How do you spell relief?

I thought of that old commercial today as I watched a social interchange at my local CVS drugstore. Layers of empathic embarrassment washed over me and crashed into each other.

Wave #1) An old man has a gift card for $50. I know this because he announces loudly that he has the card because his son gave it to him. His son gave it to him because the old man can't afford to pay for his medicine without his son's help.
Wave #2) He doesn't understand why he can't just have $20 change after buying his $30 of medicine, so he begins to yell even louder. The concept of a gift card is too "new-fangled" I suppose.
Wave#3) The little pharmacy tech can't find a way to make the old fellow understand that he still has $20 on the gift card that he can use on other things in the store.
Wave #4) The old man throws the gift card down yelling that he's apparently making a gift of $20 to CVS, and he storms out.
Wave #4) Down the counter a little way, a woman waits on me. We both act ridiculously pleasant and oblivious to all this, as if it will help alleviate some of everyone else's embarrassment.
Wave #5) I, too, exit the drugstore and see the old man sitting alone in his car, looking miserable--I wonder if he really needed that $20 for something. On the other hand, did his son give him the gift card so that he would not spend cash on other things. Is he old enough he has lost his "good sense" that way? And this last embarrassment is now simply the conjuring of my own imagination, I'm so into the groove of it at this point.

As is often the case, my thoughts turn to you, O Maker of me. I think about how I winced, wearing the embarrassment that the poor old man was too ignorant to wear. Sharing the embarrassment that the workers were wise enough to wear. I wonder if You wince at me? How often am I publicly (at least in heavenly realms) ignorant like that man was? Stomping around, wanting things to go the way that makes sense to me, and angry because they don't. Do You wince over the profound ignorance of my reactions? Do You wince even more when You send the wisdom down to me that should enable me to have a more informed reaction (your own little pharmacy tech, if You will.) May I be humble enough to listen and allow "new-fangled" things to come into my spiritual world, too, dear God let it be so!
Last night I dreamed of the classic cherub and imp sitting on my opposing shoulders, making their debate with each other through my grey-matter. Seems like the minute I get a handle on that "ignorant old man" part of me, these two start in with each other. [You know what I mean, don't you, my husband? By the way, the "cherub" (aka the "good" voice) was a tiny elephant. And today in the news was an animal that is almost-elephant, almost-horse, almost-rhino and is an endangered species living in the land that is almost North America and almost South America. I thought you'd appreciate my dream-nod and real world musings that comically echo the enigmatic voice droning in your head, too. (smile)