Two views of the same scene

Both from a shopping trip I made yesterday.

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A middle-aged man in a gray car parks in front of the Lowe's. He gets out, walks to the hot-dog stand near the store's entrance, and waits in line, a stern look on his face, while the slow clerk serves the two customers in front of him. When his turn comes, he buys two hot dogs, takes them to his car, and eats them, alone in a nondescript vehicle on a gray day, the Friday before Christmas.

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I had some errands to run and was looking forward to the time alone and offline, no way for email to reach me. As a food gift to myself during the calorie-rich holidays, I went to a nearby hot dog stand that serves Sabretts. On the drive there, I listened to and enjoyed the last few songs on John Fogerty's recent album, Revival. The stand operator was busy helping two other people, but I didn't mind, because he was quick, efficient, and kept up an entertaining, non-stop patter as he perfectly composed each tube steak to the customer's taste. He also made my dogs just as I wanted them. I took them back to the car. I ate them slowly, savoring the taste, as I listened to the excellent John Hiatt album, Live from Austin, TX. Christmas was almost here, I was having a treat, great music was playing, and no work would touch me for a few hours. Life was good.

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Point of view is so very, very important.