Absolutely Essential

hands illustrating teamwork

As I’ve prepared over the last few months to resurrect this website & blog, all kinds of thoughts came to mind about what to present as the first new post.  Over the coming weeks you’ll get an idea of some of my recent musings on careers and employment, among other things, as they get posted to this space. And while “re-hanging my shingle” and expressing my thoughts on these and mostly-related subject matter aren’t absolutely essential, the current employment picture almost necessitate putting in my two cents.

 

So over the course of whatever duration this continues, I hope you’ll see something that inspires you, informs you, makes you think, and provides impetus for you to take action.  I also hope you’ll spread the word and share items that you think are of interest to others in your personal and professional network.  Currently employed, retired or soon-to-be, you probably know lots of people with whom you can share this content.  Thanks!

 

Over the course of the last 6 months, the importance of gratitude has impacted me like no other time before!  Grateful, thankful and blessed that my family and I are healthy, and we are doing everything we can to stay that way! We are safe at home, not just sheltering!  We are very thankful for all our creature comforts and hopeful that we will ride out this pandemic to return to some semblance of normalcy in the not too distant future!  And we are also thankful to be smart enough to know from where and whom to accept medical advice during this COVID 19 crisis!

 

That simple word, “Thanks” has a world of impact.  Communicating your appreciation for all those people who over the past 6 months have put their lives on the line – directly and indirectly – in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is absolutely essential. (And most of these people put themselves out there for us – even without the presence of the virus – all the time!) So, here and now, allow me to add my thanks to the following groups of people (most of whom are absolutely essential workers) for their dedication and steadfast determination to assist those in their communities and beyond.

 

  • Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, medical technicians, and hospital & health care support workers of all stripes!
  • Mental health professionals and social workers who help so many get through this pandemic!
  • Teachers!
  • Every doctor, researcher and technician immersed in the search for a vaccine against the Coronavirus!
  • Police, Firefighters, Ambulance drivers, dispatchers, EMT’s and all emergency services personnel!
  • Technicians from the telephone companies, cellular carriers, internet services providers and other communication company professionals who enable us to keep getting our signals and reaching out to others!
  • The farmers, ranchers and food processors who grow, raise & distribute our food!
  • The truck drivers who deliver our food to local markets!
  • The truck drivers who transport all our goods!
  • Postal workers – every carrier, sorter, driver, machine operator and local customer service agent!
  • The drivers, sorters and customer service people who work for UPS, FedEx, DHL and other package carriers large and small!
  • Sanitation workers!
  • Public transportation operators who keep us moving!
  • The retail workers at your local supermarket or corner store, as well as those who stock the shelves, prepare the displays, keep the spaces clean & organized at a time when that extra cleaning effort is absolutely essential!
  • The utility workers of the local power, water and lighting companies who are truly essential in every emergency!
  • The legitimate responsible journalists from print and broadcast media who have kept us informed and all the people in the background that kept those enterprises functioning!
  • The late night talk show hosts who continue to entertain us, along with their technical staffs who kept them on the air from remote locations!

Not being on this list is not an indication of not being absolutely essential.  It merely means you regrettably didn’t come to mind as I was writing this.  My apologies!

 

Before logging off for now, I also want to express my deepest appreciation and heartfelt thanks to everyone who has taken this damn pandemic seriously and done and continue to do their part in keeping the number of infected people as low as possible by – among other things – wearing face coverings and maintaining social distance when in public. Thank you! We all want to be out and about. Comfortably!  Places to go, people to see, errands to run!  Getting outside and being among humanity is something we all long for. Not to mention the one-to-one inter-human contact we all miss too.  I remain hopeful that it will all return sooner thanks to all those who are doing their part!

 

To all of you – my deepest gratitude is absolutely essential! Thank you!