Targetin' Comfort

Back on the 12th, in the month of September

I texted myself some notes so that I could remember

I was askin' about comfort. Where is was, and where it's found?

"Is it people, things, concepts, or places around?"

I was asking about comfort, back on a Monday night.

I was asking about comfort, adding to the list, alright?

I was asking about comfort, 'cause one answer couldn't always be right.

I was asking about comfort, the notes in my phone I typed.

As I was asking people we exchange our names, nomenclatures.

This one lady, named [sike, you thought] told me about nature.

She likes going on nature walks. Yeah, the whole nine yards.

The forest, the world, to her it's a giant backyard.

The animals, the trees, and rivers

She loves all the sights that can make her feel at home and even give her shivers.

The Beauty

The Majesty

The Appalachians of Tennessee

*(High altitude could make you drunk faster, especially on Hennessy)

She loved the nature trails of North Carolina

So much so, that would would go out of her way to find a

Few new trails to even blaze on her own

or follow the ones that deer made, in their foresty home

I thanked her for her time, and then I did left

I saw a man, wife, and child; the babe clutched near her chest

I stood several feet apart, since I knew that I was a stranger

I wanted to make sure that they felt comfortable, that I emanate no danger

I spoke up and as I got their attention

They were happy to answer my question, here's what they mentioned.

The husband looked at his wife and child, and he said to me,

"God, God's word, and each other." An answer heartwarming to me.

They talked about having God present in their lives apart of their family.

The wife trusted her husband; genuine masculinity, real manly.

Their dressings, their clothes, displayed real modesty.

These people answered me with pure honesty.

Being thankful, I left them alone as they were at peace.

In each other they had their own slice of Heaven, their own little piece.

I walked into the coffee bar at the store, I saw a man getting butter

As he readied his bagel, I asked my question clearly, I didn't faulter or stutter.

In his answer he was happy that I was talking and taking the social route

He told me that one of the things was working out

We both admitted to enjoying being able to hang out with friends

Even when the night drones on and the fun should've come to an end

Sometimes even calling them up for a chit-chat, or a chat that we chit

Yeah, you know, when it's your friends you can "Shoot the shit."

Nice long conversations with no motive or trying to dominate

A conversation, and environment with a nice climate

Just random stuff about life

Whether it's good news or bad, whether it's glory or strife

When it comes to family "We need real communication to be stable.

I hate it when my nieces and nephews can't put their phones down when sitting at the kitchen table."

Being together with one another, with family and friends, devoting attention

Cutting off from the internet, plugging into the world, Now that's real ascension.

Focusing on the people around you

Taking off the headphones and removing the Bluetooth ear buds too

We talked about work. He asked about my education and career.

We shook hands, from engineer to engineer.

I chatted with a young lady wearing leggings and a nose ring

I asked her about comfort, "Person, place or thing?"

Yeah, comfort, what kind of a noun do you find it in?

She told me her cat, and at home it's all about cuddlin'

Before I left I asked two employees and you have to read what they have to tell.

The number one answer that they gave me was all about smells.

Good smells, flowers, nature smells, family smells, like when you hop in somebody's car

Smells that take your nostalgia to remnants in your mind, the mental landscape that's far

Like when something smells like somebody you know

Like when a smell is so comforting is just crawls up in your nose

It seems to even trigger and relax the brain

It calms you down, and undoes a lot of strain

Like a smell you'd hold onto forever when you ever find it

This was sung about in "Stressed Out" by 21 Pilots

Heck, even Food Theory talks about Nostalgia induced from pumpkin spice

When it comes to smells, they just do something ultra nice

Then we talked about things such as music and certain songs with beats

Heck, You might have a few personal theme songs, ain't that pretty neat

We talked about sunsets and how the sky grows pink

To doing something, anything, not just sitting around when you can barely think

Thunderstorms are comforting, the sound of rain

The water that runs, cleans, and drains

We were in a bookstore for crying out loud, comfort's in reading

Unless you get a papercut and now you're bleeding

Sure, it may not be as painful as it looks

But at least you get a good smell from the pages in a book

If you even owned a Nintendo product, this game might be close to your heart

The soundtrack, the screams, the fun while competing and playing against one another in a round of Mario Kart

Sorry, the above picture was too good to not use

I think we can all remember rage quitting at that game if you were about to win and then you would suddenly loose.

They told me about spirituality and a presence of being

Finding connection to a higher power, it's a common human thing

Then we talked about just relaxing in front of a TV's glow

Two personal favorites are M*A*S*H and the Andy Griffith Show

Especially the theme song from the old days

I enjoy watching M*A*S*H with my parents, and saw how humor was in the old ways

It's funny to me even in days with such sensitivity

And comedy is still growing and affecting everybody's lives, it's all about subjectivity

Comedy, humor, things that are genuinely funny to laugh at again and again

My sibling was floored when they heard the nickname "Hot Lips Houlihan."

I left the bookstore, but I didn't want to return to my apartment

So, off I head, and made my way over towards Target

Parked the car

Not pretty far

In the doors

Of the store

Searchin' for people, I got questions more

To implore

To make a score

I write the score

As I strolled across the floor

I walked down the hallway to oral hygiene

Past the toothpaste and Listerine packed with fluorine

Saw a young lady, she was squatin' at a rack

So, I ask with confidence, 'cause that's something I don't lack

"Mind if I ask you where you find comfort; is it somewhen, someone or somewhere?"

