Mind Your Manners

Did I miss the memo where we were all informed that manners and common courtesy were no longer necessary, expected or needed? Honestly - I am amazed - on a daily basis - at how rude people have become. It irritates me even more when I point this out to someone and they look at me like, "Yeah? What do you expect? Of course this is how it is!" I do my best to be polite, cordial, courteous and generally respectful of everyone with whom I come into contact during the course of my day. This includes other drivers, cashiers, waiters, waitresses, the mailman, the tollbooth person, the trash collectors and the person who bags my groceries. It really doesn't take that much effort to say, "Please" and "Thank You," and frankly, I don't want spit with my coffee. Really - going off on someone who is serving you food or providing you with assistance? Just not smart. Your time and happiness are no more important than someone else's.

I'm not saying you shouldn't expect good service or act assertively to get what you need. There are certainly times when things go wrong or a mistake is made - and you have a right to have such things corrected. You do not, however, need to scream at someone or mutter condescending remarks to your friends. It certainly doesn't help the situation and it makes you look like an ass.

I often find myself irritated over the seemingly trivial and ridiculous. I could never quite figure out why I would get so bent out of shape over someone narrowly missing my car, or making an obnoxious comment or just being a total shit over stupid things. It suddenly occurred to me - yesterday, while grocery shopping - that the vast majority of these little irritants is somehow related to someone being rude.

A trip to the grocery store is one of the clearest glimpses into humanity. Yesterday, I happened to get there when one of the local retirement communities had emptied a bus load of elderly shoppers into the grocery store. There were, of course, several times throughout my shopping experience when I found myself behind someone who wasn't quite moving as fast as I hoped. For those of you who may find yourself in a similar situation, I offer this hint: A smile, an "excuse me" and a "thank you," will go a whole lot further than an annoyed sigh and an angry look.

There was this one woman in particular who I continued to run into - and by the end of the experience, I was ready to run her down with my grocery cart. I'm guessing this person was in her mid-late thirties, early forties, and she was definitely sporting that, "I'm too good to be in a grocery store with these people" look. She would zoom up behind me in one aisle, damn near run me down, pass me, block my path while she retrieved her items from the shelves, and then repeat it in another aisle. It's not like I was blocking the aisle, moving slowly or standing around chatting. Hell, at the time, I was paying my babysitter $10/hr - I was in a hurry, too! At one point, we were walking down the same aisle, heading in opposite directions. We were nearly next to each other when she abruptly decided to pull a u-turn in front of me - a move that made me stop short, only to get bumped by the person behind me. I've got the bruise on the back of my leg to prove it, too. No excuse me. No apology. No acknowledgement that she was a bitch...

I've often said that people shop like they drive. This woman proved my theory. I saw her in the parking lot as she nearly backed out of her space into a car that had just pulled out. She, of course, proceeded to cut around this person, run a stop sign and pull out onto the road.

I hate you.