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| F LoBuono |
In fact, it happened to me just today.
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I had a few hours before I needed to leave for work. Not that I needed one, but it was a perfect excuse to sojourn into town to pick up the few groceries I needed for my evening meal. When I just need a few items, which is most of the time, I use the small grocery store located on the north end of downtown. It's a clean, well stocked store featuring fresh fruit and vegetables, and it's open 7 days a week. It is run by a family of Korean-Americans who are always polite and friendly.
As I shop in the place at least 3 or 4 times a week, I've gotten to know the people a little. In what might be seen as a strange twist of fate, I found out we are from the same hometown - Fort Lee, NJ. It's been over 40 years since I lived there and the demographic has changed. When I was a boy growing up there, the population was overwhelming Italian/Irish /Jewish. These people represent a new wave of immigrants to the town, making it now overwhelming Asian/Korean. Still, I marveled at the thought that ultimately, despite the obvious difference in culture, here we were, in the tiny village of Nyack, NY, while at the same time sharing a common hometown (albeit from different eras).
Another small thing that I noticed, adding to the pleasure of the whole experience, was the music. Here I was in a Korean grocery store in the tiny river hamlet of Nyack, NY, run by Korean-Americans from my hometown of Fort Lee, NJ, and The Doors "Break on Through - To The Other Side" was playing on the store speakers. You can't make this stuff up.
I couldn't help but smile and think, once again, there are SO many things that can give us joy. You just have to take the time to notice.
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