Do you have any pet peeves?
I do, but not many. At least, I don't think there are many.
At the top of my list is people who leave their shopping carts at the check out line. You know the person.
It can be a man or a woman -- any age. Usually, they are not a senior citizen because seniors have been taught about being courteous and respectful to others.
It doesn't happen to me often, but, when it does, I just want to say something not so nice. I usually end up biting my tongue, though.
Except this one time...a few years ago.
I was in a bad mood anyway. It was just one of those days where Murphy's Law was prevailing. I had been extremely patient the entire day, keeping my cool much of the time.
But then "that person" came into my life.
They had just unpacked their shopping cart of two items. At first, there was no indication they were "one of those people," though a person who needs a shopping cart for toothpaste and a toothbrush is usually a dead giveaway.
But, as they reached for their pocket book to pay the bill with the cart still behind them, signs began to point that they were "one of them."
And sure enough they were.
As the cashier handed them the "little bag" of toothpaste and toothbrush, they began to walk away leaving the cart for me to dispose of.
You see, "their cart" blocked my way of checking out. In order for me to check out, I had to move "their cart."
Well, I had had enough. My tongue was too sore to keep biting it.
With a face beet red and blood pressure hitting the 1,000 over 500 world record mark, I spoke:
"Ma'am, I'm sorry you forgot your cart," still trying to maintain a sense of respectfulness.
"Oh," the person said, looking at me as though I was invading their privacy.
"Can't you put it back?" they said.
"Me, put it back? Why it's not my cart..."
They interrupted me...."It's not my cart either. It belongs to the store."
As I prepared to speak my mind even more on the matter -- and believe me there was a host of things coming to my mind I could have said -- something stopped me and this is what I said:
"Why, ma'am I will be more than happy to put it back for you."
Don't ask me why those words came out of my mouth -- especially in light of the many more that were traveling through my mind at the time. Perhaps it was my family upbringing that clicked in. I was raised by parents and grandparents who taught me to respect others and to be kind.
But they never made a distinction between people with and without common sense.
Oh well...such is life. Until next week.
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Do you have any pet peeves?
I do, but not many. At least, I don't think there are many.
At the top of my list is people who leave their shopping carts at the check out line. You know the person.
It can be a man or a woman -- any age. Usually, they are not a senior citizen because seniors have been taught about being courteous and respectful to others.
It doesn't happen to me often, but, when it does, I just want to say something not so nice. I usually end up biting my tongue, though.
Except this one time...a few years ago.
I was in a bad mood anyway. It was just one of those days where Murphy's Law was prevailing. I had been extremely patient the entire day, keeping my cool much of the time.
But then "that person" came into my life.
They had just unpacked their shopping cart of two items. At first, there was no indication they were "one of those people," though a person who needs a shopping cart for toothpaste and a toothbrush is usually a dead giveaway.
But, as they reached for their pocket book to pay the bill with the cart still behind them, signs began to point that they were "one of them."
And sure enough they were.
As the cashier handed them the "little bag" of toothpaste and toothbrush, they began to walk away leaving the cart for me to dispose of.
You see, "their cart" blocked my way of checking out. In order for me to check out, I had to move "their cart."
Well, I had had enough. My tongue was too sore to keep biting it.
With a face beet red and blood pressure hitting the 1,000 over 500 world record mark, I spoke:
"Ma'am, I'm sorry you forgot your cart," still trying to maintain a sense of respectfulness.
"Oh," the person said, looking at me as though I was invading their privacy.
"Can't you put it back?" they said.
"Me, put it back? Why it's not my cart..."
They interrupted me...."It's not my cart either. It belongs to the store."
As I prepared to speak my mind even more on the matter -- and believe me there was a host of things coming to my mind I could have said -- something stopped me and this is what I said:
"Why, ma'am I will be more than happy to put it back for you."
Don't ask me why those words came out of my mouth -- especially in light of the many more that were traveling through my mind at the time. Perhaps it was my family upbringing that clicked in. I was raised by parents and grandparents who taught me to respect others and to be kind.
But they never made a distinction between people with and without common sense.
Oh well...such is life. Until next week.
