The Crushing Finality of Being a Wal-Mart Greeter

In Vin Diesel’s movie xXx, (yes this is likely the first time anyone has ever referenced this movie for anything) Diesel’s character is asked by Augustus Gibbons, played by Samuel L. Jackson, if he's “ever seen lions at the zoo? You can always tell which ones were captured in the wild. They remember running across the planes and the thrill of the hunt. After a while, locked in a cage, the eyes start to glaze over and you can tell that the soul has died.”

One can see a similar expression on the faces of those retired individuals working as greeters at Wal-Mart. Oh, you may first be greeted by a smile, but the smile quickly fades and reality sets in, as this person questions how they have come to this point in their life. Remember, these are individuals that have lived full lives, experienced incredible technological breakthroughs, raised children, witnessed political and economic changes, and served in a myriad of roles over their course of their lifetimes, only to now be standing with a smiley face stamp and a roll of merchandise return stickers. These are members of the “greatest generation” and they have rich stories to tell and are ironically confined to a station that limits interaction to a brief grin or a few polite words. Perhaps on our next trip to the store, rather than walking by dismissively, we can stop for a few moments, put a name with a face and engage in a dialogue with a person who has a story to share.