JUST CHECKING IN

NOW THAT i AM A FULL TIME GROCERY STORE EMPLOYEE, IV'E BEEN GIVEN PAUSE TO THINK ABOUT GREAT and historical GROCERY FIGURES, COUNTER CULTURE IF YOU WILL. i HAVE KNOWN THROUGHOUT LIFE. iT'S AN ARTFORM, YOU KNOW? 

first though, i decided to start delivering for door-dash on my scooter. I think it could be the way to game the system they have in place. I can use the scooter and not worry about silly miles on the van and i get about 100 mpg with the motorcycle vs. 17 in the van. that seems helpful? Well, fucked up the first time I dashed and drove needlessly out of my way for not very much $ per hour but i won't get fooled again. it was hilarious and dangerous and frivolous and pretty fun. 

that being said, door dashing does not involve management or much customer service. it's an evil way to make money with an evil system. I need to figure out how to sell weed while I do it to offset my karma. shouldn't be too hard to figure out. 

there was a grocery checker in the 1990's named Perry. he was made of static electricity encased in a human suit. he flecked about more than actually moved. communication was achieved through short burst-like nods. flinching and ticking he processed the purchases across the red laser eye  of knowing. he rarely missed. i'm learning his art, I have only memory to draw from his ways.   

you only have about 10 seconds draw the customer into your web. the most important aspect of this interaction is the greeting. If you engage the greeting it absolutely has to be genuine. this is a sale. you can greet someone without utilizing the greeting, and that greeting is literally an example of polite society. it's decried because it's false and un-funded, it doesn't have any value but it does serve the purpose of moving the polite narrative along. the greeting is not used FOR FRIVOLTY. IT IS GENUINE. IT IS REAL. ASKING A CUSTOMER, "HOW ARE YOU TODAY?"  MEANS YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW HOW THEY ARE DOING !  this might not be easy. if the greeting works you have to be willing to accept the information bestowed upon you. 

I had a mentor named David lee. he was a presbyterian. less of a checker but definitely taught me a lot about compassion. he was my superior at the university of Minnesota where i was employed as a technician (and later) manager of their anatomy bequest program. it was the entity that if your body satisfied certain requirements, at the time of your death you could donate it to "science". Science in this case predominately meant first year medical students first. these, cadavers (defined as such as they were used in a medical situation) would also be utilized for other study but for once this is not story about dead human bodies.  david lee lived the greeting unabashed honesty . He had no other way. a work morning with David would start with a "walk and talk". this was his extremely efficient method of meeting with me  to outline the days needs as well as travel from one building to another as his tasks would dictate. these meetings would travel by foot directly into public restrooms where david would ego-lessly step into a stall and proceed to take an enormous shit as he continued to prattle on about the days needs of various laboratories and classrooms splattering blasts of feces with no pardon nor care towards my presence was given. when finished, hands were washed and the tour continued on until ways were parted and the day carried on. 

when my young friend tom died of heroin overdose, I HAD TO GET BACK TO BOISE AS SOON AS I COULD TO BE WITH MY FAMILY. I TOLD DAVID WHAT I KNEW OF THE STORY. HE SAID TO ME, "I AM SO SORRY BART, i HAVE NO IDEA HOW THAT WOULD FEEL". THE WEIGHT OF HIS IGNORANCE STRUCK ME SO SUCCINCTLY. THE HONESTY IN THOSE WORDS, BROUGHT AS MUCH CONFUSION AS IT DID COMFORT. OF COURSE HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY IDEA HOW THAT WOULD FEEL. i KNEW THE PAIN THAT I WAS FEELING WAS SO IMMENSE THAT I COULD NOT CONTAIN IT. HIS WORDS RECOGNIZED MY PAIN IN IT'S magnanimity. i never forgot his presence with that statement and i never pretended to understand what someone may be going through ever again. 

a convenience store clerk named stu once gave my ex-wife a doily after she performed, on accordion,  "kiss me deadly" by lita ford. it was magnificent. stu was one of the greats and left us too soon.  

gary TURNER owned roosevelt market across the street from roosevelt elementary school. i ALWAYS THOUGHT HE WAS AN OK FELLA. not like the roosevelt the school was named after. gary SOLD US CANDY CIGARETTES, SLUSH PUPPIEs, the giant pixie sticks we made blow guns with and shot darts into mrs. boeslunds old demented ass. and THAT LITTLE SHOP WENT DOWN ON HIS WATCH AND FROM WHAT I KNEW IT WAS A SIMPLE CASE OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND GONE BAD. THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS CHANGING AND THAT LITTLE PLACE COULD NOT FIGURE ITSELF OUT in time. it's back now and and will be subject to an entire post probably. oN A PARTICULARLY STRANGE CHARTERED EXCURSION TO SEE THE FLAMING LIPS OUR BUS-DRIVER HAPPENED TO BE MR. GARY TURNER. I WAS ELATED! AFTER ASSERTAINING THIS INFORMATION AND HAVING A LOVELY CHAT WITH SAID GARY i LEFT THE BUS TO TELL MY YOUNGER BROTHER ABOUT THIS GOOD NEWS. MY BROTHER WAS 4 CLASSES BELOW ME IN THE SYSTEM.  WHEN HE HEARD THAT THE PILOT OF OUR SHIP WAS INFACT THE CANDY MAN FROM THE PAST, HE BLISTERED AND WRITHED. HE SCREAMED OUT WITH FURIOUS ANGER AND DISGUST. HIS FRIEND, FROM THE SAME CLASS, HEARD THE NEWS AND IMMEDIATELY BURST INTO FLAMES OF SADNESS AND DISMAY. THEY HATED GARY TURNER. IN THE FEW YEARS BETWEEN US MR. TURNER HAD APPARENTLY FALLEN APART. ALL THE YEARS OF SUGAR AND SHOPLIFTING HAD BROKEN POOR GARY TURNER. HIS PLACE IN COUNTER CULTURE WOULD FOREVER BE MARKED WITH A question mark.