A Single Roll of Toilet Paper

Posted on by

My son-in-law went on a toilet paper run yesterday.

That’s nothing out of the ordinary for a brisk spring day in the year of COVID-19

He texted me a photo of the parking lot where he was sitting in his truck before dawn.

Empty grocery store

The supermarket didn’t open until 8 a.m. but he was there before 7.  The parking lot was looking pretty empty, so the chances were good he’d score some rolls and maybe a few extra.  He was psyched and focused on his mission, sure that he’d be successful.

Jason's message

That’s what he wrote to me as he sat in the cold and waited for the store to open.I didn’t hear from him until an hour and fifteen minutes later – fifteen minutes after the official opening of the store.

Question Jason

I wasn’t surprised by his answer.

Nope

I didn’t have time to ask him what happened.  He sent me this photo right away:

People in Line

The size of the crowd didn’t surprise me, but what I questioned was his position in that line. How did a guy who came to the store first end up getting aced out by all those people?  And where did all those people come from, if Jason was there first?  My son-in-law is 6’ 5” and a talented athlete, a consummate competitor.  How did this swarm of old folks (judging by a lot of greying hair there in the photo)  get the top position over my son-in-law?  How come he ended up at the end of the line?

I Let the people go ahead of me

Tears don’t normally fill my eyes when I read texts, but they did now.

Mostly older

More tears. 

I couldn’t write a word to him. 

I was so paralyzed by the abundance of his kindness.

Jason is the original Mr. Good Guy, an educator, a champion for all, with a heart of amazing dimensions, a guy who is loyal, honest, and filled with soul.  In one word, the man is my hero. His superhero powers were at work again and I was stunned into silence.

But what he wrote next gave me pause.

All the people looked like they couldn't do anything

#humanity

My heart hurt for Jason.  Yes, it’s a blow not to be able to get what you need right now, and certainly toilet paper has taken on a whole new importance in our life.  But to lose your hope, your faith in humanity is a loss we cannot afford right now.  We especially can’t have our heros lose it.  Not just Jason, but every health care person who is on the front lines, every grocery store and big box retail worker, every policeman, fire fighter, and yes, every government official, who is still on the job when the rest of us are safely within our sanctuaries known as home; they all have to continue doing what all heroes do, and not lose hope.

This is a reminder for all the Jasons, and everyone doing their best right now, making sacrifices, and still reaching out to help, not only to their families, but to strangers who have never meant anything to them, strangers who stopped being strangers once we saw the hurt, the fear, and the need in their faces that we recognized as our own.  When someone shows you kindness, don’t just pay it forward.  Pay it back to the person who started it.  We need all the heros we can find right now.  And yes, that #humanity should stand for that.  For remembering that we must all be heros right now. 

Even if it means offering a single roll of toilet paper.

And saying thanks to the one who let us go first.

 

 

19 thoughts on “A Single Roll of Toilet Paper”

  1. Wow. Times like this we can appreciate what we do for others… I can relate to something similar. yesterday at 5 points shopping center. car waiting for parking spot and we were on opposite side doing same. however my husband had handicap decall and the person told my husband to take his parking… nice gesture ❤️

    Like

    Reply ↓

  2. Thanks for posting this, Sis. During this challenging period we should never forget our humanity and what should unite and define us as a civilization.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  4. Niiiice, Darlene. The best part, actually, is just seeing your name in my inbox and being reminded of you, which gave me a very warm feeling and big smile. You and your private world be safe, at peace, and ever-wiser! xoxo

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  7. Hello Darlene, Thank you for your story. I enjoyed reading it. Thank you to your wonderful son Yes I would give him a couple of rolls of TP. and more. A lot of kindness out there. in a time of need. God Bless. B.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  8. A great story,though a sad one, Darlene. Thank you. One must hope that the pandemic and climate change will shake everybody, including world leaders, into giving a lot more thought to others everywhere: to the future, indeed, of the planet and human existence which are under grave threat.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • I always enjoy your responses to my posts, Yasseen. And I find them especially important because they offer a point of view from someone who lives in another part of our world. We are all connected right now, my friend, through this horrible virus. On the positive side, my hope is that all of our countries grow closer with the realization that our common connection is our human vulnerability and our survival.

      Like

      Reply ↓

  9. What a lovely and kind response to this crisis. This simple yet important act of kindness should be an example we should all attempt to follow and respect. We can win the fight over corona virus by acting as a whole and being respectful and aware of one another. Yet another brilliant post, and an important message portrayed.😊

    Like

    Reply ↓

Let's keep the conversation going...

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s