Kindness is a particularly valuable commodity at present.
We're seeing plenty of examples of this in the Hunter, as people seek to ease the pandemic pain.
Neighbours are helping neighbours, friends are helping friends, family is helping family.
One group of people who could especially use some kindness are supermarket workers. They've been doing the hard yards on the front line of the pandemic.
From what we hear, they continue to cop a lot of aggression and negativity from rude and obnoxious people.
Some supermarket workers have been yelled at, spat at and coughed on. Others have faced customers behaving in a confrontational and abusive manner and making unreasonable demands.
The workers have had to cop the stress of the masses, amid panic buying, hoarding and selfishness.
Some people seem to think that complaints should be directed to individual supermarket workers, as if they somehow hold the levers to company decisions.
It'd be nice if some of the kindness that's emerged in the pandemic could be directed towards supermarket workers.
We read in the Sydney Morning Herald's Good Weekend section about Catherine Barrett creating a Facebook page called The Kindness Pandemic.
One person posted that they bought a Twirl at a supermarket and gave it to a worker, who broke down in tears.
"You've spent $2.50 and you've transformed that person's experience and reality," Dr Barrett said.
Topics is urging people to do something nice for a supermarket worker in the Hunter. If you do, let us know at topics@newcastleherald.com.au.
Non-Viral Jokes
Adamstown Heights' Glen Fredericks - who runs the Facebook page Premium Dad Jokes - has shared some more of his humour.
Today's jokes come with a music theme.
"I had to throw away my Bonnie Tyler sat-nav. It just keeps telling me to turn around, and every now and then it falls apart."
"My wife told me to stop singing Wonderwall to her. I said maybe."
"I asked Freddie Mercury 'how many cakes are you preparing?' Freddie said, 'I want to bake three'."
"I went to the doctor and he diagnosed me with Tom Jones fever. I asked if it was rare and he said it's not unusual."
"Building the city on rock and roll was probably the wrong move from an engineering perspective."
Magistrate: "I find the defendant guilty of driving everyone crazy by singing Elton John non-stop."
Lawyer: "What's the sentence, your honour?"
Magistrate: "I'm not sure yet, but I think it's gonna be a long, long time."
"When my wife said she'd divorce me over my obsession with The Monkees, I thought she was joking. Then I saw her face."
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