Step 1 Part 3: Wait, You Went To Graham
I know that I just made a very big deal about quitting Kroger so it feels a little weird to write this installment, but it is oh so necessary. While I haven't mentioned this there are actually two Kroger grocery stores in Clintonville where I live. One of them is just a Kroger and the other is a Kroger Marketplace. Kroger Marketplaces are the Kroger Corporation’s equivalent of the Target Corporation’s Super Target (it's just a bigger store). I worked at the Kroger Marketplace.
One night in early September of 2021, I went to work my Kroger shift. Almost as soon as I clocked in, I was called to the service desk. One of my bosses told me to help a new co-worker who has Down Syndrome with “go-backs,” which is when you take items that were either forgotten or were not wanted and put them back on the shelves. I was never good at go-backs, but I was excited to make a new friend.
The co-worker's name was Shane and we immediately started bonding over our respective disabilities. When I felt like I had gotten to know him a little bit, I asked how long he had been working at the store. He told me that a few months before he had started working at the other Kroger in Clintonville, but then they cut his hours, so he came to the Kroger Marketplace at the end of August.
A couple of weeks passed and while I was working another Kroger shift, the same boss told Shane and I to go out on carts. When we had collected a few carts, we started talking before pushing them in. Mom and Dad coincidentally came to the store and when he saw us, Dad jokingly told us to get to work. As soon as I told Shane that they were my parents, he struck up a conversation with Dad as we all entered the store. Mom and Dad went to start shopping and Shane and I went back outside.
“So as I was saying…” I asked, “do you like this Kroger better than your old one?”
“It's about the same, but I have a few friends here,” Shane replied.
“Oh, who do you know?” I asked.
“Well, I went to high school with Connor Woodland.” He answered.
“Wait…You went to Graham with ‘Woody’?” I exclaimed.
Now Woody had worked at Kroger for two years before I even got the job. As I was getting to know him he told me that he got his nickname in high school, for his last name and the Toy Story character. I asked him what school he went to, and Woody said The Graham School. This is important because I also went to Graham. I came in as a freshman the school year after Woody and Shane graduated. Shane and I started talking about our respective times at Graham, and that was the beginning of our friendship.
To Be Continued…
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