Story time–

This happened a couple of years ago but it’s something that stuck with me so I thought I would share here to my non-existent reader-base and for my personal archive.

I think this happened on July 4th, 2024 but could have been before or after I’ll have to feed all my credit card statements into an LLM and see.

I rode my bike to Whole Foods on Excelsior around noon and picked up a couple of things, then walked next door to MGM to get some Aperol spritz kit fixings. An employee outside was doing trash rounds– I said “Hello, how’s your day going?”, we exchanged some pleasantries and finally he asked, “Hey man, do you sing?” I was caught off guard but assumed he recognized me or that we had a mutual connection, etc. I said “actually yes, I’m a singer and a musician, why do you ask?” He responded with something along the lines of “you just have a musical tone to your speaking voice, my mom and sister are singers and your voice has the same thing I hear in theirs.” I said “wow that’s really sweet and observant, I am glad to hear that I speak musically, that means a lot to me.”

This was at the time, and still is, one of the most touching and sweet things anyone has ever said to me. Perhaps a random and small moment but it truly made me feel seen, and continues to inspire me to apply the same level of observance and courage to provide others with that kind of seeing and acknowledgement. I often think about this moment and a few other similar times I have been surprised with an acknowledgement of something I pride myself on. In a life where so much of what we do, who we are, and who we strive to be goes seemingly unnoticed, moments like these serve as savory reminders that really, even without appreciation or acknowledgement, our character and qualities shine through. I hope everyone gets many more moments like this one, and I hope day-by-day, we show up with courage to be generous to others in this way, knowing that a small gesture of observance and acknowledgement can make someone’s day.

Big hug, little kiss

- vlush