Staples: Your Local Community Center

At 7:45 am on December 31st, 2009, I was at my local Staples copy center. For various reasons that are irrelevant here, I had to copy over 100 pages of boring documents about my finances (apologies to the rainforest). I was tired and wet from the morning snowshower.

Here’s what made it better: I decided to ask the nice fellow stocking the manila folder aisle what his New Year’s resolutions were (he said he’d like to hit the gym and go back to school). I also asked the guy running the copy center hub (be the best father he could be), and a man who I think was hanging around to escape the cold (make lots of money).

Then, I asked Susan, who was working the cash register when I went to pay for my manila folders. She hadn’t thought of any resolutions yet, so she asked about mine. I said I’d start the new year by telling my family and friends I loved them. Susan said, “You know, that’s where I’d start too. Since my mother died, my family’s grown apart a little.” Susan teared up. I teared up. We laughed, said 2010 would be a good year, and teared up again. I left Staples with the well-wishes of so many nice people, and they stayed with mine.

I guess it doesn’t take much to make people human. It seems that usually, the shells we wear are thin, and want to be broken. Who wouldn’t jump at the invitation to be heard, acknowledged, and cared about? I knew that pretty well before December 31st, 2009. What amazed me was Staples- the whole store became brighter, more hopeful, more welcoming and people-centered in my mind- because the solidarity of Susan et al. gave me a reason to believe we could all be people first.

I left the store wondering how far “people first” could be pushed in a place like Staples… community gardens? Locally-made products? A free place to do homework? None of these, but still somewhere to count on a nice “hello”? I have no idea. But I will keep on saying hello, because it makes my day a whole lot nicer.

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