Yes, that’s right. 2 subjects for the price of one. And for those of you who are paying for this….someone is ripping you off and it’s not me.

…but I digress…

OK, first off October 15th marked the 2nd anniversary of the first blog I wrote for “Practically Well”. In that blog I wrote that Practically Well was an avenue for me to help people ” achieve the health & wellness they are looking for”  and was a way to chronicle my story which, to quote me in 2018, ” is a continuing one.” Because ” this train keeps rolling til you’re in a box”.

I am so colorful.

Have I done that? Yup, to the best of my limited ability. I’ve blogged about;

Running  (of course)

Diet

weight management

sleep

Chocolate

Yoga

Music

Sex

….and many more subjects, both interesting and not, depending on who you are and what you’re into.

I’ve given my opinion on fad diets, cryotherapy, organic food, HIIT workouts, CBD, kombucha, life coaching and other subjects. Some positive, some a little more questioning. I’ve actually tried to do my homework and research the subjects before spewing my opinion out on these pages. And I don’t know about you but I’ve learned a lot. Like, who knew that sex helps strengthen women’s pelvic floor muscles?

You’re welcome, people.

But, steaming forward into year 3, yesterday, after going for a run, I decided to stop at one of my favorite local delis. I love delis. Little , informal joints where you can get a decent BLT, or corned beef and swiss on rye. You get the idea. Way more common on the east coast, at least good ones, and this one is my fav out here in Cali. I’ve actually brought friends from NYC to this one, and they, grudgingly, have admitted that this place is pretty legit. So I park and walk over to an empty table. The waitress comes out the door (outdoor seating, thanks COVID!), looks at me and says ” I’m busy. I’ll get to you when I get to you”. Not exactly ” Hi, welcome”, but she is busy, so I deal. She comes over a few minutes later to drop off a menu. I know what what want, a BLT, potato salad & a diet Coke ( don’t start on me, yes I drink diet coke) so as she sets the menu down I start to say ” Whenever you’re ready I know what I want”. I got through “Whenev….” and she cuts me off “I said I’m busy! You’re 3rd in line!”

Umm, no. Not me. Not when I’m paying.

I just stood up and said ” I’ll go somewhere else” and walked away.

Happy ending was that I went to a great Cuban restaurant and had a cubano, possibly the best sandwich known to man, (when it’s done right!).

Then today, I’m coming home from the gym and stopped at my local Ralph’s to pick up a few things. I get in the check out line and start to unload my cart.

“Don’t do that” says the check out person. “Just leave the basket. I’ll unload it”. I’m like ” no worries, I’ll do that”. She “No! just leave it.”

OK

I reach for the little stick thing you use to separate your stuff from the next person’s stuff. “No, don’t do..just don’t”.

I’m confused. Did the rules just change? I feel like I did the last time I played blackjack and pissed off the whole table by doing something “wrong” ( different story for a different day).

I’m kinda pissed.

What’s wrong with people?

What happened to customer service?

When I supervised a team that dealt with the public, one of my rules was “your personal issues are none of your guest’s business”. They should get the great service every time, regardless of your car problems, your boyfriend/girlfriend issues, the child raising concerns, your raging hangover, etc. What the “heck” is wrong with people? And then, as I was walking to the car, I got struck with a different angle, if you will.

You know what’s wrong with people?

COVID

quarantine

social distancing

masks

not being able to hug your mom / dad, your child, your grandparent / grandchild.

No vacations

no dance club

unemployment / under employment

worry about every cough / sniffle / sneeze. Your’s and everyone else’s.

You know what? We’re all under some sort of pressure.

To some, it’s smaller. Like me. My family is about 2500 miles away from me. I’m pretty healthy in general. I’m not worried about my actions impacting children or older folks or compromised immune systems.

But many other people have to worry about these issues and much more.

Health.

Finances

Isolation.

Having and dealing with this virus.

Maybe, for the remainder of the times we are living through, until this corona virus situation is resolved , however that happens, I need to cut the human race some slack. Some people are carrying some heavy loads. Maybe part of my fair share of the load is being more compassionate, or understanding, or whatever. They aren’t handing out name tags listing the issues that each person is dealing with. So, Bob, maybe you need to just assume that people are doing the best they can in the particular situation they find themselves in. And maybe, Bob,  you can help by showing more patience and letting little things stay little things.

Notice that sometimes these blogs are things that I need to work on, and you guys just happen to be included in the message? Stuff happens, people.

OK, that’s it for this session. Thanks for being a part of making “Practically Well” the micro-micro influential voice that it has been for the last 2 years. I appreciate all 12 – 14 of you.

Love,

Talk later,

Bob