DUMMERSTON — The scene: Market 32 (f.k.a. Price Chopper), Tuesday, March 17, the baking aisle.
I'm standing in front of an apparently empty flour section. Stooping down, I spy a large bag of speciality-brand flour in the back of a lower shelf. Flour is on my shopping list, but I quickly decide I don't really need it.
Just then, another woman appears, initially dismayed at the empty shelves. I point out the large, almost hidden bag and she goes for it.
We begin a friendly chat (at a safe distance, of course) when a younger women arrives, crestfallen at the now-barren shelves. She laments that she needs to bake cupcakes for her little daughter's birthday.
The owner of the last bag of flour quickly offers it to her. After a little back and forth of “no, you had it first/no, you take it, please” the mother of the birthday girl gratefully accepts.
We linger a while longer, three women sharing a moment of our new collective reality.
Small acts of kindness make a big difference - every day, but especially now.