My job has taught me to keep the big picture in mind. People will always do what’s best for them

Nechama Norman with Batsheva Berman

When Covid cases were still high, I was showing a house while wearing a mask — at that point, real estate agents were required by law to wear masks when indoors. On the way to my car, I walked past an older woman sitting on her porch.

“Why are you wearing a mask?” she asked in a sharp tone.

I shrugged. “I don’t make the rules, I just follow them.”

She blew up. “This is crazy! I grew up in Hungary, it was a Communist country. We finally got out when I was a teenager. And now America is crazy. Do you have kids?” I nodded. “I feel so bad for your kids!” she yelled. “They’re growing up in a Communist country.”

I could have walked away, but I started chatting. Anna was lonely; she had no children, and she and her husband weren’t vaccinated, so she couldn’t go to the club they’d enjoyed attending pre-Covid. Eventually, she asked me where I got my mask — it was a pretty, sparkly pink. I told her it was from Amazon.

She sighed. “Then I can’t get it. I can’t figure out any of this technology.”

“I’ll get one for you.”

On the spot, I ordered the mask. Once it arrived, I went to Anna’s house to deliver the mask. I knocked, and no one answered. Came back a few days later, no answer. The third time I returned, the neighbor next door was washing his car.

“Have you seen Anna?” I asked.

“Yes, she’s around,” he told me. “I saw her yesterday. How do you know her?”

I told him I was a real estate agent and I’d met her when I was in the area.

“Really? I’m actually thinking of selling. Do you have a few minutes?”