Stick With A Story

Updating the previous post on my elderly mission:

While helping another friend change a tire I made small talk with a woman who was passing by. I complimented her with her unique cane. She proceeded to tell me the history behind it; how she and her husband used to live in the northern woods, how there were these bushes around their property called Black Diamond Willow, how her husband had crafted her a cane made of their shrubs, how she had left it behind at her appointment and had returned to pick it up again.

Honestly, it wasn’t really that interesting of a story. I was more intriqued at how the wood itself was actually the result of a willow being attacked by fungus, creating the deep grooves that make the ordinary stick so beautiful. But as I continues to listen to her and reflect on it afterwards, it became clear to me that she was not merely talking about her cane. The cane was just a prop (pardon the pun). It was the conduit for the main focus of her interest and love. Yeah, she liked her cane, but she loved her husband and I believe she would have talked all day about him if I had only noticed it.

All in all, it was a simple conversation that lasted only a few minutes before she went on her way. If I had been attentive however, it could have been a better connection with the woman herself and the love of her life rather than just two strangers talking about a stick.