They are among us, but we often do not notice.
The guy pushing a fluffy broom through a mall hallway. The woman emptying the trash can in a hospital room. The guy in rubber gloves cleaning up after a sick kid in the school cafeteria. The lady sweeping a carpet to begin her work shift, just as the office’s employees go home for the night.
Custodians. Building cleaners. Janitors.
Whatever the label, those folks are real people. They may get overlooked or ignored, fading in the background as the rest of the world goes on with its business and interests, but those who pick up what we leave behind have skills, talents and dreams.
Terre Haute’s Richard Goodall put a face on an often faceless livelihood. Millions of people, no doubt, cheered for him all the way through the 2024 “America’s Got Talent” competition, right up to the final seconds of Tuesday night’s season finale, when host Terry Crews hollered “Richard Goodall” as the winner of the $1-million first prize. So many viewers found themselves relating to Goodall, as he lived out a lifelong dream to entertain listeners with his voice.
Who felt his inspiration strongest? Folks “of a certain age” rooted for Goodall because he is experiencing all of the opportunity and adulation at 55 — the age when Denny’s customers qualify for the senior-menu discount.
Shoulder-to-the-plow quiet types love his story, too, because he exhibits humility. Young people appreciate his care for their needs — even the most basic of those — exemplified as he has wiped down school desks and restocked the restrooms of West Vigo Middle School and others schoolhouses for more than two decades.