By the way

And so here we are, already in the middle of the longest month on the calendar.

For many people January is the “morning after the night before”-month with bank balances deep in the red and all the little plastic devils in the wallets stretched to the limit.

Fear not if you find yourself carrying a few extra kilos around the midriff or on the hips after over-indulging in the festive eating spree. Figuring out how to pay off the credit cards will soon have you shedding the weight!

One of the tasks I did during the Christmas break (when I was supposed to be on leave, but couldn’t switch off completely because I love my job) was to visit those good people who man the stations in the essential services sector on Christmas Day. Instead of spending the special day with their families, they are at their posts to serve and protect us, the public.

Unfortunately time did not allow me to visit all the places I would have liked to because, yes, I wanted to be with my family, but what a pleasant task it turned out to be.

At the places I visited the folks were smiling, friendly and in good spirits. No grumpiness about having to work on Christmas Day. Nursing staff at Mediclinic Ermelo, the Msukaligwa Fire and Rescue staff, the staff on duty at the SA Police Service Centre and the staff at Acsu were all cheerful and jolly.

This all got me thinking that we really need to respect and appreciate all the dedicated people who perform their duties in all spheres of the essential services sector, not only at Christmas time but all year round.

The long hours they work, day after day, and night after night are bound to sap their energy at some stage or another. So, instead of us criticising them and generalising, let us be friendly and drop a kind word now and then or pay them a compliment.

A kind word, a smile or a compliment often goes a long way to creating good relations between the public and those who deal with the public.

Even when the person behind the counter does not look one in the eye or greet us when serving us, let us be the first to greet them and smile. Most of the time this will lead to better and friendlier service. If the greeting or smile is not returned, wel,l then we’ve done our bit.

To quote my grandmother: “Happiness is like perfume. You can’t spread it on others without getting a few drops on yourself.”

Gerald