodded and handed it to him to see it. He put his phone in his pocket to try to get the wings to flap. I gestured that he should hand it back so I could demonstrate – then handed it back so he could try.
When he got the wings to gently flap, his eyes lit up.
“That is raw!” he said and while I don’t really know what it means in this context, I’m assuming that it was positive because he was really excited. He repeated it a few times too, for good measure.
He flapped the wings a few times and then tried to hand it back to me. I shook my head and told him to keep it.
You would have thought I’d handed him a million bucks. He was absolutely delighted and held it up – saying he was going to hang it from a string over the dashboard of his car.
He sincerely thanked me and I said he was welcome.
My food arrived and as I left I wished him a good evening. He returned the well wishes – still marveling over the paper crane.
I’ve said before how lucky I am to have stuck with this hobby – and that trip to Taco Bell just confirmed it.
He and I might never have spoken except for the gentle flap of a paper bird’s wings.
Instead, I made his day.