Notes from Board Member Kathleen Rogers, Treasurer

Happy Belated Easter or Passover!

I hope that everyone had a safe and upbeat week last week. I would like to thank everyone who responded to last week’s email and was surprised to see the number of people that have family in the healthcare field. I salute those working in the hospitals and healthcare field.

 

So anyone get out to see the Thunderbirds fly over on Saturday? How about did you watch Andrea Bocelli live from Milan yesterday? So what is everyone binge-watching? Anyone found anything new they want to share with everyone?

I keep hearing (ok seeing) things about Tiger King? Not sure it is something I would want to watch, but has anyone watched it? It seems to be something folks are getting into during this stay at home period. I, on the other hand, binged watch “Picard” on CBS All Access…… for all you Trekkies I recommend it! I also like “Star Trek Discovery” even on CBS All Access…… The first two seasons are out waiting on season 3….. J  

 
So here are some thoughts that I would like to share as we start our 4th full week of work from home. I suspect that some of us are all starting to get a bit stir crazy…. We have work…. But there is only so much cleaning and going through closets that we can do. For those with families at home, “have you gotten on your spouse’s nerves yet? ” Sometimes we don’t realize how little time we get to spend with those we love, and now many are “locked” in with them 24/7 ……. . are you remembering or finding out new things about each other?
 
SO I was fortunate to hear from an old high school friend this last week. He drove a truck and was on the road, just crossing over the Texas state line from Louisiana on his way to Ardmore Oklahoma. He had a load that had to be there by 11:00 the next day. We talked on the phone for 3 hours. This is not unusual as we have done this before, but somehow this was different.


As he continued to talk about how the state weigh station was closed to truckers (they get to drive on by!), but all cars were being stopped, and folks were being checked. Reminded me of something we might see in some futuristic SCI-FI movie yet all being done in the name and cause of safety.

We talked about the truck stops and the services they are still providing (or not !). Simple things like showers….. these truck drivers are away from home….. away from loved ones….. the only place they have to get showers and do laundry are the truck stops….. and yet there are a few out there that have scaled back on (found reasons not to offer?) these services.

And however, these drivers continue to push to deliver the things we use on a daily basis to stores and warehouses for us to continue to have those things that we need and use while we are in the comfort of our homes working and wondering what to do with our free time. And unlike our Essential Workers (I will get to that in a minute) they are away from families and loved ones…..

 

In addition to the truck drivers, we hear all the stories about the essential works are our grocery stores, restaurants with drive-through, or offering pick-up locations. So I offer you a couple of stories about our “essential” workers. One is someone who works at a fast-food restaurant, while they follow all the guidelines in the store they are working and covering shifts.

They have no control over who comes through to get food or who is now on stay at home because of a customer that came through and was diagnosed or maybe did not realize it yet. Then we have a young mother with three children (3yr old and a six-month-old) who is working at a gas station convenience store which has only had one day off in the last 30 days! And on her only day off, she got called at 4:30 in the morning to help the person working do paperwork over the phone.

She strives to keep her family safe while doing her job for all of us. Then there is the grocery store manager in a store in NYC who has not had any days off and rides the subway to and from work.
 

So while we see and hear things about appreciating these workers now, I would ask that we realize they do this every day, even without a pandemic. (ok maybe not 30 days straight, but you get the idea) It is because of these individuals that we can go about our daily routines and live our daily lives. And up until now, how much thought have we given to these folks, how much appreciation? 
 
So I will leave you with this to ponder. When this pandemic is over, and we are allowed to return to our “normal” routines……. What will your routine look like? Will it be the same? Or will you make changes? Act differently? Be more aware?
Hmmmm!