“I’m so sorry, the kitchen is closed on Sunday.” Kristin explained with great concern in her voice, the moment I walked in the store. Obviously, I looked hungry. I found a few packaged items that I could call lunch. She rang them up, rounded my total down to skip any change, and we started chatting.

“We all have to take responsibility. We all have to work together. It isn’t about gun control, it’s about people.” The recent spate of murders; unarmed black men killed by police in St. Paul and Baton Rouge followed five police officers in Dallas doesn’t even get referenced. The new round of shootings has eclipsed last week’s Orlando massacre in everyone’s mind.

Kristin’s been working at Capeway Convenience for five years. Four years ago Henry Patel, an immigrant from India, took over the place. “I love working for him. He has great ideas; I learn new stuff every day.”

Kristin has a way of finding the bright side of any situation. She suffers from lupus, has had a series of close friends die of addiction, and her daughter died a few months after she was born. “That put my life in a whole new perspective.” She counters each setback by coming back, stronger. “My parents have been married 54 years. They are my rock.” Last week, another friend died of an overdose, leaving two young daughters. “What is going to happen to them? They are starting life at a disadvantage. The chain doesn’t break.”

“The poorest people on this earth are always the nicest. I work in a convenience store, but when people ask me how I am, I say ‘I’m living the dream.’ I always stay upbeat.”

How will we live tomorrow?

“We all need to sit down and talk. People need to start getting along.”