Last Friday morning, I’m sitting in the CVS parking lot in Orland Park while my friend and colleague John runs inside to grab markers for the communication training we’re heading to for Elim’s Staff Development Day.

It’s taking a rather long time.

Suddenly, he swings open the car door and says: “Sorry that took so long. I pulled a Jenny.”

I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant.

“I was done ten minutes ago,” he explained, “but I got into a conversation with one of the employees and started telling him a story.”

John assumed, since I’m a storyteller by trade, that I engage in this sort of thing all the time.

“John,” I told him, “I need to disabuse you of that notion. When it comes to CVS, Jewel, or places like that, I’m usually in and out as fast as possible. No small talk. No stories.”

“Really?” he said, genuinely shocked. “I just assumed you were always the same … [continue reading...] about Whatever You Put Out There Comes Back to You