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Transient Blues: Slings And Arrows
I am aghast over an incident that took place today at a local laundromat that I frequent (the Laundry Room, in Abingdon, VA). When it first opened, I had been waiting for transit on a bench out front. I had my laundry by my side and was reading my Kindle. The owner of the laundromat pulls up in his car and informs me that I have to move on. I tell him that I am waiting for transit. He says that transients aren’t welcome, that this facility is only for laundry customers. I gesture to my LAUNDRY BAG and LAUNDRY DETERGENT and reply that I just finished using his laundromat so would it be acceptable if I used his bench, while I waited for my ride? He apologized and told me that I was of course welcome to sit there while I waited. (I didn’t say this but I was also thinking, “Laundry bag. Laundry detergent. Wearing Ralph Lauren. Reading a Kindle. How does that add up to “transient”? ) But whatever.
Now, I REALLY like his laundromat. It’s always extremely clean; the machines invariably work; I can use my credit card; there’s no annoying country music that proclaims that the white Xtian male is the supreme life form; it is safe, with security cameras even. I can leave my laundry supplies there, should I wish to walk over to Food City for groceries, and know they will be there when I return. The location is another selling point, though that’s going to change, of course, when Food City relocates. But now it’s still nice to walk to do a bit of shopping while I do laundry. BUT…..
I was sitting in the laundromat this morning. I was not wearing my sometimes uniform of distressed jeans and beloved Docs. I had actually put on chinos (RL, as it happened), a sweater (also RL), as it was chilly, and had on a beanie b/c my head gets cold. Oh, and Uggs. Bear with me, I’ve a reason for this fashion statement. I’ve put my clothes in the washing machine. I have my Method laundry detergent sitting beside me- a bottle which prominently reads: Method LAUNDRY DETERGENT. I have my laundry bag in the chair next to me and a laundry cart next to it. I’m reading my Kindle. So. The ownder of the laundromat comes up to me…and tells me I have to move along. I’m not kidding. I look at him and say: You did NOT just do that to me again? Please tell me you did not just say that ! He THEN asks me if I’m a laundry customer! I say to him: Dude! This is the SECOND time you have done this to me! LOOK AT ME! HELLO??? He starts stammering and telling me the same story about problems with transients that he gave me before. I replied that he might have a problem with transients but I was NOT part of that problem! He told me he was sorry and left in a hurry.
I put my clothes in the dryer and thought about the encounter. I decided I wanted to make EXTREMELY CERTAIN that he knew what I looked like, so this would not happen again. I walked over to car wash next door, which he also owns, to ensure he got a good long look at me. I wasn’t intending to confrontative, just firm, as I really wasn’t sure this guy did really see me. He had left the laundromat speedily, as he appeared to be embarassed, rightly so. He wasn’t there, but his employees said his son would be there in about an hour and I could address what had transpired with him, and they added that he was a very reasonable person (obviously meaning to contrast him to the person I had encountered). Well, after I had gone back to the laundromat to get my clothes, here comes the owner again! He wanted to apologize more profusely and explain AGAIN about the transients (geeze, I got it the first time) and this time, just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse…he pulls out his billfold and tries to give me money! I stared at him, dumbfounded! I thought, ” You just have NO clue, do you?” I refused his money, of course. (How insulting!) I shook my head and told him gently that all I wanted was for this NOT to happen again-to anyone. I obviously was dealing with someone who had…issues. I’m not sure living breathing transients were really his problem. Lol.
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Another Mass-Shooting in A School
Yesterday on a one of my social media sites I posted the Indigo Girls song Don’t Give That Girl A Gun (video posted at end of this blog) from their awesome album Shaming Of The Sun, along with the comment that it seemed apropos for so many of the recent school schootings (one of which had involved a female). I had no idea that the very next day I would view with horrow reports of yet another mass shooting at a school, my words echoing in my ears and the song playing its sound track through my mind.
I keep asking myself: When did “mass-shooting” become a tool in the set of “appropriate responses” in the American psyche? How did this happen? The first shooting I remember remember outside of war or accidental death or natural causes was the Kent State shooting. THAT was devastating. Granted, it was not armed-citizen instigated violence, but it WAS the first non-military-against-enemy violence, (yes, it WAS military, national guard, but it was military-against-civilian), that I can remember as a young person. And for the times, four dead, four civilian dead, certainly counted as a mass shooting (then). How little did we suspect what was to come down the road.
I just googled “mass-shootings in the U.S.” Depending on which source you use, your answer will vary from 146 to 147. Of course, that answer is now sadly out-of-date, b/c it was written JUST LAST YEAR. There have been thirty-count that-THIRTY (30) mass-shootings in the U.S in 2018, including the one that just occurred in Florida. This data comes from Gun Violence Archive, in case your’re wondering. (www.gunviolencearchive.org/mass-shooting) Wrap your had around that for a minute and think about our (lack) of gun control. Maybe also contemplate it the next time you see a nice friendly ad for the NRA.
I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a parent these days. To send your child off to school when this type of thing is a possibility. Or to be a student when there is the chance that one of your classmates will use the opportunity to kill you. That was not even on the radar when I was in school. The most we had to fear was physical or verbal bullying. These kids face maybe DEATH by the mere act of attending class. I am in awe of their bravery.
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“Thoughts And Prayers” Won’t Get The Laundry Done-How To Truly Help Someone Who Is Ill
As those of you who are friends with me IRL or on social media know, I have been very ill recently. First I caught a nasty strain of the flu (diagnosed at the Urgent Care Center) which later developed into atypical pneumonia, acute bronchitis, PLUS the original flu virus. The ER doc also mumbled something about some possible other unspecified viruses, like these weren’t enough, and sent me home with more meds than I could shake a stick at, strict instructions to REST, REST, REST, drink plenty of fluids, and to follow up with my internist. I’m not venturing out anywhere, since I’d have to don a plague mask, carry a bell, and spread the deadly virus wherever I went, thereby being a real buzzkill at any gathering.
I posted about being so ill on my social media. AAAAANNNDD got the expected “thought and prayers” responses from most BUT from a few people got responses that made a BIG difference in the last week. THEY said things like: DO YOU NEED ME TO DO LAUNDRY? DO YOU NEED ME TO GO TO THE GROCERY STORE? DO YOU NEED ME TO PICK UP MEDS? DO YOU NEED A RIDE TO THE DOCTOR? DO YOU NEED ME TO COOK YOU SOUP? Are you seeing a pattern here?
Now, don’t get me wrong. “Thoughts and prayers” are appreciated. Some of those posting might have actually prayed….a couple were professionals at that, lol, and who knows? I might even be on a church prayer list somewhere! But the point I’m trying to make here is that if you know someone who is truly ill, and you truly wish to do something for them, offer more than “thoughts and prayers”. Even if it is something so simple as a post containing the latest research that shows that Sambucol is effective as Tamiflu against the flu. That has some content. Or perhaps a humorous post about the flu. These will suffice, should you not be in a position to make a concrete offer of aid, like doing laundry (if the person has no washer and dryer, for instance) or going to the grocery, or making a meal, or whatever. But just saying “thoughts and prayers,” while it SOUNDS nice on FB, is essentially vacuous and meaningless. I’m sorry if this sounds harsh and ungrateful. But in this day and age, after the beating that words have taken from DJT and company, I want to let people know that words matter and actions speak loudly. Covfefe, indeed.
