Company Blog

The Most Memorable Response

by Adam Zack — May 29, 2019

I thanked him for his service.

Yesterday, May 27, 2019, was Memorial Day. I’ve always been both intrigued and moved by the dedication and sacrifice that the men and women of our armed forces have shown over history. Their selflessness and love of our country has brought me to tears many times during documentaries, films and books. The bravery of putting yourself in harm’s way – and hundreds of thousands of times paying the ultimate price with their life, is unfathomable beyond words.

DW’s blog especially reminded me of that last week. Nearly everyone over 30 years old has been affected by war in some way. At one point in 1945 over 12 million Americans served in the military! I have a store in San Diego, an area of the country with very deep military history and prominent current presence. Like all good independent markets, we offered a discount of 10% (sounds like such a measly discount, I know) to all military, first responders and their families all weekend. Yesterday, I was at the front of the store, helping bag groceries for customers on such a busy day, and a Navy officer in his white uniform came through with his wife. I packed up his groceries and as he was leaving, I thanked him for his service. We have a lot of Navy and Marines customers and it’s typical for at least one of our staff to thank them for their service to America. His response blew me away. “It’s an honor to serve” he said. Wow. It humbled me and left me speechless at the same time. I couldn’t even think of a response. “OK, well you have a great Memorial Day BBQ!” just didn’t seem like it would do it. So I said nothing, and just nodded with respect. It was truly memorable.