“Times of trouble best discover the true worth of a man.” (Thomas Kempis)

Just one week ago I tried to make light of the mass panic I was dealing with at my job every day. Unfortunately, all is not well this week. My hometown of Kansas City is going to be locked down for 30 days, starting this week. Grocery stores are going to stay open, so I’m one of the few people who still gets to go to work, but trust me, this is not something I’m happy about.

The reality is this, we are in uncharted waters now and I’m not sure how we are going to react. The last week has been increasingly scary, as people are definitely experiencing a once in a lifetime event that seems to get worse with each passing day and the emotional reaction is starting to takes its toll on rational thought. My store has reduced our hours by half and we may have to go lower if we start to run out of product. Every morning, we open one hour early for seniors and people with health conditions but that just creates a waiting line at the door at 7 AM, where no one is keeping an acceptable social distance. When the door opens, there is a mad rush to the toilet paper aisle just to see if we got anything in the previous night. More often than not, it’s pretty limited or non-existent. And that was before we found out about being locked down for a month. I’m not looking forward to today.

My reality has also completely changed since last week. Last night I realized that every day that I go to work I will be at greater risk for catching this virus than anyone who is staying home. Which means, when I’m not working, I will have to self-quarantine at home. I can’t take the risk of seeing my grandchildren or my 96 year old mother, for fear I could expose them to the virus I may not even know I have until much later. I may have to come home, throw my clothes in the washer and take a shower immediately. So I will spend all day with customers and almost no time with friends and family. What a strange existence. This may be own version of a Brave New World.

As I was going as fast as I could run yesterday, I was thinking about this blog. I really wanted to focus on reminding everyone how much we need each other to get through this crisis. EVERYONE at our store is giving 150% right now and we are physically and emotionally drained already. Now we’re staring straight at 30 days of misery with a level of panic none of us has every experienced before. You all might want to start praying for those of us who work in essential services and please try to remember when you are in the store, we’re doing absolutely everything possible to help everybody.

For me personally, in my position at customer service, I have become the bearer of bad news for 8 hours a day. I have to say no to almost everybody. No we don’t have toilet paper, no we can’t take more orders for pickup, no we’re not giving out rain-checks, no we don’t have sanitizer and no I don’t know when this is all going to end. I hate doing this more than you could ever imagine and it hurts my soul to be unable to do anything to make this better. I was raised to solve problems, not turn my back on people who need me. I think I speak for all my associates at work when I say this, “We want to help.”

And to be totally honest, we’re worried about our families too. Most of us are too tired to shop, after we finish our day, and we don’t want to stand in line at checkout for 30 more minutes with the few things left on the shelf that we need too. This is a bad experience for everybody on earth, so let’s try to share that misery in the best way possible and not turn on each other. The best thing the rest of the public can do right now is be kind. Just the few positive comments I got yesterday made all the difference in the world. When we’re getting beat up 99% of the time even one simple, “Thank you for what you are doing!” goes a long way with us. That’s the one item we all need the most.

As I sit here at my computer, composing this post, I realize the store just opened on day one of the new normal. I don’t have to be there till noon but I won’t be surprised if the phone rings soon and I’m called in again early. Right now, my schedule changes almost daily and my sleep schedule is so far out of whack I’m not getting much rest at all. I just go from one problem to the next with no end in sight but at least writing this blog helps me clarify my thoughts.

I’m not going to give in to this crisis. I will do whatever is asked of me and more. We can all help each other with this seminal event if we just remember to be kind. Everything we do from here on out is going to be important to somebody else. Let’s check on our neighbors, our friends,  and our families and do what is needed for the greatest good. Maybe then, someday in the future, we will all discover our true worth.

I think I hear the phone ringing.

©Guy R. Horst and grhgraph.wordpress.com, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Guy R. Horst and grhgraph.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.