🔗 Share this article

It was a day of rest, and I found myself grumpy enough, refueling my mum’s car. It was one of those petrol stations that also functions as a grocery store, so you run the risk of joining a queue people bearing baskets of pricey provisions. A terrible fate to unfold when all you want is to get gasoline and leave. Awful.

I was fourth among those waiting. Just one person serving, a young woman. Something stood out to her presence. Once the slowpoke at the head of the line had completed payment for his purchases, a baked snack, and some breakfast items, It seemed to me overhearing the cashier wish him an excellent day. Strange. Maybe it was a mistake, or possibly she uttered it and meant it ironically. The thought crossed my mind if she might actually be a comrade in the war on delays, sharing my contempt for people who hold up straightforward customers like me.

I moved up, to third in the queue. The next shopper of our group discharged her fuel-only transaction with impressive quickness. And there it was again: “I hope you have a fantastic day.” To be precise, it was “have a wonderful day”. A stateside native? Here in Stourbridge? The pronunciation indicated it, and hardly anyone here says to others such a cheerful phrase, or even just a nice day. Quite out of place. You don’t get people from America knocking around Stourbridge, and definitely not holding jobs in fueling spots or anywhere else.

I was second now. Behind a poor older woman engaged in a protracted effort with her shopping cart, her purchases, her handbag and her loyalty card. The process dragged on. When she was done, she too received the wish a wonderful day. Clearly an American. I might have verified it by cracking a joke at the cashier, to observe that thing when they look at you, stoically, and say with absolute sincerity: “You are very amusing.” However, nothing occurred of a funny comment to utter.

In the end, I embraced the genuine warmth – or an impersonation of it, essentially the same as identical in effect – while she stared straight at me, deep into my soul, and bid me an awesome day. My spirits lifted. A positive experience.