Important People Doing Important Things

Back before ride share, when we had to travel long distances to multiple  meetings in one day, the company I worked for would hire a town car for us. It was a great way to be able to keep working while sitting in traffic. While making a trek to San Diego for a multi-leg journey, I was working on my trusty BlackBerry, the young man driving cleared his throat.

I looked up and saw him watching me in the rear view mirror. He asked me if I was cool enough, was the music too loud or did I want a water. I told him I was fine, but I could tell he wanted to talk. So I asked him his name and how long he had been driving a town car. He perked up. He said “Oh I’m Michael and I have been driving about a year.” He went on to tell me that before that he was ‘just’ a file clerk. He said, “It was OK, but it was boring. Now I get to drive important people to important places to do important things.”

Then he proceeded to tell me about some of the people he had driven and where they were going and what they were going to do. Then he asked me what I did and why I was going there. I explained that I worked in relocation for a real estate company and I was going to a speak to a company that we had just purchased to let them know about services that would help their clients. He asked me a lot of questions.  Then he said “See what I mean, I am so lucky, I get to drive important people to do important things.”  

After that discussion, I started making sure to acknowledge the grocery bagger and the hotel maid and those sometimes invisible helpers that make our lives so much easier. They are important people, doing important things. Think about what it is like to be a hospital janitor in today’s environment. That job has gone from what might be considered tedious, to terrifying.

First responders, healthcare workers and military personnel selflessly signed on for jobs that will put them in danger throughout their career. Now, many of those roles have moved front and center in this battle against the pandemic and they are being tested beyond anything they ever thought possible. I am so grateful there are people who care enough about the health and safety of others to put their own lives at risk on a daily basis. But we can’t forget the unsung heroes of today. The grocery store workers, the delivery drivers and all of those that can’t shelter in place, but who have been tasked to keep working harder than they ever imagined to the benefit of all of us. Thanks Michael, for reminding us of the importance of every job.