"Essential" Personnel

A Gut Check

I remember the first time that I realized that I fell into the category of “essential personnel”. It was a Nor’Easter that dumped an impressive amount of snow on the City of Boston. The idea of canceling classes was outlandish back in the early 90’s, but here we were. The University was going to have its first snow day in over a decade, and the campus was ready to frolic. My supervisor gave me a phone call on a landline (how quaint!) giving me instructions as to my role during the snow closure. I was told that all “essential” personnel should come to the office, keep things operating as usual and as a bonus - we could dress casually. Snow boots and jeans were ok. Holy shit. This was awesome.