An Unexpected Response

I’m sure I’ve said here before that I love my job. I work with a small group of folks who also love their jobs. I know it’s a cliché, but we truly do feel like family. We know each other well, share our joys and sorrows, get together outside of “work” from time to time. A lot of this comes from having a “boss” who treats us like valuable human beings. What a concept.

And, I usually walk, through a pretty field, in weather that is never truly cold or terribly hot, to a store that smells like incense and candles and is full of books. Doesn’t get much better than that.

From time to time, we get people asking us if we are hiring. Some people, after wandering around the store, ask as they are checking out, almost as an aside, if we have any openings. They tell us that working in a bookstore seems like a satisfying way to spend some time. This is true. It is.

Young people come in, mostly looking for their summer jobs. I will say here that I truly appreciate the ones who bother to put clothes on before they walk through the door.  Ack! My age is showing.

Our response to all of these inquiries is, “One of us will have to die first.”

 Ha! That really is what we say. People of a certain age get it and laugh with us. Younger people tend to look at us with shock. And then I have to wonder what is going through the brains behind those startled eyes. Are they thinking, looking at our older faces and gray (or grayish) hair, “Hum…maybe I won’t have to wait too long.” Or are they thinking, “I don’t want this job bad enough to wish anyone’s death. Besides, I wasn’t planning on staying past August anyway.”

“One of us will have to die first.” Pretty funny, we think. Maybe a bit cruel. And…possibly actually true!