Circus Peanuts

This may sound strange but ... Nearly every time someone in the family is heading to Walmart and they say, "Does anybody need anything?", I usually respond with, "Circus Peanuts".  It happened again just yesterday, so I felt a need to write and tell you all about this strange habit that I've developed.  No, the habit is not eating those marshmallowy treats, but simply asking for them.  It all began one day in an airport in Minnesota ...

Joyce and I were flying to Lubbock, TX for a preaching conference and had a layover in Minneapolis.  We had a little bit of time so we grabbed a bagel and a cup of coffee.  Sitting at the table next to us was a older gentlemen in a nice suit, doing the same as we, and looking very cheerful, so I started a conversation with the basic 'traveling through an airport' questions.  He was a salesman for the Melster candy company and their big, money making product is ... you guessed it, Circus Peanuts.  He explained his plans for the next few days, and how he was hoping to get their products in the gift shops at all the National Parks in the US, but he beamed from ear to ear when he talked about Wal-Mart.  That was HIS big sale!  He challenged me to stop at the Wal-mart in Lubbock, go to such & such an aisle in a very specific location, and when I look there, he said, I would see their Circus Peanuts.  He was right!  I haven't forgotten that brief encounter to this day.

Cheerfulness, enthusiasm, confidence and a call to action ... all very basic ingredients, not for circus peanuts, but for a lasting impression.  I wish I could impact people with the Good-News of the Gospel as well as that man impacted me with his candy story.  You realize that this man wasn't trying to sell me anything, he was just excited about something that was very important to him, and when the opportunity was presented, he didn't hesitate to talk about it.  Is it that simple?  It should be.  


Chuck (214)