In
the evenings, I work on the sales floor in a retail store. Phone calls asking
for information occur regularly. Most of these callers ask if we carry a
certain product or have any on hand. Not all calls are the same.
The
call happened about three years ago. I was straightening the shelves in my
department when a phone call came for the health care section. I answered the
call since this is a portion of my area.
The
caller wanted to speak to the pharmacist, but the pharmacy closed earlier. The
caller decided to see if I could assist. The caller asked me what she could put
on her “itching crotch”. I informed her that I was not a pharmacist nor
medically trained and could not offer an opinion. I would have thought that she
would have stopped there and called an open pharmacy, but she persisted.
With
a sense of urgency, she said her crotch itched so badly that it was on fire.
She demanded that I give her the name of something that she could use to soothe
the burning. I informed her once again that the pharmacy closed and would
reopen the following morning.
“You
do not understand how much my crotch itches; it burns so bad I cannot take it.”
Without exaggeration, she repeated these words no less than six or seven times.
She finally understood that I would not offer any medical advice and told me
she would call back in the morning. She informed me, “I should be okay by then,
and I have my son putting Aloe Vera on it for now.”
Not
much surprises me; however, this last statement caught me completely off guard.
You can never be positive about the person on the other end of a call. The
voice did not seem to be an elderly person. The woman sounded to be an adult
younger than middle age. I immediately felt bad for the child given this task.
I
thought this must have been a joke a coworker was playing on me. After telling
this story a multitude of time, no one has taken credit. I must assume the call
was real.
I
hope this woman received comfort. I hope this did not scar the child for life.
There
are people in this world that have problems. They may not be physical problems.
Some of these problems are messy. Sometimes people do not have others to “rub Aloe
Vera” on them.
It
takes a lot of love to help someone with his or her problems. We may try to
dodge assisting because we are not trained professionals, but we can do
something for them even if it is just taking time to listen.
Do
not be afraid to get your hands dirty. Be there for people. It takes love and
compassion. Treat others, as you want to be treated. Who knows? Maybe one day
you will need help with a fiery crotch type of problem.
