Miss Palmer

August 29, 2010  •  Leave a Comment

Charleston SC, 2009

People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel – Unknown

 

If one of the measures of a person is how well they treat others, Miss Palmer is one of those people we should strive to emulate.

August 2009 was hot in South Carolina. It was the kind of heat and humidity that made you want to shower after walking only a block, where all you can think of is finding the slightest bit of shade and coldest drink available.

While there visiting family, my mother and I spent a day in Charleston, touring the city and its famous markets. I was especially interested in seeing the baskets made out of sweetgrass, the artisans who craft them, and perhaps getting some good photographs of the whole experience.

I’ll never know for sure if it was the extreme heat or the throngs of tourists that made all the other vendors as inhospitable as they were, and really don’t care. It was Miss Palmer who made the day in Charleston so memorable.

She had the smallest stand of them all. Wedged between the other vendors as she was, one could have walked right by and never noticed her. I’m glad we did however, as she treated Mom and I like we were lifelong friends, making us feel more like we were sitting at home on her porch than in a bustling marketplace.

She couldn’t learn enough about us, or share enough about herself and her craft. Just like her children to whom she was teaching it to, she patiently showed us how she weaves each piece together, answering our many questions with the enthusiasm of someone who truly loves what she does.  She asked just as many to us, her curiosity about our own lives was just as rich.

I’ll always look back on the day with a broad smile, and the reminder that no matter what may be going on in your day, always give time to those around you. You’ll never know how much you may make their day, and lives, more memorable.

 

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