If you caught our last blog post on concert etiquette, you might have noticed it’s by a new guest blogger named Grits Malone. My friend saw the blog post and asked, “Who is Grits?” so I thought it might benefit our entire community if I give you just a few words about him so you can feel like you know him a bit better.

When I met Grits for the first time, he was rocking a full out holiday sweater in a crowd where he likely only knew a hand full of people. He seemed fun, but our circles didn’t seem to cross much, so let’s roll the clocks forward into the pandemic.

I’m living alone.

I haven’t gotten my dog Bellatrix yet.

Work was all-consuming.

I’d turn off that computer,

Move three feet,

And turn on another computer

So I could stare at it for the remaining few hours of my day for graduate school.

Go to sleep.

And do it all again the next day.

Every five days, I’d get two days of big screen time with little screen scrolling in my hand.

If I was lucky, maybe I’d FaceTime some friends or family.

It was really easy for me to get lost in my own prison of repetition, screens, covid anxiety and isolation.

But there was Grits!

Grits was just doing what Grits does; asking how the day was, providing a laugh, offering little insights, being curious, asking questions and in general taking an interesting in my little existence. He was a little safe harbor in a rain storm of monotony.

In a very bleak time in my life (and likely many people’s lives), Grits was a positive presence who did the little things like remembering to invite me to virtual events even when he didn’t have to, checking in regularly and being effusive with support of not just me, but everyone.

One day we were cheersing Grits for being Grits, and I said, “You got me through the pandemic.”

And Grits — again just being Grits — said something like, “I don’t even know what I did.”

Grits didn’t notice what he did because I’m not special — that’s what Grits does for everyone.

Kindness is the core of who Grits is, but to me, he provided so many moments where I felt included and cared for. There’s some saying about, “It’s not about what you did or say, but it’s how you made someone feel,” and that just keeps replaying in my mind when I think of Grits, no matter how cliché that might be. He made a whole group of people feel included, valued, respected and cared for, which especially shone through during the darkness of a global pandemic.

I can’t point to one moment and say, “This is why Grits is the best.” Instead, it’s the sum of all the small moments where Grits gave away kindness like candy on Halloween.

So Grits, thank you for pulling up a chair at this brunch table and sharing your wit, wisdom and words with me and this little community! I’m so happy you’re here — and bringing the bacon bits for everyone.