I had the best job in the
world this December. I made 50 people laugh and then start to cry.
Some looked at me as if I were crazy, while others hugged me tight.
I was a “Mystery Shopper” in Montrose, population 13,000, in
western Colorado, who “caught” people shopping in local stores and
gave them $50 to spend as they wished. The fun was sponsored by the
Montrose Chamber of Commerce, so the folks I chose had to spend the
windfall in town.
Two older women, who were caressing
plaid wool shirts and fingering leather hats, giggled when I
presented the checks to them. A 7-year-old boy’s eyes widened, and
his mom gasped, when he received his reward for shopping locally.
Now he could afford the electronic game that he wanted for his
older sister.( I guessed of course, that he expected her to share
with him.) We had nearly a foot of snow the day I caught two men
buying jeans. Gustavo didn’t speak English, but Tomo told him of
their good fortune. He handed the checks to the clerk and said he
was sure they would spend the limit right there.
Down the
road, in the new shopping center (the first for my town), I was
surprised to find that the shopper I caught was a former student. I
didn’t recognize her. It had been over 20 years since she’d been in
my seventh grade English class. In the super-center next door, I
found a family of five, the two youngest riding in the cart. They
were looking for snow boots. The mom said the $50 made a big
difference for them that day.
I met Bobby at the pet
store. Dressed in camouflage and in a hurry to catch his plane, he
stopped to find a travel cage for his dog. In his soft Tennessee
accent, he apologized for not being able to be in town for the big
drawing, where one of the 50 folks I surprised with $50 would win
$1,000, if present that Saturday when the name would be drawn.
In the downtown bookstore, I caught the lady who
volunteers at our Ute Indian Museum. That earned me a hug. Another
great hug, accompanied by a few tears, came from a
shopping-stressed woman in a popular gift and lunch venue. She said
she had never won anything before in her life. I was glad to be
able to end her luckless drought.
The best embrace of
them all was the one I received from Betty. She had just sent the
clerk back to the shelves with the beautiful stained glass vase she
cherished, but could not afford. With checks in hand, Betty
recalled the clerk, and the three of us had a great big hug.
During my two weeks as the Mystery Shopper I reconnected
with former students who were clerks or customers, and caught up
with what was happening in their lives. I gave families the chance
to choose among their competing imperatives: groceries or shoes,
toys or coats. I was the vessel for their opportunity, but I
received way more than I gave. They shared their dreams, their love
for others, their sacrifices, with me, a stranger to most of them.
I had the best job in the world.
Carol
McDermott is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of
High Country News in Paonia, Colorado (hcn.org).
She lives in Montrose, Colorado, and works as a freelance writer
for several area newspapers.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
