There's Got to be a Better Way!

It was a blustery winter day. The snow whipped past my face as I opened the heavy door into a small waiting area cramped with people. I gripped my cable bill in one hand, and tugged at my purse to keep it up on my shoulder. I remember thinking, "why me?!" as I took my place in line, 9 months pregnant with my second child.

About 10 minutes passed. I had been eavesdropping on conversations between other customers as I continued to pout. One lady chatted about where she'd gotten her nails done. A man griped about the economy, and in particular how difficult it was to keep a household going in Flint. A woman behind me texted on her cell phone meticulously, as though her life depended on the exchange. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a short, older man trying to make his way up the slippery walkway into the building, hunched over his walker and gritting his teeth. He was hell bent on doing this on his own, and waved away a young man that offered to help him just outside of the door. From further up in the line - which had begun looping around the room like a snake - a tall African-American man with a booming voice said out loud exactly what we had all been thinking: "There's got to be a better way!"

For some reason, this man's words have stuck with me. When people conflict, when decisions are made hastily, when worry begins to set in... I try to remember the promise that I made to myself about never contributing to a mess such as that. If there's got to be a better way, then we should all be committed to finding it.

MWM Turns 30