Some deleterious affects of working here

I know the big question is, Am I happy at my job? Well, I’m not touching that one! I admit there are some aspects of this job that I like, but I have been thinking lately about some of the deleterious affects of this job. Here are just a few. And I’ll start right at the top.

Holidays 
I have worked every holiday in the year. Every single, blessed one. As you might expect, Thanksgiving and Christmas are very busy seasons. But surprisingly, so is Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day. Folks in Rock Hill drink more beer on these four days than any others. Well, and any other three day weekend!

But to get back to my point. Working here has had a adverse impact on the holidays for me. How? Nearly all the joy and anticipation related to the holidays has been sucked right out of me. They are now simply times of extreme busyness. Herds of rushed people. That alone is stressful. Add to this the innumerable horde of people who are out to get as drunk as possible. I confess, I now look forward to holidays less and less.

Alcohol
As I mentioned earlier, Rock Hillians view every holiday as an opportunity to get drunk. Totally wasted. Every three day weekend. Add to this the normal weekend drinking. And folks around here start seriously drinking on Thursday nights. I don’t mind alcohol per se but, I confess, I’m sick of it. And of drunk people.

$20 bills
I know, this is strange. I used to think that the most common bill in the US of A was the one dollar bill. Wrong. We take in more twenties than any other bill. People pay for everything with a twenty. Seriously, they commonly buy a 75¢ newspaper with a twenty dollar bill. They are real open about it, they just want change. Same with hundreds. Drives me crazy. I hate it when they treat me like a bank. Why don’t they just go to the bank? Can’t tell you how often someone comes in and all they want is change for a twenty.

People
I deal with drunk people, angry people, unfriendly people, and just plain rude people. Not everyone, but enough. There are nice people. People I have met that I talk with every night. Even made a friend or two. There are many people who I can tell are hurting and I try to minister to them. But I also see a lot of folks who are, sorry to say, graceless. It is incredible and distressing. They are altogether profane and vulgar. I confess, it creates a cynical heart. And when I think about the police – they deal with a much worse clientele. They allow that we probably see the same people, only they see them at their worst. And do you realize, nobody is happy to see the police? What people we have! I confess, sometimes I struggle with this thought, “God really loves everybody?”


Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another. This my confession. Now you know how to pray for me.