Main Street Matters
By Michelle Owens - Executive Director, Tybee Island Development Authority/Main Street
In 2021 If the Shoe Fits, Don’t Wear It
Once upon a time, in an office far, far away, we had a co-worker that my cube mate and I secretly dubbed The Giant Shoe of Life.
It never failed, whenever we were having a good time at work, celebrating small victories and laughing at goofy jokes, this co-worker would spoil it
with negativity. Like a giant shoe crashing down on frolicking woodsy creatures, she knew how to kill a happy vibe. Hence the nickname, Giant Shoe
of Life.
If we celebrated a pay raise, she’d inform us it was lower than what other companies gave.
If we were giddy over losing five pounds, she’d tell us people always regain twice as much as they lose.
In her eyes, we were overworked, underpaid and stuck in substandard working conditions. I sometimes wondered if we even inhabited the same
dimension. Things were nowhere near as bad as she saw them.
It got to the point where my cube mate and I would hide our happiness or celebrate in secret. If we heard The Giant Shoe coming down the hall,
we’d snatch up our telephones and become engrossed in fake phone conversations.
So why am I telling you this? Consider it a cautionary tale from someone who has been to the front lines and survived being trapped under the
clunky cleat of negativity. No one wants to be around negative people, yet negativity can be dangerously contagious. We have to work extra hard in the
coming year to avoid the negativity trap.
The year 2020 has been a test of good will and a challenge to positivity. Isolated from loved ones during the holidays, robbed of Taco Tuesdays and
forced to cancel my vegan tour of Ireland (don’t judge), I myself have fought against becoming The Giant Shoe – the very shoe I despised.
It’s hard to face a new year with high hopes and happy thoughts when everything we know and love has been cast into doubt by a stubborn
pandemic. So many things we read and watch right now are deflating. If we’re not careful, that negativity can seep into our attitudes and spread faster
than a foot fungus.
So I’m asking everyone I know to strive extra hard to be kind to one another, to lift up strangers and neighbors in need and be civil to those with
divergent views. Be positive. Count your blessings. Look for
the silver linings of life – not the stinky insoles. The health and
wealth of our families, and even our nation, depends upon it.
If you suddenly find that, every time you enter a room,
people are engrossed in phone conversations, you might be
The Giant Shoe. In 2021, if the shoe fits, don’t wear it! We can
all be better than The Giant Shoe of Life.
In fact, let’s all be The Fluffy Socks of Life instead! When
you encounter cynicism and negativity, wrap it up in warmth
and positivity.
To quote our hometown songwriting extraordinaire Johnny
Mercer:
You’ve got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don’t mess with Mr. In-Between
TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JAN 2021 33
In other words, do not be The Giant Shoe of Life.