A Small World, by Annette Skarin

I dropped off Nellie, a dog I pet-sit for, at the veterinarian to get her shots and a bath. I decided to stop at Panera café for a cup of coffee and a bagel. I settled into a booth next to a group of seniors who were at the time the only ones in the shop.

I was alone so I thought listening in on their conversations might be interesting. They seemed to be good friends and at ease with one another. One gentleman stood up and I noticed that he had a ceramic cup in his hand (I had been given a paper one). I asked him about the ceramic cup and he told me that you had to ask for one. He said to follow him to the counter.

They gave me the cup I wanted, and then the gentleman asked me to join him and the other “seniors” at their table. Since there was no room at the table, I began to converse with them while standing. I mentioned to them that I had been to a memoir writing class the day before. One of the ladies excitedly told me that one of the ladies in the group had just sent in an article a month ago to a magazine called Reminisce, and they sent her a check for one-hundred dollars.

The lady had just stepped out but they gave me her name as Pat Edwards. I could hardly believe it. I then told them about a lady from our group who had an article published in the same magazine. I said her name was Dora and someone had sent in her article anonymously and she also received a check for the same amount. I told them that she read it for us, and what a wonderful heart-warming story it was. The ladies said they would be looking for the story.

What a small world indeed! This wonderful group of friends meets together every week and I think I might just drop in once and a while.