talkin' wrestling at the grocery store

Dearest Blaxstone,
Guess what happened to me today?
I had an unexpected bit of fun whilst checking out groceries!
Seriously, man, I kid you not!
I'd gone to the Publix on Whitmarsh, you know, for a change of pace and a drive.
Specifically, I'd gone for some sushi, as it's five-dollar Wednesday.
Well, good thing I'd gone when I had!
They only had four trays left.
I took two of them, the Spicy Salmon and the Spicy Tuna, with one destined for slunch during "Quantum Leap".
The other may be brunch, or it may be lunch; who's to say?
Oh, and they had blackberries on sale, buy one, get one - so I did!
I bought blueberries, too, and some sliced watermelon.
That will be perfect for dessert... no, wait, I treated myself to a little cherry pie!
I haven't had one of those in many months, maybe even a year.
Okay, I see that look of mild exasperation you're shooting me.
"Get on with it, will ya?"
Hey, you know me, I can go off on a tangent with the best of them!
Basically, that's what happened, too.
I caught a tangent and rode off into the sunset with it!
Maybe not literally, but certainly figuratively.
Here's the set-up.
There were two people in line in front of me and my pack of alligators.
You know, in keeping with social distancing.
I was wearing one of my masks with the seashell motif.
Motif... such a cool word to say and to look at, n'est-ce pas?
It was finally my turn to transfer my stuff from the buggy to the checkout counter.
I'd then moved up to the credit card machine and waited...
and that's when the kid working the cash register started talking to me.
Honestly.
He was engaging me in conversation, not just making polite small talk.
Moreover, he never missed a beat scanning bar codes.
And what was he talking about?
Well, here's our conversation.

him: "Did you watch wrestling when you were growing up?"

me: "Yes, I did! Daddy really loved that."

him: "Do you remember The Undertaker?"

me: "Yes, I do, and The Assassins, and André the Giant."

him: "Okay! Well, I'm in the ring with the Undertaker and he's been fierce. Then he unrolls his tongue and trips me up and slams me down on the mat. Then his wife leaps into the ring and she's hitting me, too."

me: "Oh, man, that's not fair!"

him: "That's right. Now, you and I are friends and you see this going on. What do you do?"

me: "I jump into the ring and take on his wife!"

him: "Yeah! Excellent! And what's your wrestling name?"

me: "I'm Purple Panther."

him: "Oh, that's a good one."

The young man bagging my groceries concurs, grinning.
I can tell I've just made their afternoon a bit brighter by playing along...
and my afternoon was much brighter, too!
And when I saw the cashier's name, as I was getting my receipt, I felt you there.
His name was Sam, too, and he looked so much like you did in high school.
What a blessing to have had that conversation out of the blue!
Right place, right time.

I know you're wondering about my wrestling alter-ego.
Believe me, that name sprang from my lips instantaneously, as if I'd planned it.
I get the 'purple' part, as that's a color I use a lot these days.
You know, with all these pens from the Purple Planet.
But what about the 'panther'?
Well, let me just say this:
I'd have to be rich to be a 'cougar'!
Hahahaha! Hahaha!
And on that joke, I'll leave you, dear friend.

with much love always