Christmas Eve Snapshot

I love where I live. I hope everyone does. It's a wonder- fully diverse place full of interesting things and quirky moments. For example, after making the purchases for tomorrow's victuals, I stopped by the Tick Tock Liquors for a bottle of wine. Tick Tock is an institution on University Boulevard at the corner of Riggs Road approximately equal distance from downtown Takoma Park and the University of Maryland's main campus in College Park. I have friends who have lived here all of their lives and remember their adventures in college back in the 1960's that almost always involve some subterfuge and Tick Tock! In the nearly 20 years that I have lived here, it's been owned by an Indian (New Delhi-type) family. About 3 years ago now, it ran into a bit of a row over taxes and the patriarch of the clan is doing time in some federal penitentiary somewhere, but Tick Tock just keeps ticking along. When you've frequented an establishment consistently over the course of 18 years, you get this false sense of familiarity with the staff, many of who have actually worked there for longer than that. One cashier in particular is hard to ignore. He must be related to the owner, and he definitely lives on the autism spectrum...I'm talking "Rain Man". When he's working a cash register, you can watch and see that some patrons choose to wait in other lines. They know the peril of getting caught in one of his odd "conversations," or perhaps they've been there when he's been upset. He can become very childlike and unruly in a wink of an eye. One time I witness a near total meltdown all based on a cell phone conversation that he'd had with his mother. In moments like that, everyone who works there follows the leads of his relatives and remain exceptionally calm, while the alpha male present cajoles him into a calmer state of being. Today, however, he was in a buoyant mood. The place wasn't busy, but I decided to take my purchase to his register and upon making eye contact, he smiled and serenaded me with an a cappella rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." I had to admire his timing! As he took my money, made change, and "bagged" my bottle, he punctuated the verses with a brief and detailed history of the song's success by Gene Autry, and then Elvis, and then how the two men knew one another. I mentioned "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" and Gene Autry, and he knew all about that song, too. He ended with a brief observation that karaoke doesn't always show you the right words--most the time it does, but not always. And the final assertion that "I use my own words." The last flurry gave me enough time to re-bag my wine so that the bottle was in the bag instead of just sitting on the counter with the bag draped over it. And the best part? He has a nice voice.