Thirty napkins at .95 cents each
by Ms. Babble on January 7, 2009
in Work!
I processed an order for a woman today. She had the accent of an elderly New Yorker. She called to purchase 30 imported cotton napkins with a hyacinth floral print on sale for .95 cents each. She told me that she’ll use them to make pillows.
After I made her order and charged her credit card, she felt the need to speak freely with me. Maybe she heard in my voice that it was alright to say what was in her heart. Maybe she was lonely. Maybe she was just a little loopy. Whatever the reason, I didn’t expect her candidness:
You’re in Chicago? You’ve been in the news a lot lately.
I’m 80 years old and I’ve never been very political.
This is the first time in my life that I’ve ever been political.I hope Chicago gets its act together soon. Although I believe every city needs to be fixed. I think politics are so dirty.
Today I was watching the news about the war and the kids that are dying and it made me cry. (Her voice begins to waiver as she’s telling me this.)
It made me so sad that I decided to buy something nice today to help me feel better.
Hang in there and don’t get discouraged.
It didn’t seem like much at the time but god dammit how it’s lingering in my head right now.
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This story makes my smile and wince. I understand how both J. and this customer feel. Lately it is almost embarassing to say I am from Chicago, but we do have Obanma as a saving grace to be proud about these days. I wonder who this wonderful woman will give these pillow to, or will she just make them for herself and feel some joy everytime she looks at them.
i wonder if she was jsut refering to the amount of times illinois/chicago was in the news, in general. obviously, obama and blagojevich, the niu school chootings, the gay-friendly shools, the olympic bid, and that crazy hologram that cnn projected. plus, i’m sure i’m missing a lot more. just saying that we were in the news a lot this year.
or… maybe i’m just making excuses for some old lady who needs new napkins for some crazy 30-person dinner party.
(sounds most likely)