Spontaneous Friday

Searching for Characters

You and I are always finding ways to create. Story ideas enter our minds like a flash of lightening. We are never given a warning. We see something that catches our eye and presto…..instant story.

We are an interesting bunch with our interesting ways of gathering bits and pieces in order to entertain.

We take rocks, frogs and a rain socked leaf, give them a toss and a swirl and presto…..a romance made in heaven.

Trust me. I’ve seen it.

The other day I came up with an idea. Instead of waiting for the stories to come to me I would go to them and I would find them inside our local Cost-Co.

For those unfamiliar with Cost-Co think giant warehouse with endless everything at your fingertips.

A perfect place for character shopping.

My plan was simple: Find characters for a story. Look for things that stood out. Find adventure even if I had to look deep.

 Here are the characters I found:

• A young man working in the pharmacy flirting with his co-worker. She politely listened but it was clear her work was more important. Does she regret working with him?

 

• Two people running the food sample section. One was a natural at convincing people to try a bite. The other wasn’t. I wondered if the quiet one regretted her job.

 

• An exhausted mother attempting to shop with an infant and a toddler. Meanwhile the father busied himself with a giant book containing civil war photos. What is on her mind?

 

• A little old man carefully analyzed the ingredients on a large can of tomato paste unaware he was blocking the only exist in the aisle. He wore a wedding ring but was all alone. Is his wife still alive?

 

• Making my way around the bottleneck I spotted a red face man trapped inside the bottleneck, glancing nervously at his watch. He was clearly running late but to what?

 

• I spotted the mother with the baby removing the book from the father’s hands and pointing to the runaway toddler escaping down the bread aisle. Will the father join him in a race?

 

• As I circled past the pharmacy I noticed the young man gave up on his co-worker. On the other hand another co-worker found him interesting. I’m curious if he noticed.

 

• I caught up with my wife and daughters at the checkout. I noticed the little man had passed on the tomato paste but decided on the large pasta. Why didn’t he buy both?

 

• The bearded man stood impatient in line. Looking at his watch, credit card in hand. Will he make it on time?

 

• The father held the squirming toddler along with the giant Civil war book. The mother quietly removed the items from the cart as a sleeping baby rested on her shoulder. Why was he so fascinated with the book?

 

So there you have it. A tiny slice of life captured at the local Cost-Co. Do you think a story is in the works and if so what would it be?

 

Happy Friday Everyone! 

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