Tacos, Receptions and Calves
Spend enough time wandering the streets as I do and you too will have strange encounters...or let's just call them memorable comments.
I already wrote about the comment made by the woman who sold me a taco. She was shocked to learn that I was a pastor, because in her words, "you're too handsome to be a pastor."
A couple days later, I witnessed a man stealing a piece of art valued at over $3000 from the art gallery across the street from where I live. After pursuing the man for several blocks on foot while speaking with police dispatch on the phone, he was caught and arrested. I just learned today, thankfully, that the man plead guilty and I would not be needed as a witness in court (I would prefer a burglar not know me, my face or where I live.
I officiated a wedding last Saturday. It was an incredible weekend for many reasons, but one comment in particular...one I hesitate to share, will not soon leave my memory. During the reception, the uncle of the bride told me that the 60 year old lady sitting at his table made the following comment about me..."What about the priest, he's worth sinning for." Feel free to translate at you'd like.
None of these compare with the odd comment last night, made by a complete stranger, a small, middle aged man on a bike in the Chipotle parking lot.
"You have good calves."
What, good calves...I thought it was weird (and it is in case you weren't sure), but he continued.
"Can I compare my calves with yours?"
"I've done calf presses for one year and my calves aren't like yours."
"Do you work out your calves?"
"Do you ever think about your calves?"
"How tall are you?"
"Can we compare our heights?"
"How much do you weigh?"
"Do you ever read?"
"What do you read?"
"Do you ever read religious stuff?"
"I like to give people complements."
Then it struck me. Was this guy going to try and convert me to his religion, by first paying my calves a compliment? Well he never did...I never really gave him a chance. But I have thought about my calves a bit since last night.
So that got me thinking...imagine that.
When you interact with others. When you share your life with friends. When you talk about things that really matter, and things that probably don't. When you get that one chance to really leave an impression.
What do you leave people thinking about? What impression do you make? Will they want to see you again? Will they want to talk more? Will they know you care? When it comes to your faith, do you leave people thinking about God or will they spend more time reflecting on their calves?
3 Comments
5:43 PM
i swear on all that is holy, i have met up on two different occasions with that same dude. the first time he followed me up 5th ave on his bike and when i finally stopped, he said he was "just seeing if he could keep up with me." the second time, he complimented my calves. i told him that was an odd way to start a conversation, and he said, "oh, so i should talk about other things?"
apparently he didn't take my advice.
5:34 AM
You guys must have great calves?
11:19 AM
Apparently Steve had better calves than the Art Thief... :-)
I can't wait to hear more about that Story.
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