Work Life at Macy's

The last couple of weeks at Macy's have been, well, strange. Its also been interesting. If I wrote a book about my experiences at Macy's, I wonder if it would be a best seller. Or Macy's may sue me. Time enough to figure that out later.

In any event, here we go.

As you all know, I love to play with the babies and children that come into the store. It's the high point of my day. One day I was doing just that - a little boy in his stroller was flirting with me and I was playing back. Mama and Grandma were nearby and approved. Somehow, another customer standing nearby thought she would get in on the fun and asked the baby if he could say Grandma. She asked this several times. Mama and I looked at the woman wondering what she was thinking. Then the woman looked up at me, surprised, and said to me, "Oh, you work here!" Needless to say, Mama and (the real) Grandma were irked at the woman. I simply stated, "No, ma'am, he's not mine."

The next day, while I was at Walgreens, a woman came up to me and commented on my smile. She said she thought my teeth were beautiful and wanted to know if they were my own.

Last week, at Macy's, a woman literally left her 3-month old baby in his carrier at my feet while she went to the dressing room to try on some bras. Macy's requires all its employees to take care of the customer, however, I don't think babysitting is part of the job description. After speaking to management and our security department about it, neither one gave me a good answer on the best way to handle that situation. Great. Oh, and the woman came back to claim her child after about ten minutes.

This week, I have had a customer go into a narcoleptic seizure at my register, and another customer almost pass out from Heaven only knows what.

As you can imagine, I started my shift yesterday with a quick prayer to God asking for just a "normal" day. No weirdness, please. He answered me.

Yesterday I met half the world. My customers included a woman from Turkey, another woman from Columbia, South America, a couple from Belgium on a business trip, an American woman now living in Switzerland, a business woman from Nigeria (her name would sprain my tongue if I tried to pronounce it), and an American couple celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary by traveling from Ohio to St. Louis for the first time. Okay, that last one was domestic - don't get so picky.

I have written about international customers before. It's truly amazing how global we are. I've met people from Ireland, Great Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, most of Asia, Bulgaria, South Africa, Ghana, South America, Saudi Arabia, and Italy.

Happy Memorial Day readers!

Politics, Opinions, and Freedom of Expression

Throughout the last Presidential election and since the election, I have received numerous e-mails from well-meaning friends and family members about how our country is headed straight for a socialist agenda, the new health care bill will enforce euthanasia on our senior citizens, and all sorts of other "end of the world as we know it" predictions. I can't count how many e-mails have pointed the invisible finger of blame on those who voted for our current president and how the next "Fourth Reich" and another holocaust will happen because of those voters' ignorance.

First of all, quit with the "sky is falling" nonsense. It would not matter who won the White House because the losing side will kick up a stink about how bad this country is getting and it's all the fault of the current administration. Enough already.

Second, I'm not convinced we are headed for a socialist government. We still have the right to vote and if you don't like who is in office now, vote that person out at the next election. Just keep in mind, you are limited to who is running for office. Your son's algebra teacher may be a really terrific person, but if he/she is not running for political office, a vote for that person won't mean a hill of beans. If you don't like the selection, get in there yourself and run for office. You think you got what it takes, then let's see it. It's a free country and anyone can become President if he/she wants it bad enough.

A lot of flak has been made about free handouts to those who don't seemingly deserve it. I agree that the illegal immigrant situation is a sticky one and since my knowledge of it is rather limited, I will keep any opinions on this to myself. However, I caution those who are so tough on those immigrants - most of us came from someplace else. My ancestors came from England, Ireland, Prussia, and Germany. We settled in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Ohio, Illinois and Missouri. My family has been here since the early 1800's and it's only recently that my German side decided to keep the English and get rid of the German. As far as the handouts go, I challenge any one of these Americans to travel to another country with only the clothes on their backs, little money and education, and try to start a new life. Without a little help, it would be impossible. But go ahead, give it a try and let me know how well you do.

I agree that we have a much more divided country as far as monetary wealth. Seems the middle class is getting squeezed out by the wealthy. I have encountered this so much in my life that I often feel hopeless and wonder why I even bother. The things that used to be for the "every man" are no longer available. A baseball game used to be the family event of the summer - now it's the rich man's diversion. Not fair at all. Amusement parks and carnivals used to also be welcoming to everyone, now they are so overpriced that many cannot attend. Do I think the current administration can fix this? No. I believe that in order for change to happen, we must all accept the failings of our society and vow to make a change for the better. Corporate bigwigs should not be rewarded for failures and people in power should go without a few more perks. Those who have borne hardships should not have their efforts slapped in their faces by those who can just because they can. Not fair. Socialism is not the answer - we have all seen that. But a collective conscience of responsibility to our society, country, and world should be present and encouraged. Truthfully, this scenario of social responsibility really never has existed. Just look in your history books.

Many Americans have fought and died for our freedoms and this will remain the case for our country. Yes, the nay-sayers have the same freedom of expression as I do and thank God for that! However, please stop harassing me because you don't like the way I or someone else voted. The election is over - deal with it and move on with your life.

I don't know if the billions doled out in stimulus packages is going to work and I don't know if socialized medicine will work. All I do know is that things aren't working now, including me. Something must give. If you don't like the current proposals, you have the freedom to change them. I know I have that freedom and I'm not afraid to use it.