Connections

On August 16, 2024, 60 year old Dolores Prudhomme clocked in to her job at a Wells Fargo Office at 7 a.m. on Friday morning in Tempe, Arixona.

She was found dead at her desk the following tuesday. 4 days later.

In that 4 days, no one noticed. No one noticed that she had clocked in and not clocked out. No one came to clean her floor or empty her trash. No one stopped by her desk to tell her hello, or goodbye, or have a nice weekend, or to ask her how her weekend was. No one has come forward to say, “I wondered where she was.” No one has come forward to say they noticed that she seemed to be missing, or that she hadn’t come home and they were worried. Coworkers say they noticed that something smelled bad, but thought it was bad plumming.

Bad Plumming.

Disregarding what kind of a work environment leads to a person thinking that the smell of decaying flesh is the plumbing in the building…….how? How do we become so disconnected?

I had a neighbor once, who I would talk to almost every day while we were standing out on our respective patios. One weekend he wasn’t around. His name was David. David was a home-body, he never went anywhere. At the end of the weekend, just when we were getting worried, his sister had evidently called the local police force to do a welfare check. They did—David had passed away, probably 3 days earlier. It was sad, and I felt bad. But at least David had people in his life that noticed he was missing.

How do we get so disconnted? Are we all so busy, so entrenched in our own lives, our own jobs, our own realities, that we can’t take time out of our days to say hello, pass a few minutes or the time of day? I blame the decline of the front proch. Seriously. Where people would sit in front of their homes and talk to people walking by. When people would be aware and concerned about their neighbors, even if they weren’t the best of friends.

I feel like this disconnection is at the heart of what’s wrong with our world today. We see our own point of view and forget to listen to anyone else’s, we don’t see our kids and what they are going through, we don’t hear our coworkers. We are always so busy, we forget to take time. Time away from our phones. Time to notice. Time to chat. Time to listen. Time to laugh. It’s ok to take time to read a book, play a game, go on a picnic, go for a walk, enjoy a song, or just stand and look at the stars. Together. With someone. It can last for a lifetime or just for a moment or anytime in between. Take time, to find joy in that connection.

Oh, I know I am oversimplifying. We are more divided as a country thatn I ever remember being. People are more concerned with being right, we can’t close our mouths and listen. This isolation, it isn’t right, it isn’t healthy. We are meant to live in community, not alone. It doesn’t have to be a large community. It could be a small family of three, a small office of three, or a small circle of friends.

Take the time. Check on your coworkers. Text your parents, spouse, family. Call someone. Visit your neighbors. Just to say hi, how are you doing. You never know whose day you can brighten. Make a conncetion.

Before it’s too late.

Peace,

Kathie