Gordon Flett

Yeah.

And anybody who's in tune with people like he is...

would know that at a basic level, we need to know that we matter, especially when we've been made to feel like we don't matter.

And unfortunately, some people are really needing a lot to know that they matter because they've got such a life of being marginalized and ignored and invisible that even when somebody's initially reaching out, they might say, well, you know, that's just more of the same, not realizing that somebody has a sincere interest in their well-being.

Yes, yes.

Me as well as my sister Karen, who since has passed.

But I was the firstborn grandchild, so that automatically comes with a specialness.

And I would spend summers and various days down at my grandparents' place, which was not too far from where we lived.

And we would go down on weekdays to visit both grandmothers at the cafeteria up the road, which was run by my one grandmother, the one who lived there.

And my other grandmother as well.

So when my sister and I would go, it was literally like, where's the red carpet?

It was the only thing that was missing.

Here they come.

And on top of all the attention, which is critical to the sense of mattering, is people showing an interest in you, lighting up when you come in, a sense of attention to you, getting their full attention.

On top of that, we could order anything we wanted because it was my grandmother's cafeteria.

So for me, that was usually macaroni and cheese and chocolate milk and

And, you know, but that's not why we wanted to go there the most.

It was just that incredible.

And, you know, all the people that worked for my grandmother as well, including my other grandmother, you know, it was really like, as you said, being like a celebrity.

And so when I came into this field, I started to think, well, you know, I've been fortunate.