Had I known I would meet him there, would I have gone in? It was a simple shopping trip - to the grocery store - a lowly place to meet someone.

From my vantage point today, knowing the things about him I now do, perhaps I’d have returned to my car and driven to another store. Escaped the adventures and misadventures of the coming 8 years of my life.

He was, of all things, a meat cutter. One of the things I admired about him was his work ethic and his spirit of customer service. Yet he was a tragic figure at the same time, even weeping as he told me of his recent separation from his wife. As he continued on to tell me of his four accomplished children, I stood amazed in rapt attention to his tearful yet proud story.

The store had a rewards system for their employees whereby customers could fill out a paper to recommend a particular employee who had served them well. I filled one out for him while he stood by and directed me on how to spell his name, even though I saw his nametag.