Getting my car worked on this morning. The waiting room is closed for covid. There's a diner just down the block so I'm waiting there.
Somehow eating at old diners makes me feel like a trip back in time. My eggs, rye toast, and sausage links came on a chipped platter. I shook a classic, glass bottle of Heinz ketchup over my crisp hash browns. The coffee had a familiar taste that I only can get from a old style restaurant.
The people here are fun too. Most of the people are older than me. A few folks I recognize from somewhere in town. The waitress is friendly and she brought my food instantly. The dominant conversation comes from the bar: "The Good Ol' Days".
A step back, a wider perspective, and slowing down always reminds me of the same thing: people don't really change. The world is changing quickly around us. Sometimes because technology, culture, or business seem to change so quickly we think we do too. I don't think we do.
"Hey [Jim], how's your brother doing?"
Family, friends, community, relationships, health... these things are important. There was plenty of complaining today in the conversations. Plenty of "kids these days" comments. A fair share of "I wish phones were never invented" followed by "look at this picture of my daughter" (whips out phone). Plenty of contradiction... but at the heart, people who care deeply about other people.
We sometimes struggle expressing how we feel. Sometimes we don't know how to say "I love you" or "I care about you", especially to people outside our family. Truthfully, our actions do speak louder. But when you do take time to listen, and you listen to the hearts of those speaking, people don't change much: we want to love and be loved.
And that is beautiful.
