Reno’s Story
Reno is a friend who stops by to say hello nearly every morning, as I contemplate my computer screen at Starbucks. A bit of small talk is exchanged and sometimes a good story.
Reno with a wry smile and irony in his voice told me of an experience on the job yesterday. He works for a delivery service which transports perishable products to supermarkets in the area. He told of a verbal exchange between himself and a coworker as they moved boxes, unloading a delivery vehicle at a customers place of business. Reno supplemented his description of a tall, muscular male co-worker by pointing out a fit gentleman dressed in military fatigues a short distance from us. Reno said that his co-worker as a matter of fact expected everyone around him to match his level of output, number of boxes stacked and rate of transfer. This was expressed by a surly attitude and snarky comment directed at Rene. Reno’s response was to say “That is not going to happen. And the hyper rate of work actually puts product at risk, if a box is dropped.”
I listened and admired the steady strength with which my friend addressed the problem between himself and a coworker who was likely younger, stronger, and ego driven. I’ve known Reno for a few months. From many past conversations with him, I’d say that he responded from the totality of who he is as a person, at this juncture in his life. He is no less than the accumulation of decisions, the responses that he has made to the litany of challenges presented by his upbringing, and his life as an adult. Reno’s response to the unreasonable expectations of another could have gone in another direction. That was up to Reno. His exercise of freedom struck me as a example of our freedom to chose the manner of being we are to become.
The telling of the story, brings to light in objective form the subjective choice by which each living person makes himself a person; that is makes known to himself what he is. …..a choice of being is expressed in his behavior. –Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialist Psychoanalysis
3 thoughts on “Reno’s Story”
I suppose I would call this “hope”. Hope for an individual’s emerging self-confidence based on reality as compared to machismo. I understand this is but one example of the billions of human to human exchanges that take place each day around the world. Yet we need to find our hope wherever we can, in whatever dosage we can, for it seems to be a diminishing commodity.
Yes! I search for hope and beauty wherever I happen to find myself. I am surprised over and over…. like a candle flame against the darkness.
There is always someone next in line claiming better, faster, cheaper. Often they are telling the truth. Behind them are the immigrants, providing someone to blame. Behind them the Robots.
“So it goes.”