Joyful Transformation

It is obvious that I have a look about me…an air that says,


Otherwise why would people ask me random questions in strange places.

Lately my audience has been the nineteen year old check out clerks at Wal-Mart. Last night as I went through the check out line with my car wash, diapers, Spiderman underwear, Diet Coke and cheese, the young lady ringing up my purchases stopped and said

“Can I ask you something”.

Now I was convinced she wanted to know about my children….I live for those questions, but no, children were not on her mind…yet.

“Do people have to get a license to get married?”

I told her yes.

“I didn’t know that, why do you have to pay money to get married?”

OK my mind goes into hyper drive thinking if you don’t want to make a commitment enough to go get a license maybe you need to rethink this whole thing….but I refrained and said.

“In some places, like Vegas, you can do a one-stop thing where you get the license and everything as you get married”.

Then she wanted to know if you had to have a license like 30 years ago when her Mom got married….

”uh yeah!”

“Well she never said nothing to me about getting no license”……

That is when I broke it to her that back in the day you had to get a blood test before you could get married…..suddenly this conversation was going places this wise woman wasn’t prepared to go with this youngster at a check out counter.

My take is that it really should be harder to get married. I think if people had to jump through a few more hoops they might make better decisions….it should be at least as hard as getting into college….that is only a four year commitment. I guess I was shocked that someone would think it was “too hard”.

My other Wal-Mart experience was two young girls saying

“I didn’t know old people still liked “that””.

Well I missed the first part of the conversation but the girl looked at me and said

“I mean REALLY old people”….

well thanks, you little whipper-snapper!