Dear Universe,

I’m a fan of Red Box.  You go, you touch a screen and voila!  A movie slides right on out, ready for your viewing pleasure.  The process is simple and quick, taking about 30 seconds to a minute, depending on how long it takes you to decide on a choice of film.

Returning it?  Just as easy.  Tap, tap, tap.  Insert.  Done.

So the other day when I went to the market to return movies at the Red Box they have stationed outside, I left my car running on the side of me in a no parking zone, hazard lights flashing.  Like I said, the process only takes a few seconds.

Except when it doesn’t.

No matter what I did, how I flipped the DVD or what prayers I uttered, there was no denying it: Red Box was rejecting me.

It was taking so long that I decided park my car as to not cause more of a commotion.  I parked then ran back in the pouring rain to the Box.  Still, it wasn’t feeling me.  I was about to give up when I remembered there was another Red Box inside.

I went in and this time everything was going as planned.  That’s when I heard this voice from behind me.

“Is it taking your movies?  The one outside isn’t working.”

I turned and there stood an older man with his young daughter.  They too were wet.

“Yes, this one is working!”  I really did feel excited.

“I think they work on a signal.  Sometimes in bad weather, the signal doesn’t work.  It gets crossed and fails.  The signal gets lost.  You just have to try again.”

I don’t know how Red Box technology works.  I don’t question it; I just enjoy it.

I nodded and thanked him, graciously moving out of the way to give the man his turn at the working, non-signal-crossing-box.

I don’t know why, but his words stayed with me.  For some reason it felt like a deeper message.  Mixed signals, crossed signals, misread signals.  I couldn’t help but think about how many times this happens between people: family, significant others, friends, colleagues.  Usually it’s a little harder to detect between people, though.

It made me think.  Maybe the next time a message isn’t getting received, instead of giving up or getting frustrated, I’ll try a new approach.

Thanks for the bit of Red Box wisdom.

With Gratitude,

A