What is it with the 'Spirit of the Season' not applying to the road or grocery stores?
So today, coming out of a shopping center I stopped to allow 2 cars that had been waiting at a stop sign for quite a few cars ahead of me, to go b/c I wasn't in a hurry and no one was behind me. Off they drove w/o a look or notice past my waving them through with a smile. And then I got honked at by a person who'd raced up behind me. Obviously the 30 sec they had to wait was just unreasonable. This is not uncommon I know and I know I am not the only person who tries to be kind to others on the road, b/c it happens to me and I try to acknowledge the kindness of others. A little wave or a smile going by is enough, but too hard for many.
And as for the grocery store... Well, it might be easier to shop at the Super Bowl. So many people going to shop on a Saturday, typical for working families and the Double Coupon day makes it even busier. But to run in for some milk and wait in line for the express line watching a woman say to her child loud enough that I heard it 2 carts back that the guy in front couldn't count his 17 items when it says 15. Is the 2 extra items going to make a huge deal? So I moved to the self check-out, waiting behind a woman who was having the ever popular issue with the bag noticing the item that she needed to wait for the manager on duty. As she looked back at me and apologized I said "Don't worry about it." even though my back was bothering me from standing around. She then went into a diatribe about the inability of the self-check outs to work. So I politely said that she could override the bag requirement by pushing a button that seemed obvious to me. I was not polite enough as I was told that "You don't need to be a bitch about it, I'm almost done." And as she left after paying & getting her bags I got called the same name again.
Now I know that people get rushed and things are busy. But if there is going to be a big to do about the 'War on Christmas', maybe we should start with just having civility towards one another maybe during the holiday season.. And here's a great idea: How about year round?
