The Ceiling of life

Few people will understand this, but I wanted to share it because it is VERY important to me. I pride myself on relishing the smaller things in life. Sometimes in doing so they become bigger. Those of you who have been in my store have seen my ceiling covered with empty cigarette packs. While this began by me as a sort of curiosity, it turned into something far greater than that. As I look up at the ceiling each day I'm reminded of so many wonderful things. I want to share a few with you hoping you'll understand and possibly help any way you can. First of all, possibly the most painful and most serene of them all is Fouad Kaady's packs. He gave me 3 or 4 packs to put up, which I ALWAYS do. He was recently shot and killed by two police officers who, in my opinion, made a very poor judgement call. Having those up there gives me both the neverending memory of Fouad, but a reminder of just how fast life can be taken from you. Other favorites include special packs brought back from France and Germany as well as a few other countries. It's really nice to know someone can be thousands of miles away and they still think about their corner store. I truly appreciate the small messages written on them, the signatures, and the great little pictures some like to draw. Each add character, but more important each add an extra memory of the person who brought them. While people come and go, any extra thing to help remember them goes a long way.