Our Little Piece Of The World

i love the corner store. i used to work there. working in a community mom & pop's store is one way to meet absolutely everyone. it's like it's own little 'peyton place' as well. u hear all the news before anyone else does cos someone is always stopping in & telling u the bits & pieces they know. sometimes its about the wreck up the road, they just saw ur husband in the local bar or about the fight they just got into with their significant other. u put all those bits & pieces together & u get a lot better insight into just who people really are & whats going on in the area. u create the big picture or sometimes they just know the whole story. but u really never know what to expect from one day to the next.
and eventually u see everyone u ever knew in the past. once my cousin i hadn't seen in at least 10 years walked in. he hadn't changed a bit so i recognized him immediately & it was great catching up with him.
once a neighborhood kid & his pals decided to knock the place over. he begged to be let in after store hours & everyone being friends they let him in, he walked in & pretended to be shopping to allow the doors to be unlocked so the other boys could storm the attendants. the kid wound up getting shot & turning his buddies in for shooting him. admitting they all planned it together. stupid kids.
in the last week a couple things has happened at the store that tickled me.
hubby & i pulled into the lot to get gas. as we pulled in i noticed the car on the other side of the gas pump looked alot like ours. hubby commented on the car as he got out & said 'it could be us'. he pumped the gas & went on in to pay. i was sitting there listening to the music when the door opened. i started to reach for the key when i looked around. the red haired man had sat down in the front seat & was reaching back out the car telling some kids to come on & hop in. not my husband, who is not redhaired for one & was not traveling with 2 children. luckily i did recognize the guy & said 'billy, i think u have the wrong car'. billy jumped & looked around at me like a deer caught in the lights. he wanted to run but was too fascinated with his own mistake & froze in place. i finally said 'i think ur on the other side.' he apologized & said 'dude, i can't believe i did this. i'm sorry, i didn't really pay attention'. i think he was stoned. i know he was buying beer.
later, that same week. we pulled in but it was really crowded so i parked at the gas pump. after hubby walked away a big white, brand new deisel truck pulled in on the other side. the door opened & this really hot guy slid out. he looked straight at me & called me by name.
me: how ya doin
hottie: i'm good how bout u? what have u been up to?
me: a whole lot of work & being a grandma.
hottie: i haven't gotten there yet but i heard u were working at the (insert organization name).
he then called to his buddy to pump the gas so he could talk to me.
about that time i looked up & saw hubby coming & said:
me: umm, gotta go.
hottie: (looking where i was looking at hubby) do u have to?
me: yeah. see ya.
hottie: i hope. take care.
the wild thing about this is wow! he was cute & i did recognize him. but damn, i can't remember who he is. doesn't that bite? how many brain cells have i killed?
the news at the store tonight was that the cops are writing tickets to anyone traveling the portion of the road in front of the store that is closed for construction. did u know they could do that? oh & 'pimmy' our local man whore is single again. look out barely legal little girls. u'll be pregnant next.
later...