Remember those people of whom we spoke fondly?
The ones, in the early days of the pandemic, we praised and lauded for their dedication to helping us keep our lives together, our families safe and a tiny bit of normalcy in our disrupted routines?
The supermarket employees who tried to keep shelves stocked with food and toiletries and who stood on their feet for hours at a time moving customer after customer — each a possible vector — through the checkout line;
The delivery drivers who brought boxes filled with books, sweaters, nail polish, dog food and cleaning supplies, or bags of groceries or cartons of takeout to our doorsteps so that we would not have to venture outside;
The baristas and cooks and cashiers who trudged into work — so that lunch meals and lattes could still be consumed from the safety of our automobiles while dining rooms stay closed;
The vet techs who came to our cars to pick up our furry ailing best friends;
The laborers who stayed out in the field for 12-hour days with little respiratory protection picking fruits and vegetables that would make their way to our tables;
And the myriad others we did not give much thought to before COVID-19 changed how we conduct our daily lives, who prior to this asked for then demanded livable wages — not exorbitant salaries with commensurate benefits — and affordable healthcare;
The same workers who some of us have decided to now disparage as cowards or members of an oppressive regime because they enforce guidelines and laws that keep us and them safe — the ones who have put their safety on the line every day so that we could be comfortable.
Those people are the same friends, relatives, neighbors or acquaintances we cherished and designated as essential during our collective time of crisis.
I hope we remember them as we observe this Labor Day weekend holiday. Most likely the majority of them will be working (holiday and pandemic aside).
I hope we remember them long after we have left this pandemic behind us and we thank them with the wages and care they have always deserved.
