First frozen banana

a man stopped me and asked if there was a sprint store on myrtle. the person obviously picked me out because they could tell i was someone who knew a great deal about myrtle. i had been wearing headphones so i had to turn off my music and remove them in order to even hear what the question was.

"is there a sprint store around here?"

i wanted so badly to know the answer but it was just out of reach. i don't use sprint for my telephone provider, i use at&t, so i don't notice when i'm in the vicinity of a sprint store - they just don't blip on my radar. of course anyone who has been on myrtle avenue knows in their heart that this is a street that has a sprint store. they may not know exactly where it is, but they know it's here. i told the man, "yes, there is a sprint store around here."

"where is it?"

"i do not know."

the man laughed, so i laughed too. then we went our ways.

weeks later i stumbled upon the sprint store on myrtle. i knew i could picture it and there it was, exactly where it belonged in time and space, a sprint store on myrtle. occupying its perfect location like a god-sent strand of hair on earth's head.

i remembered the man who had been looking for the sprint store. i wonder if he ever found it? he seemed like a friendly, good person - much better than your average at&t subscriber. i decided to learn more about the sprint network community. i walked into the store and found a pile of informational pamphlets and picked one up. a man in a polo shirt inquired, "how can i help you?"

"just having a look around." i said with a smile, holding up the pamphlet in a goodbye gesture. when i pulled the handle on the door it popped right off the door-frame and stayed there in my hand. i stood there holding a long thin aluminum door handle, unable to make my exit, gazing helplessly at the man in the polo shirt. he assured me it happens all the time and instructed me from across the room on how to reinstall it.

i wondered what his role with the company was if it did not include fixing the door when it breaks off in a customer's hand. perhaps the person with that job was on his lunch break or had been recently fired. i could have asked if they were hiring but my instincts told me to to leave it be so instead i went home and retrieved the banana i'd left in the freezer that morning. it was the first frozen banana i ever ate. they do not get as hard as popsicles.