The Slice

My wife and I walked toward the entrance of Gottschalks on the South Hill.

Up ahead, an elderly woman and a teenage boy neared the door. They progressed at a glacial pace.

The boy gave off zero signs of impatience, though. And he wasn’t being a performance- stoic. He quietly spoke to the woman – I’m guessing it was his grandmother. He smiled. He seemed as if there was nowhere he would rather be.

After getting inside the store, I saw in their family cluster a man I assumed to be that boy’s father. So I waited until he was by himself and then I approached.

I told him that on the basis of my first impression I was ready to declare his son a great kid.

The man seemed pleased. But I wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know.

Paul Turner pault@spokesman.com