Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover

A couple weeks ago I was at the Apple store perusing the accessories wall. My head was freshly shaved and I was wearing a hat. Up walks an employee - a young Asian girl who was small in stature and a bit punked out with her funky jewelry and three different colors of hair. I observed all of those things and I'm not sure what I expected but it wasn't the conversation we had. She was direct and she was sincere. "Did you walk the cancer walk?". "No, not this year but I have before.". "Oh. I noticed you don't have hair.". " Yeah, I'm actually being treated for cancer and just shaved it.". "Well, you are rocking that hat. I just thought you should know.". After helping me complete my purchase she held up her hand for a high five and I obliged. "I hope you kick that cancer!". She was the first stranger who acknowledged my lack of hair. I appreciated her openness.

Two days ago I took my laptop in to have my pictures recovered. I was wearing a bandanna. He was wearing a Geek Squad badge. I was intimidated but leery because he also had reddish/purple hair and holes in his ears that I could see through. After explaining my computer issue he said, "If you don't mind me asking, how is treatment going?". It caught me a bit off guard but I didn't mind him asking and I told him that. He asked more questions. How long, what kind, how do I feel. "I hope your cat scan comes back cancer free!". He had other customers lining up behind me but showed a genuine interest in my story. Again, I appreciated that.

The moral of the story is don't judge a book by its cover. These two 'punks' are the only strangers that have left me with words of encouragement and hope and they did it in a respectful and honest way. They asked. They listened. They cared.