Vendor Writing

Where Are They Now?

BY NORMA B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

When customers who have been zealous Contributor supporters and regularly stop for a paper suddenly disappear without warning, I often find myself wondering what happened to them.

Usually shortly after that, either they, a relative, or a friend will inevitably stop by my corner and give me an update on how they’re doing and let me know what’s going on.

That happened recently when Mark (though he said I could call him ‘the Big Orange Guy‘) stopped for a visit. I was curious about the nickname, asking: ‘are you a UT fan?’

He said no, pointing to his car which is orange, he said ‘orange is my favorite color.’

(Like Larry, another regular customer of mine you’ve read about in the paper, he too used to deliver flowers for the In Full Bloom flower shop.

He said he hadn’t seen me in over a year. Why? His family have moved to the Joelton/ Pleasant View/Ashland City area so he is rarely in Hermitage these days, but when he is, he says he ALWAYS looks for me. How sweet!

So what brought him out my way that day?

He now makes deliveries for a local farm to table outfit in the Goodlettsville/Madison area, and he was making deliveries in Hermitage.

Since it had been SO long since we’d seen each other, I gave him a variety of back issues of the paper I had on hand.

Though he paid me in cash, he was surprised to learn that we now take Venmo, and that he can get a subscription to the paper since he’s no longer in the area regularly and according to him, there are no vendors out his way. I guess I’ll have to wait and see how that turns out.

Another example of an absolutely beautiful soul is Ms. Libby.

Over the past few years, she’s given me a number of hats, gloves, coats, a variety of things to keep me warm and toasty particularly at the change of the seasons, and she encouraged others to do the same.

One day after seeing me trudge through the water ponding along the side of the road at my spot, she stopped by with a special gift-a shiny brand new pair of rain boots along with some much needed dry socks.

I wasted no time, I put them on immediately!

A few days later, she stopped again when she noticed I wasn’t wearing them.

I hung my head as I told her that they leaked.

She took the soggy shoes back to the store to find a better pair. Now that’s pretty sweet! Isn’t it?

It’s worth noting that she continued to do ALL these nice things for me even though I kept getting her name wrong. I called her Miss Ellie for the longest time, (like the matriarch from the Dallas TV show,) perhaps because her demeanor, the way she carried herself, or maybe it’s the way she’d whip into the parking lot in her little red convertible always dressed to the nines-it definitely made a lasting impression!

Then one day, I asked to be sure because I was on planning to write about her in an upcoming issue of the paper, and she corrected me saying her name was Libby-like Libby’s, Libby’s, Libby’s on the label label label (referring to an old jingle that goes back to 1971.)

I haven’t seen her in quite some time now, and I‘ve wondered what happened to her.

Then one day, I left my house without coffee (and that just doesn’t happen often,) so I decided to stop at Waffle House to get some before getting started.

As I was fixing my coffee, a gentleman in the corner booth spoke up and said: ‘my mom Carolyn and her husband Ray stop for you from time to time in a red SUV, and so does her friend Libby.’

That stopped me in my tracks! Now smiling from ear to ear, I walked over to his table and told him many of the nice things she’d done for me and explained ‘I wondered what had happened top her!’

He told me exactly where to find her, saying that she’d recently went to the doctor/hospital for routine tests and they discovered 2 aneurysms!

She was admitted and had immediate brain surgery and they thought they’d repaired the problem.

Shortly after returning home, her housekeeper found her barely conscious on the floor turns out, she had developed a brain bleed.

She is currently in the rehab department of the local hospital in Hermitage.

He said her short term memory is completely gone, but her long-term memory is intact.

Hopefully I’ve been around long enough for her to remember me, but if not, I know I will ALWAYS remember her!

As always, I ask ALL loyal readers of The Contributor to lift her up in your prayer as James 5:16 says in part: ‘‘pray for one another that you may get healed. A righteous man’s supplication has a powerful effect.”

These are just 2 examples of individuals who have helped me through my trials and tribulations, and I am truly thankful for both of them!

But know this, each reader of The Contributor has the capability to do that for someone else, through acts great and small.

Remember, every little bit helps, and I am certain that ANY VENDOR you choose to help will be just as thankful for your acts of kindness and generosity toward them.

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Tis The Season — But Maybe Not For All

BY NORMA B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

For many people the holidays are the happiest time of the year, surrounded by family and friends and others they hold dear.

For those, it is indeed something to celebrate.

For others the opposite is true, for a number of different reasons.

Maybe they don’t have a close knit family to celebrate with.

I know for me, the holidays were usually the only time of year when I was guaranteed a visit from my dad, so each year when they roll around it’s a glaring reminder of what I’ve lost, that something is missing, and even though it’s been 40 years it STILL hurts.

Similarly, many others have lost loved ones, due to sickness and death, I’m certain they too have a difficult time during this typically joyous time of year, because they are missing their loved ones.

Others suffer from mental health conditions such as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), that can be made SO much worse at that time of year when the days are often cold and gray with very little warmth or the sun’s shining rays.

Finally there are those who choose not to participate in traditional events surrounding the holidays either for personal or religious reasons-(for the record, that DOES NOT mean don’t believe in Christ, or that they aren’t Christian.)

Here’s a thought, rather than make assumptions like that, or judge those who choose NOT to participate in holliday celebrations whatever the reason, why not just ask why they don’t want to take part, and then actually LISTEN to their response.

Who knows, you just might learn something.

Regardless of the response you get, I would ask you to RESPECT their beliefs just as you would want someone to respect yours-even IF they are DIFFERENT from what you believe.

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The Popsicle Index

BY FREEPRESSGMA, CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR #5843

The popsicle index is most easily explained by a question: Can a 10 year old girl walk to your corner store, buy a popsicle, and return home safely alone?

And … do you know the answer?  Let’s start with a few more questions. Does your neighborhood have sidewalks? Do you have pedestrians on the street at all hours? Do you have a corner store or some neighborhood hangouts? Do you have a park that is usually filled with parents and kids, neighbors you know?

Since most of us spend most of our time in our car, we might not even actually know the answer to these questions. But there’s the rub. The car is destroying our neighborhood fabric.

As a Contributor vendor, I spend a large number of hours out on a street corner or an entrance to a freeway somewhere. Why do I do this? Because there are so few spaces where I can interact with you one on one outside of a car.

Many people who drive and don’t read the paper, think I am out there begging. I’m actually out there holding space. I’m holding space for people, not cars. I am holding space for interaction, and I actually hold a valuable paper with information that you can’t necessarily find online. As people on the street, our super power is off-line.

Our super power is off-line. We spend most of our time off-line. We know what real life is. Most of the people I see driving are so glued to their phones that occasionally I worry for my own safety, let alone the other drivers. So, I could put this another way.

As distributors, off-line is our superpower.

We are the people who served your country, cashiered, did janitorial or other service work, and were thrown back to the pond when we came up with an illness or some other problem. Even though we might not look useful to you now, you can believe that we have been of service.

Our current service is to create community interaction. To break through the loneliness that we all share. To start a dialogue.

Catherine Austin Fitts has said that we need to take a good look at our economics from the ground up. Fitts is a self-admitted Republican conservative who worked for the Bush administration and the Clinton administration analyzing our housing and development funds. She has found that our priorities for people and to create a thriving economy are skewed at best. You can Google her.

I would like to extend an invitation to our readers and to those in your circle. Take a day out of your work schedule and tell your boss you need a volunteer day. Come and do our half day training, and spend a half day on the street selling the paper.

I would love to hear what insights or new information you might have from this experience.

Here’s to thriving communities!