An Open Letter to the Man at the Firestone Store

Dear Sir, 6/10/20

I watched you approach the seating area and I waited to see where you would choose to land. You weren’t wearing a mask.

There were many (at least a dozen) seats available, yet you chose to sit about 6 feet away from me. I was wearing a mask.

Almost immediately after sitting down, you stood and walked to the service counter. I moved to a different seat (about 15’ away from yours).

During the next 20 minutes or so I saw you:

Set up your laptop on a small table. 

Move your jacket over to a chair by the table. 

Try 2 different plugs for your power cord.

Approach employees at the store and ask them about the WiFi password.

Set your laptop on a counter at the center of the store.

Sit down in yet another chair and talk on your cell phone.

Your phone conversation was not discreet. It was held in the waiting room of a business open to the public. You told someone that you “tested positive but I don’t have any symptoms”. You told someone that you “have to work from my hotel room for 14 days to satisfy my employer.”  I heard these things. I also heard that your hotel smoke detector chirped all night and you are being moved to another room.

When the manager brought me my paperwork, I told the manager what I'd heard. I told him I’d have to leave my car and come back later because I couldn’t take a chance and wait in a room with an unmasked person who stated he tested positive. I told the manager, “Good luck with that.”

The manager immediately asked you about it. He directly asked you if you’d tested positive.

You said. “No, I don’t have Covid 19. You need to mind your own business.” You and I both know what you said on the phone. It’s absolutely my business. It's also the business of every person you interacted with this morning.

Oh, sir. I sincerely hope you remain symptom-free. I sincerely hope you don’t have to go through the terrifying experience of becoming breathless. I sincerely hope you don’t have to be placed on a ventilator and I sincerely hope you don’t die from COVID19.

I hope even more that you don’t infect someone. I hope that their family members don’t have to go through the pain of losing a loved one. I hope you don’t cause someone to become so sick they lose months and months of time and are unable to work at all. 

Most of all I hope you (somehow, someway) felt a tiny bit of awareness during our uncomfortable encounter this morning. I hope you are led to responsible behavior regarding your fellow human beings.

Most Sincerely,  Michelle Scofield, Houston, TX

Real Life Application of CrossFit Theory for a Grandma Who Lifts

Why do I CrossFit?

Let's use today as an example.

I completed my appointment at the World's Largest Medical Center and made my way to my car. Earlier this morning, I parked on the 6th floor - toward the top of the parking structure. At 8:30 am, I had my pick of spaces and there weren't a lot of cars on that floor. By 10:00 am, the place was jam-packed. As I approached my space, I realized I had a problem.  Although my car was easily between MY two yellow lines, a big ol' red extended cab pickup was parked just inches (maybe 2? maybe 3?) from my driver's side. He was angled over the line and into my space. A sedan was on the passenger side, also over the line and into my space.

Well, shit.

I took a minute to assess the situation and, happily, looked up to see a security vehicle making the rounds. I flagged the officer who got out and he immediately started shaking his head.  "Yeah, that's not good."

I had to laugh at the way he summed it up.  He called the Texas Medical Center police switchboard who said the Parking Department would have to handle it. He jotted down a phone number for me and went on his way.

Again. Shit.

I tried to call the parking department but the number I was given wasn't in service.

Big breath. Oh, look! Here comes a TMC police cruiser.  The police officer stops, gets out of his vehicle and asks me if I'm a good driver. Hell, yeah. I'm a good driver! I told him I used to drive an ambulance in Kansas - sometimes in the snow. "Great! You can do this!"

Let's talk functional fitness here. And heart rate control. And following direction. And trust. And teamwork.

We folded up the mirrors of my car and the car to my right. That left a sliver for me to eek through but I had to do a squatting/limbo kind of move to even enter and THEN I had to balance on my right foot while I wiggled my way in to get a foothold on the floor of the passenger side. Once there, I only had to crawl over the console to get into the driver's seat. Whew!

I was kind of wound up by then. I needed to be calm and listen.

Windows down so I could hear instructions. Deep breath. Concentrate.

Inch by inch, we worked together to get the damned thing out of that parking spot. He gave me corrections, I made them. When I finally got clear (without a scratch to any of the cars), we cheered together.

This entire episode literally mirrors my White Board and WOD experience every time I go to the gym.  Gather information, pay attention to the details, trust in the coach, listen and make adjustments as needed, celebrate achievement.

Seriously, celebrate your damned achievements! Life is too challenging and too full of possible disappointments not to cheer when you can.