(U.S. Army photo by Patricia Deal)
The term “unsung heroes” usually refers to those individuals across the globe who strive to make the world a better place. Regardless of their station in life, their selfless goal is to help others, sometimes at major cost to their own safety.
Take, for example, our healthcare workers, supermarket and home improvement store staff, delivery employees, postal workers and those who continue to work in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Even the skeleton staff that has put together this paper strives to work diligently in the face of adversity. I’ve said it in previous columns, and I will say it again now: Thank you all for your service to our community and this planet. You are the superstars, the warriors, the true heroes that battle on the front lines for all of us and we appreciate every one of you.
There’s an adorable commercial for a delivery service that features a young girl and a delivery person for a well-known corporation. This adorable child created a rainbow out of her set of chalks, with the phrase “Thank you” scrawled neatly beside it. The delivery person appeared grateful for the message and offered the young girl a beautiful smile. That’s what it’s all about, folks: Bestowing a bit of gratitude on your fellow man helps the world go ‘round.
MojoRocks of Long Island, a group that paints everyday rocks and places them around areas of Long Island, began to offer inspirational messages upon their offerings. A member of the group painted more than 10 stones with messages like, “Keep the Faith” and “Hang in There” to help those who are struggling with self-isolation. This is the power of the human heart that keeps us all hopeful for a brighter tomorrow.
A local mom invited me to join a wonderful group called “Levittown Angels” on Facebook. The group, which is presently at upwards of 2,400 members, recently delivered almost $5,000 worth of food to the Wisdom Lane Food Pantry in Levittown. Seven vehicles filled with loving community members dropped off the food, masks donned, to help those who are suffering the most. Love in action, folks. There’s no other way to say it. As Mother Theresa said, “Do small things with great love.”
There’s another group of unsung heroes out there, besides those mentioned previously, that rarely gets thanked, yet they are always there to keep us healthy and strong. These are the pharmacy members of your local stores, from Smith’s Pharmacy to Walgreens to CVS. These folks work tirelessly to fill prescriptions, offer express pickup services, and send out your medications and essentials to your home without complaint. To these heroes, especially the ones that I’m about to mention, I want to extend a special thank-you.
As anyone who frequents the CVS on South Oyster Bay Road in Plainview knows, Catherine is one of the pharmacists behind the counter. She’s always got a smile on her face, even when she appears to be wiped out. She and her fellow pharmacists have pulled double duty during the fall and winter months to fill prescriptions and administer flu vaccines. It’s not an easy job, but the pharmacists at this store make it look effortless. Pharmacy technicians are also quite helpful and try to get to know their clients. To all of you, I offer my sincere thanks. I won’t mention names because I might leave one out. But you know who you are.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention something that happened today that is the true inspiration for today’s column. Her name is Marcella, and she was able to assist me after my CVS app crashed and burned on my phone and I spent more than two hours on the phone with my bank. I explained that I wished to have my husband’s prescription delivered, but there was no way for me to cancel a mistake I’d made when I’d inadvertently neglected to click the “delivery” option. Because of immunosuppression, I was not able to pick up the prescription in the store. I explained the situation to Marcella, who helped to delete the order from the register directly. I was then able to re-order my husband’s medication with the delivery option, all without having to reinstall the app. Thank you so much, Marcella.
I wish I had more time and space to thank each “unsung hero” of our community, but that’s almost impossible. That said, I would like to extend a huge thank you to all of you, for you make the world a brighter place. You shine, and by doing so, you inspire all of us to shine along with you. Together, we radiate to even the darkest places to offer hope to a weary humanity.
Patty Servidio is an Anton Media Group columnist.
