meet henry

meet henry

I met henry today at Griffith Street Consignments, and bought this antique trunk from him:

It’s no secret that I like talking to strangers, but today I was on a search and in one-track mind mission mode, not necessarily my chatty self…until Henry came over to ask if I was finding everything Ok.

There we stood near that fantastic trunk for the next 30 minutes, talking away. I started the bartering process (of course– my Mother taught me well!), he gave me a bit of a discount, he asked where I was from, I told him Vermont, he said I was the first person he’d ever met from Vermont. From there we went into full life story speed-share. He’s from North Carolina, retired Army (thank you military men and women!), he used to own a big furniture staging company after he retired and before the housing market crash, I told him I’ve traveled all over the US and beyond, have always lived pretty sparsely, that all my belonging fit in my car, and that I had come to Charlotte because It’s one of the only east coast cities I haven’t explored much of yet. He shared about his time in the military, that he has dogs, keeps a garden, and for years himself- lived very simply and sparsely when he was young, owning few belongings:

“Once during my Army years, I flew in from Germany to Brooklyn and drove back down south with everything I owned, including a parakeet in a cage…all in my Austin-Healey!” – he told me with an adorable chuckle. (The above photo does no justice to Henry’s happy, smiley face in real life.)

(Side note: I love that Hemmings Motor News– which is based in my home town- popped up first when I Googled “Austin-Healey” to get car info.)

I asked Henry if I could take his photo and joked, “unless you think I am crazy of course…” He replied “Oh I am crazy too, so no worries!” We laughed. He was kind, sweet, interesting, and full of life & stories. I could’ve stayed and talked with him for hours.

One of my most favorite ways to spend time has always been to spend it with kind, sweet, interesting people, who are full of life and full of stories, especially with those who happen into your path and make a little mark on your day when you least expect it. What a treat.

Thanks for making my day Henry! I’ll look forward to hearing more stories when I come back to pick up my new (old) trunk.

What kind of people do you enjoy spending time with?

#Connecting #PeopleAlongTheWay #OperationCharlotte #LifeOnTheBlueLollipopRoad