I like to believe that I'm someone who listens to the universe, my God-whisper or my tummy. Whatever you want to refer to "that" feeling as, I'm someone who listens to said rumblings and realizes that a choice is being offered to me and I can make of it what I can in the hopes that I will find myself heading toward a desired direction......got it? Well. That's what this "Tuesday with Pookie" was all about.
I had been asked by the owners of the pet boutique that I call home, Wednesday-Sunday, as the Sales Manager to represent them during their absence at a public hearing at San Francisco's City Hall regarding the matter of big box pet store hoping to open a second location within the city limits of San Francisco. Mind you that this pet store also happens to be a local boy done good and now happens to also be the 8th largest Pet retailer in the good ole U.S. of A. My internal struggle going into this was that I wasn't necessarily invested in this "good" fight. I had nothing at stake...other than a decrease in customers coming in to buy their dog a 15 lb. bag of dog food. I was being asked to get up and speak in front of San Francisco's decision makers about my plea to stop the big box from building another big box. In turns. I was creating a Big Box Block. That's right. BIG. BOX. BLOCK.....
I needed to find my voice to speak the Owner's feelings and searched deep and mustered up a rumble and listened...........................................
Nothing.
..............................................................................................................................................somethi.........nope.
Nothing.
....Wait! Michael Moore's latest docu-expose-satire-mentary "Capitalism: A Love Story" was coming on right after my early morning workout. What better way to find inspiration than through Michael Moore's lens? This film deals with exactly what the title states, the American and now Global idea of wealth and what we'll do to attain it. What I personally took from this film helped me to find my own voice for the fight that I had been hired into. I came away with the realization that we all deserve the right to achieve infinite success as long as we leave enough room for everyone else to have the same chance. Impossible. You say? I'd like to think not.
There I was, hopping on BART with my gal pal, Shanni on our way to City Hall to meet Pookie to show our support of small business owners and to be my pillars for when I took the stand to garble out my plea to the Supervisors of San Francisco. We made our way into this world famous structure that has played host to so many happenings that we wouldn't even know where to start to name them. This was my first time within these confines and I was in complete awe of how the light came in from the rotunda playing off the marble which covers nearly every surface in the main foyer. After fumbling for a few moments we found our way to the room where the public hearing was being held and settled in for a journey into democracy.....or whatever it's become now-a-days...
Three hours later we walked away more enlightened about city politics and when does achieving the American dream become being the bully on the block? In today's case, the big box guys walked away with a green light, per se. The ability to go forth with what will surely be a very nice store that would create a few more jobs than a small business owner could afford, but to pretend that such stores do not affect the overall sales of smaller businesses then I'd like to talk to you about some property in a swamp.
Everyone on the side of the small businesses who worked tirelessly to spread the word about their plight and the loss of their slice of the pie should this larger retailer be given the green light to open a third store in a city of less than a million citizens and a square mileage of seven miles by seven miles. Plus, they'll also have the advantage of a parking lot which will incentivize many new and loyal customers to roll up and buy their 15lb. bag of dog food..which of course will be price matched, plus a 10% discount on top of that. So, of course the owners and their fellow comrades in arms are dejected but I believe energized to work even harder to retain a loyal customership while continually building their own American dreams. Be they larger than life to a single store front.
I am glad that I was given this opportunity to take a walk in someone else's shoes and to speak up for them in their absence. It was humbling to even be asked and the experience impassioned me with a renewed sense in self...not to sound all hokey and stuff, but sometimes all it takes is someone else's perspective to help you see the blind spots in your own. I'd love to say that I believe with all of my heart that as a species we can lift one another up so as to create an ideal world free of hate, crime, poverty, and blah and blah blah blah...and that stuff. I do believe that I really want to live my life that way, but realize that I have hurdles. Just like you do. And you, too...
You were there, too...
yeah...
So...be good to one another. Find tolerance within every situation until it stops becoming about tolerance and more about learning from and creating an experience...
yep. Michael Moore taught me all of this..
