Life at Lowe's
A few days ago, at work, a man came in getting some 4x4 treated lumber, nuts and bolts to add onto the playground in his backyard. It was really kinda busy that day, and my manager was the one that pulled me over to him to provide some help. The man started out by saying the word “stroke, and yes!” basically getting across that he had a stroke some months ago and had a very difficult time converting his thoughts into words. He could only say “Yes” or “No”, or very short limited sentences consisting of only a few short words. After a diligent 30 minutes, several drawings, and mad dashes all across Lowe’s from Lumber to Hardware, I finally got the picture on the project he was working on. My heart went out to the guy every time he would explain something and I would understand he would become excited saying, “Yes! Yes!” Other times he would try to explain and get a very frustrated look on his face. After about a half hour I told him that it must be SO frustrating having thoughts and trying to get them out of a mouth that doesn’t want to cooperate. Of course, when I said that, an eye roll “YES” as the gentleman’s eyebrows rose followed his reply. Over all, I really felt for the guy. It just kind of touched me. It made me think about my family and what if one of them had a stroke. What if one of my family members could only say simple sentences and yes or no? At least he could talk and some normally for that matter….
I guess we (as humans) just don’t really think of reality being so cruel until it’s in our faces. We don’t realize how fragile humans are, fresh and bones, susceptible to disease and physical damage…even mental damage. Life and Death peeps its head around the corner in a different direction in my life lately. My Uncle (Ted) seems to be dying of Cancer, very tragic; they don’t think he will live past a couple weeks…if that. My dad seems to be taking it pretty hard. Yesterday he came into Lowe’s to pickup some concrete board and manager to spot me among the massive and many nails and ladders. It had been the first time I had seen him in weeks and since I heard the news about his brother so I gave him a really good hug and kissed him on the cheek saying I was sorry about his brother and that everything is going to be all right. He started to get misty-eyed and almost cried in the middle of Lowe’s ladder section. So he is taking it pretty hard, which if I think about it…if Nick (my younger brother), or Kelly (my older sister), were to die of cancer and only have a couple weeks to live, I guess I would lose it too.
The final and third contestant of “Who came in and saw me at Lowe’s” is my old boss, from Pinnacle Amusements. He was doing some fire safety carnival event and needed some wood to make signs for fire extinguisher and fire truck carnival rides. I tried to avoid a confrontation, but ended up having to chat with him anyway. He asked me to cut some wood for him and I had to get someone else to do it because I didn’t know how to run the machine, so I stood there and watched someone else cut it for him. I quickly returned to straightening the merchandise to avoid as little conversation as possible. A little embarrassing on my part, but I know how to use the saw now, and will probably never forget it because of the situation. The saw, by the way, is this behemoth drafting table vertical and horizontal arms with a saw at the bottom. It’s unreal, very awkward to use, and would think that a qualified person with a skill saw and a sawhorse would be a much more efficient way to cut wood.
I guess we (as humans) just don’t really think of reality being so cruel until it’s in our faces. We don’t realize how fragile humans are, fresh and bones, susceptible to disease and physical damage…even mental damage. Life and Death peeps its head around the corner in a different direction in my life lately. My Uncle (Ted) seems to be dying of Cancer, very tragic; they don’t think he will live past a couple weeks…if that. My dad seems to be taking it pretty hard. Yesterday he came into Lowe’s to pickup some concrete board and manager to spot me among the massive and many nails and ladders. It had been the first time I had seen him in weeks and since I heard the news about his brother so I gave him a really good hug and kissed him on the cheek saying I was sorry about his brother and that everything is going to be all right. He started to get misty-eyed and almost cried in the middle of Lowe’s ladder section. So he is taking it pretty hard, which if I think about it…if Nick (my younger brother), or Kelly (my older sister), were to die of cancer and only have a couple weeks to live, I guess I would lose it too.
The final and third contestant of “Who came in and saw me at Lowe’s” is my old boss, from Pinnacle Amusements. He was doing some fire safety carnival event and needed some wood to make signs for fire extinguisher and fire truck carnival rides. I tried to avoid a confrontation, but ended up having to chat with him anyway. He asked me to cut some wood for him and I had to get someone else to do it because I didn’t know how to run the machine, so I stood there and watched someone else cut it for him. I quickly returned to straightening the merchandise to avoid as little conversation as possible. A little embarrassing on my part, but I know how to use the saw now, and will probably never forget it because of the situation. The saw, by the way, is this behemoth drafting table vertical and horizontal arms with a saw at the bottom. It’s unreal, very awkward to use, and would think that a qualified person with a skill saw and a sawhorse would be a much more efficient way to cut wood.
posted by Pixel Guy at
10:17
