For lunch yesterday, I ate a Reuben sandwich on dark rye at a favorite place in the nearby Pike Place Market. I was sitting at a counter, oblivious to the customers seated beside me, when one of the sandwich makers confronted all of us with a question.
"Are you happy?" he asked.
I looked up at him. While I was rationally aware that his query was meant to be a simple one, applicable only to the product he'd made for us, my mind still fumbled for a few moments in search of an honest answer. It's a big question that gets tossed around as if it's not, and my reaction to it - almost every single time - is like having a motor wrenched to a temporary halt. Seriously, if you ever fight me in hand-to-hand combat and you want to buy yourself a few moments of time, just distract me with this question. There are very few times when I've ever been able to answer this question without hesitation - with a simple "yes" or "no" - and yesterday was not one of those times.
In the end, I simply answered the question by nodding; after all, I didn't feel comfortable engaging in a long and deeply personal conversation with the lad. But, for the rest of the day, I heard the echo of that wrenched motor and wondered what form an honest answer might have taken.
People should be more careful with their questions.
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