Stepping Out of Your World

“Veterans report that service dogs help break their isolation.
People will often avert their eyes when they see a wounded veteran.
But when the veteran has a dog, the same people will come up and say,
‘Hi’ to pet the dog and then strike up a conversation.”

— Al Franken

This past week, I stepped out of my world into another one.

After more than two years of the pandemic, I joined a client team of individuals who flew and drove from locations around the U.S. and Europe to convene with thousands of others in one location to robustly celebrate and practice the ritual of the annual international convention for the first time since 2020 when we started to social distance and work virtually.

My two French Bulldogs in their Service Dog coats and I participated in this reunion of people devoted to fire and emergency response. There were moments and big swaths of time when I forgot that all this exuberant greeting might be risky. Instead, like the team of Snap-tite Hose, I was focused on sharing the news of a hose engineered with Kevlar in its skin which can resist burning for vital minutes longer…potentially saving lives. My client dedicated themselves to spreading the good-hose-news through miles of convention hallways, exhibits, and outdoor demonstrations. It was joyful to again be so purposeful and hands-on.

Are you picking up some face-to-face commitments?

How are you preparing for returning to the ways we bring our workforce and customers together to learn new skills, make new relationships, and transact our work in ways other than via a ‘zoom’ meeting?

How’s it working for you?

Safety was always on our minds. We were prepared with COVID home tests, masks, hand sanitizer, and first aid kits. A natural ‘buddy system’ self-organized.

I witnessed a mission-centered, other-person service functioning within the Snap-tite Hose team. I saw the same thoughtful, eyes-up, inclusive greetings from the thousands of individuals who came together bonded by the same common ground of the fire service. None of the polarizing elements of the past years were visible in the enormous bubble of the conference setting.

I hope this attitude continues as all of us return to our day-to-day work.

Today, my dogs and I are tired from walking, talking, the long drive to and from Indianapolis, and working and living off-site for the conference. We carry the warm glow of a renewed confidence that the world is a very small place and filled with good people doing good things.

Part of my physical recovery includes moving slowly, reconnecting with my life and other responsibilities, and reading the Sunday New York Times cover to cover to reconnect with the larger world.

I am now caught up and all the more grateful for what we have and where we live.

Yet one NYT editorial — ‘The Pandemic Exposed Our Empathy Deficit’ — posed a question that sparked my curiosity. Charles M. Blow shared data that suggested the Pandemic is now an Endemic, something we will need to learn to live with forever. This is not new research; however, he cast it with other facts about the impact of the pandemic, good and not-so-good. The numbers for hunger, trauma, and violence are on the rise. In his final paragraph he posed this question:

“An America now plagued by endemic disease faces a real challenge: Will we behave differently and do better, will we care for people rather than cuff them, or will we resort to the response we too often have – of not allowing ourselves to truly register need so that we don’t have to truly contend with it?”

His very heavy observations settled in my chest and head. I had just spent my week observing more people in person than I had seen in the past three years combined. This small, inspiring sample of the world represented various economic classes, regions, generations, ethnicities, races, and genders. So, while I did see some of the wear and tear of the pandemic, what I experienced most strongly was a group of people — many of whom began the experience as strangers — gathered under one metaphorical tent affirming their mutual mission for being in service. We were already facing Mr. Blow’s endemic challenge with great success. And we were enjoying ourselves.

As my two French Bulldogs, Crook and young Minster, and I walked confidently through the crowds — they in their Service Dog jackets and me in my Snap-tite Hose vest and name tag —we were stopped hundreds of times, asked permission to meet the dogs, and take photos. We exchanged stories and I fielded the same question over and over again, “What kind of Service Dogs are they?” I answered that question like this: “They are In Service to Humanity.” I know, it’s a corny response. But if I, as a human, can live up to their standard of what makes a good dog and be in generous service without judgment — as they do day in and day out — I will have worked my mission.

I have just bathed in the company of good people, doing important work with concern for all. Charles M. Blow and your editorial….I say to you:

“We will rise.”

Leslie