She told me that she likes to buy things that she needs and travel from here to there.

"Traveling around the world. Trying new things. It's an important life skill to have.

Meeting new people, enjoying their culture, their food and places make me glad.

It's really scary at first, but learning to travel on your own is great.

Learning to travel around the world makes you feel empowered to choose your own fate."

So I asked her about a favorite place

The smile and look that grew upon her face

"Thailand, the people and the animals. When I was there I stayed on an elephant preserve.

You should treat yourself to new experiences, it's something that you deserve."

We talked about different foods, and about what we liked to try.

The different foods brought up made our mouths water, this I will not deny.

"What kind of insect dishes have your tried? Which ones would you give a passing ticket?"

She looked at me and said, "Whatever you do, just don't go and eat crickets."

"I was always told that guinea pig taste a lot like bunny."

"I've tried it before, and it taste great, even if it looks a little funny.

I have to say that it's good but chewy."

Yeah, I wanna try different animal meats and eat them some day, different types of chop suey.

"So, is there a favorite dish that you tried in another country? Anything particularly good?"

"When I go to another country, I really enjoy their fast food.

Thailand Burger King is really good, like way better than what we got here."

"Oooo, I wonder what their specials are like at different times of the year."

We talked about work and were we were at in town.

Even though our convo was ending we'd knew we'd see each other around.

She's a scientist in research and development, is what she told me.

Before I left I saw her t-shirt's design, it brought us both glee.

"Yo!" I said when I noticed her design as I was curious.

"You got Tokyo Drift on your shirt, the third installment of Fast and the Furious!"

"Oh yeah man, living life one quarter mile at a time."

"Wait, since they're drifting, don't you mean parking garage, and stopping on a dime?"

We enjoyed talking about food being served fresh when its best

The animal humanely killed and not a single bit of flesh wasted. To honor it's body in a state of respectful rest.

From foods such as squid, to cobra, and eel.

Such delicacies on my taste buds and in my gullet, someday I hope to get to feel

Them excite my appetite and satiate my hunger with flavors I never known

I have to travel and gain expertise of the world beneath my feet. I have to reach parts of the world to which I have not yet flown.

While walking through the beauty and care with aisles of shampoo

I saw a group of three, you know what I had to do

I approached them and asked about comfort, is it easy to find

I asked them about comfort, "If you don't mind?"

The man said, "My girlfriend."

The girl said, "My boyfriend."

"Comfort in each other?

Well, it makes sense to find comfort and care in your lover.

Especially when you being cared for and not smothered.

Love from your partner, with your partner is like no other."

Then the third person, the other girl walked on back, the simplest answer she said

You can scroll through the challenge and find this in several poems. Her answer was "My bed."

For myself I went walking down the aisles to get myself a little treat

I hadn't spoiled myself in a while, so I wanted to do something neat

I went over and bought two types of ramen packs

The first was a regular spicy chicken cup, and my personal favorite, Shin Black

They came with seasoning packets and dried vegetables with onion cloves

"Man, I'm going to feast when I get home and cook this on top of my stove."

I then came across two people that I thought were a couple, but were just really close friends

I gotta tell, they could have me fooled, they could've played pretend

So we talked and our words were busy like bees, not a bump on a log

The woman first told me that she finds comfort in her dog

*(I know I made one about Floofa Loofas

But I should probably also make one for the Floofa Woofas)

The dude talked about being outdoors, all about hunting and fishing

Connecting with real life and getting away from the phones, just like the Engineer's wishings

Siblings are okay, but they're more of a sometimes is what they say

"Some family members treat you like family. Some of them you have to hold at bay."

We talked about the comfort of being alone, but not lonely

You can have comfort with others, and by yourself, you don't have to choose one only

The next question I asked with legitmacy

"So, do you find comfort when it comes to intimacy?"

We're all adutls in the room, so it was rather natural to ask

Taboo topics aren't taboo as long as you're authentic and drop the proverbial mask

When it comes to that, they said, "It's all about quality time, hints, looks, and the feeling of being wanted."

"'Cause if you're not wanted, the feelings of being not valued can sure leave you angry with resentment that's haunted."

The time I chatted with them was quite a thrill with the tea we did spill

I enjoy chatting with people and conversing, especially when it's so chill

As I left I saw an older couple, near my parent's age, I ducked into a different aisle to give them some grace

The way she smiled at him, when his hand carressed her face

It was a sweet moment, one of pure bliss.

It wasn't meant to be shared with me. It was a nice date, shared with a kiss.

It was purer than anything could've been written out of whatever movie scripts.

The smile they shared as his thumb traced her lips.

When I left the aisle and saw them a bit farther apart

I told them, "My parents date like that all the time." Something I've seen in my childhood from the very start.

When it comes to romance and dating of love being shared between couples, I have no aversion

Sometimes that's all you need for a date, a simple grocery shopping excursion

It warms my heart to see love being shared

People care about each other, more than intimately, about one another they care

I went back to my place and cooked the noodles on a stove top

A feast fit for a king, I sat down, watched some comedy, then my day came to a close, a gentle stop.