Heroes among us
WALLY WAUGH
GROCERY-STORE CLERK
Oyster Bay, N.Y.
I’m very proud to be a grocery-store worker. I’ve been doing it for 35 years. I always knew grocery-store workers would be essential if there was ever a war or some type of weather-related incident, but a pandemic? Never. I never expected this.
The first week, when people were panic buying, it felt like a war zone in our store. We were scrambling to get people in place. We didn’t have gloves, masks or anything. People were on top of each other. Customers were complaining, upset there was no toilet paper or paper towels. “Where’s the milk?” “Where are the eggs?”
I was wound tight all the time. I was trying to portray calmness. But inside, I wasn’t calm. It was turmoil. We were working 15-hour days, but we had to, because people still have to eat. We need to make sure they have food.
One of the things that keeps me going is the elderly people who come into the store. Your heart goes out to them. I’m the caregiver to my 86-year-old mom, and my primary concern is infecting her, since she has underlying conditions. This disease would be a death sentence for her. It’s in the back of my mind all the time. Every Wednesday, I do her laundry. Today, when I went grocery shopping for her, I felt nervous walking into the store.
When I get home, I literally undress in the garage, go straight to shower, and wash my clothes every day. My wife is like the general. She makes sure things are disinfected. When I see these doctors and other frontline workers, I can’t put myself on that plane. I don’t see myself as a hero. I see myself doing a job that’s
