NO EXPRESS LINE NEEDED: "Sometimes what you need and want are the same thing, and they are wrapped in coincidence. Then you end up in a grocery store during a pandemic. It's there you witness the raw nerve of humanity.".

• Author: Kaat, Adam
• Position: LIFE IN AMERICA - Excerpt from "Life on the Grocery Line: A Frontline Experience in a Global Pandemic"

A WOMAN with salt-and-pepper hair and deep-brown eyes is next in line. Before I can ask my typical questions, she grabs my hand. I pull back and try to shake away and remind her of social distancing. She leans in and says, "One day, you will look back on this time in life and smile--2020 is as tragic and magnificent in direct proportion to any previous year recorded by humans. It just feels worse because we are wired in but less present in the moment. Do you know what I mean?"

Ma'am, please let go of...

"Maybe on that day, you will realize you were a hero to me and my family. Everyone is so darned scared, and you're here. Underpaid and here--and I understand that you have to be here to pay the bills, but don't pretend the circumstance allows you to forgo proper acclaim. There are so many options in this world, but you chose to be here. I'm sure if you put in the effort, you could find some way to get out of the crappy work. Maybe I'm being shortsighted, but does it really matter? You are here by choice and locked in by chance. I really appreciate it."

She pauses a moment, then continues: "Most people will live their entire lives without anyone telling them that the work they do is essential. Almost everyone's job goes unnoticed for their entire lifetime. Do you foresee dental hygienists being referenced as heroes? I guess anything is possible, because we didn't see grocery store employees as important before, but I can't imagine a scenario where marketing professionals are on the frontlines of a virus. That says something profound about this moment in your life. You told me last week that you woke up after binging your whole life on someone else's dream."

"I told you a week ago?" I say, confused because I've never met her.

You don't want what they want. In fact, I bet you feel a drift in your life. You spend your 20s getting messed up on existential questions and alcohol, and now that you are in your 30s and you have the rutter in control, you need to find a direction. You are looking for something different. Well, you found it. Sometimes what you need and want are the same thing, and they are wrapped in coincidence. Then you end up in a grocery store during a pandemic. It's there you witness the raw nerve of humanity. It's overwhelming, but it's also simple on its face. This was always going to happen. It was inevitable. You might not know it now, but being a hero isn't about people running into buildings and carrying babies out. No, it...