There were certainly other things I could be doing.
We’re in the middle of a global pandemic. I’m building my social media platform in order to garner interest in a book I wrote about that last global problem, the Great Recession. My closets and democracy are a mess.
But what I decide to do is get in the car and drive to Commerce, about thirty minutes away by highway, in order to nab the last box of disinfecting wipes that the Costco there is holding for me. I’ve been looking online and in stores and have been frustrated that there hasn’t been a Lysol or Clorox or Kirkland container of wipes to be had anywhere. So when today’s effort has me calling every last Costco that shows up on my “Costco’s near me” search, I am slightly stunned when the gal on the phone tells me they have one last box and she’ll have the manager hold it for me.
When I arrive I ask to see Bob (I’ve changed his name for his security) and say that he has something for me. Bob comes out smiling holding the goods. He’s put the box of Kirkland wipes inside of another box, and turned them upside down so all that shows is the white bottom. He tells me to “keep it in my cart this way.”
I ask him, “Do you think someone will steal them out of my cart if they can actually see the box?”
“No, it’s not that,” he says. “It’s just that we’re all out and I don’t want people thinking these are available.”
I tell him I drove a long way to get them and that I’ve been searching for weeks for wipes. That I can’t believe my good luck.
He smiles and puts out his fist for me to bump him. During covid-19? I’m wearing a mask and trying to keep my distance but now he wants us to touch. So I do. He gives me a big smile and says, “Have an awesome day.” I haven’t touched a stranger, or a friend for that matter, in over six months, but I couldn’t let him down.
I’m kind of surprised about the fist bump. But he seems genuinely pleased about my score. Maybe he senses my determined-mom-energy that had me drive an hour on the 5 Freeway to pick up a box of wipes so I can disinfect my countertops.
There was a time that I was spending my energy building a baby product business, and before that I was hustling for acting jobs. Now I’m doing what I can to keep my family safe and healthy, one day and one wipe at a time.
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