#nice people

6stronghands:

funnytwittertweets:

I worked a cash register in a crappy grocery store on Friday the 13th, the day the schools got word that they were going remote because of the virus. 

There were horrible people. I don’t need to go into details because we’ve all heard them or read about them or experienced them firsthand. 

But most people were just scared and anxious and trying to take care of their families in spite of bad local and state and national leadership and terrible messaging and limited personal resources. They were intense, but understandably so. 

My bosses weren’t great, not on any level, from CEO to shift managers, but that’s not news, most of us have been exploited and abused in our jobs before and during Covid. 

We weren’t allowed to wear masks because the store thought it would freak out the customers. Some people quit on the spot, but precious few because it’s not the kind of job you work if you have a ton of options. A woman came through my line and she was wearing a cloth mask with a pretty botanical print. I complimented the design and we bonded over love of fabrics and crafts. She asked about the store mask situation, I explained store policy, she shook her head, left with her groceries, and I kept working the endless line. She was back four hours later with a mask for me. She’d gone home, put away her perishables, sat down at her sewing machine, made a mask for a stranger, and then gone back out into crazy traffic and crowds, just to find me and give it to me. She gave it to me in front of the floor manager, and explained to the manager that she was worried about the employees, and my boss had to let me wear it (out of a weird mental loophole of  ‘customer is always right’ even though no other employees were allowed to wear one that day and for a few weeks afterward, which sounds insane, but it’s true). 

Another woman had come through with a ton of cheese, really cool fancy stuff. I’m in the cheese fandom so we had a good time chatting. She left with her groceries and I kept working the line. About an hour later, she was back in my line again with more fancy cheeses. I rang her up, bagged her food, handed it to her, and she handed the bag to me and said “This is yours, I’m grateful for all the essential workers but I don’t know how to tell you guys or keep you safe, so I’m just doing this.” She’d put her groceries in her car, gone back into a madhouse, picked out cheese for an anonymous cashier, and WAITED IN LINE FOR AN HOUR so she could give it to me personally. 

Toward the end of day, after credit card machines had gone down five times in as many hours (do you know what it’s like a for an entire grocery store to go cash-only for overlong periods of time on March 13 with a building full of scared customers? Do you know how funny or charming or lighthearted you have to be with that many intense people on the verge of freaking out? Sometimes being a cashier is like being a goddamm standup comedienne or therapist or surrogate mom I swear). Anyway, a guy came in toward the very end of my overtime and the card reader went down again and this customer didn’t freak out. He started SINGING. He stood there and sang to me until the computers came back online. I’ll never forget him or his sweet voice or that moment in time, ever. 

I know things are bleak right now. I know they’re going to get worse. But I see acts of bravery and kindness all day, every day. Every. Day. People are channeling their despair into personal outreach that doesn’t get witnessed by many people because it’s usually one-on-one type stuff. I do a ton of climate & political stuff, as well as all my odd jobs, so I see a lot of different demographics in a lot of different situations, all of them stressful, and yes, there are sociopathic assholes in all of those settings, but there are ALWAYS always people being good and brave and looking for ways to connect or care for or support other people in a myriad of ways.

I don’t believe in very many things at this age but I will go to my grave defending the goodness of humanity. We may be isolated, we may be headfucked and heartbroken, but we are still fighting the good fight. That’s as real as all the bad stuff. 

“The cheese fandom”

sandmandaddy69:

@offense-is-the-best-defence​ omg when is your b-day? I need to gift this to you! :D :D :D

khaelisfics:

I mean, yes, I’m French and I know my English is far from perfect, but…? That’s kinda mean?

I don’t mind constructive criticism, quite the opposite actually, but I didn’t ask for this. 

Meh. 

@pipertennant@angryrabbit42@facetiousnotfascist@thisauthorisscreaming and those I couldn’t mention:

Thank you so much for your support everyone, it really means a lot!
This was the first time I received such a comment, I didn’t mean to be a crybaby about it and I don’t even really mind, it’s just a bit unpleasant!

I’m happy to know some people do enjoy my works and think my English isn’t that bad! :-)

Thanks a lot! 

How can I not even have the decency or energy to at least write a proper, timely response to a compassionate note of moral support from a friend? And when did these insipid, literally-every-damn-day thoughts like “I’m cold/lonely” and “I need a hug” gain the power to alter my physiological ability to function??

nerdywriter36:

FINALLY got some frames for my beautiful new prints from the Redbubble shop belonging to the AMAZING @imkatelaura! Soooo excited to finally add these to my wall along with the rest of my theatre merch ❤

ahhh, thank you so much! they look beautiful in these frames!