Beach Haven

​Most of you know that I work for our emperor, Walmart. During this craze, I’ve seen so much both of good and bad. People have been thanking me, but honestly, I’m just doing my job. The real heroes are the truckers and suppliers who are working overtime to get us the items. But I digress.

So this whole thing started a couple of months ago, when I could see a run on pasta, but oddly enough, not pasta sauce. So I did my shopping and went back to normal. This whole thing has been kind of nice for our store, because topstock was getting out of hand and our back room was incredibly full. But then fast forward to the beginning of the pandemic, when everyone and their dogs were out shopping. The shelves were more empty than I had ever seen them, and a general sense of panic had filled the store. I’ll admit, it got me, too. I even heard of a customer who stole a packet of vegetables out of someone else’s cart because the shelves were empty. And that a fight had to be broken up.

But we just worked as best as we could, getting stuff on the shelf as quickly as possible. Honestly, the whole last week has been a blur because of how crazy it’s been. Our store manager has been on the floor everyday, working right alongside us. They’ve had department managers and even automotive workers out on the floor stocking. It was all very anxiety inducing. (I myself had 3 attacks in the course of one week). 

Finally, things started to seem like they were calming down. The store figured out ways to make people less panicky and with all of the doomsday buyers finished, all that was left were the regular shoppers. The shelves were still empty, but at least we had some kind of calm in the store.  With the reduction of store hours, we even had a chance to get the shelves filled without someone taking the product in a heartbeat. Things were looking up.

And then as most of you are aware, we had a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit Utah. I was stocking the bake aisle, and luckily nothing that fell off the shelf was going to break. (it was a different story for the peanut butter aisle.) I was anxious, but was able to calm myself down. I remember there was mass confusion about what we needed to do. Fifteen minutes later, the store was evacuated, but we as employees were to wait to see what was going to happen. So we kept working. When the store re-opened, people were back in droves.

While we didn’t see too much panic, there was still some sort of urgency in the air. I am eternally grateful for the advice given by the prophets to have everything in order. Although I still had some residual panic from the customers, I knew that we had everything we needed and didn’t need to worry. Needless to say, it’s been a hard few weeks.

I feel for those young people who were working at places like my friend at Universal and Disney. They’re out of a job for the foreseeable future. As many of you don’t know, all during this year, I had been feeling burned out and was looking for new work using my degree. Rejection letter after rejection letter came to my inbox, and it became fruitless. When all of this started, I thanked God for helping me to have a job that has security in times such as these, where I can still work and bring home the much-needed paycheck for our family.

While we’re not out of the woods yet, I feel like things are getting back to normal. Stop panic buying and let us do our jobs. We can only get back to normal by working together.

​Recently we received two announcements of pending births.
 
Ryan and Ashley Blackburn of Grantsville, UT were tricky about how they let the news slip. First, they posted the picture above on Facebook. The parents have not officially announced the sex of the baby, but have hinted, and at least the Beach grandparents are now aware.
 
In early June, Mason Beach of Brigham City, UT posted in Facebook the family announcement on behalf of himself and his wife Maggie Beach. “Greetings Facebook. The world is in a terrible state, I am here to announce something good that is happening in the world! Maggie and I are going to be having a little baby girl That is due November 5th. Her name is Naomi Beach. We are excited to invite this little cuddle bug into our lives soon!” Mason also posted sonogram pictures.

​Caleb Amrine (8) was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on May 30, 2020 in Stockbridge, Georgia. His father, David Amrine, performed the religious ordinances. Caleb's mother, Kyra Amrine, referred to the idea of Caleb reaching this important life milestone as "craziness". Caleb is the second child in the family and second to make the baptismal covenant. 

When asked before hand what he thought about it, Caleb express both excitement and apprehension. David expressed pride in Caleb's choice. All four of the grandparents were able to participate in various roles in the meeting and rite. Caleb's older brother, Aiden, also participated as an official witness.

Welcome to the newest member of our family. Lucy Paulene Beach was born on Easter morning, April 12, at 10:30am. She weighed in at 8 pounds even and measured 20 inches. Proud parents Jacob and Kanneisha Beach are happy and tired. Lucy made it ‘outside’ via caesarian section. Mother and daughter are recuperating.

Kanneisha posted, “The last few days have been crazy. We went from just Jacob Beach and I to having Lucy on Easter. Lucy is doing great… I am doing good as well.”

Cooper, the family dog, is a protective 'big brother' to his new 'little sister'. Jacob notes how Cooper is quick to come to Lucy’s side whenever she fusses.

​Much of the world has been affected at some level from a pandemic of the coronavirus dubbed COVID-19. Our family has not escaped. Thankfully, as of this writing none of has contracted the illness, yet each has been affected in some way. Many of us are under stay-at-home orders within our state. Kathy Carper is a nurse Pennsylvania and so experiences the front line of the battle. Emily is a Walmart worker and sees yet another side of the panic people have adopted due to the pandemic. Most of us have had some version of work schedule adjustment. Schools by and large have been shifted to online work, or closed for the remaining part of the school year.

Matthew and Jacob are likely among the most at risk. Matt lives north of Venice and east of Milan, Italy. That part of the world has been a significant hotspot for a number of weeks. The clampdown there is more severe than what those of us in the U.S. face. Jacob and Kanneisha are expecting their first child, Lucy. She is due in early May. They live in Bellingham, WA. That’s the same city where there was such devastation at a nursing home with a number of illnesses and death among staff and residents. They will have to go to the hospital for Lucy’s arrival, putting them at increased risk of infection.

​It’s anyone’s guess how long this will go on, if there will be some future wave, or if the medical industry will figure out a vaccine against it. In either case we have all learned the meaning of a new phrase, social distancing.

​We are sad to announce that on September 23, 2019, at the age of 86, Joseph Kitta (Berwick, Pennsylvania) passed away. Family and friends can send flowers and condolences in memory of the loved one. Leave a sympathy message to the family on the memorial page of Joseph Kitta to pay them a last tribute.

He was predeceased by : his parents, Joseph Kitta and Kathryn Kitta (Kita); his siblings, Edmund, Chester Kitta, Cynthia Stofko, Genny Poplawski and Josephine Kitta. He is survived by : his wife Marqueen Kitta (Miller); his children, Joseph Kitta of Berwick and Kathy Carper of Berwick; his grandchildren, Shannon Roberts, Brittany Smith, Kristen and Kelsey Kitta; his great grandchildren, Nora and Xilas. Visitation will be held on Thursday, September 26th 2019 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at the Funeral Home and Cremation Services Inc. (1024 N Market St, Berwick, PA).

A funeral service will be held on Thursday, September 26th 2019 at 11:00 AM at the same location.

(BHP editor note: For those unfamiliar, 'Uncle Joe' is the brother-in-law of Paulene Beach, who is the editor's mother.)

​The extended family continues to grow. John Timothy Coates was born on July 9, 2019 to parents Kevin and Emily Coates. John has an older sister, Hazel, who will be very happy to watch over her little brother. Before he was born we all got used to calling him 'Baby John'. I asked what he will be called now that he's out in the world. Emily says they will start calling him 'Little John' when he becomes a one-year-old. There may be some Robin Hood jokes as he grows.

​Proud parents Tim and Abby Beach of Florida announce the arrival of their daughter Tessa Jane Beach. She is the second child and first daughter of the proud couple. Along with older brother, Brock, the parents referred to a recent doctor visit as a 'traveling circus.'