All-You-Can-Eat September 19, 2008
I stood aside as she steered past me toward the automatic door at Stop and Shop. This well-dressed, elderly woman, quite adept at maneuvering her motorized wheelchair, zoomed past me without slowing. I followed her inside and waited behind her while she got her bearings.
As she moved on, I went to get my cart and began reciting my mental list. As I headed to the produce section, I saw her again. She was approaching the very substantial “Make-Your-Own” salad bar that the store featured. I didn’t think anything of it, until…..she saddled up alongside the salad bar and reached into the bowl of olives. I laughed to myself, slightly surprised (more than slightly grossed out) at her nerve. I’ve seen people take a grape off the bunch every now and then. Not a federal offense, I suppose, though I’m quite certain it goes against some health code.
She reached again. Wow. This lady’s got big ones….She continued motoring around the salad bar, sampling every possible item within her reach! I looked around in amazement to see if I was the only one shocked by this. Staff walked near and about, and although I didn’t catch anyone else with their mouth agape, I am certain someone had to see this, as she was not the least bit discreet in her actions.
It occurred to me that perhaps this well-dressed woman was (contrary to all appearances) suffering an economic hardship. I considered offering to buy her a full blown salad of her own that we could prepare using any of the available utensils on hand. I hesitated because I didn’t want to embarrass her…….but neither did I want her denture grip on someone else’s pickled beets!
I admit it…..I did nothing. Stood and watched for 5 minutes while this lady circled round and round leisurely popping croutons, hard-boiled eggs, chick peas, and pineapple chunks in her brightly painted mouth. Either she thought the store was offering an awful lot of test samples, or it really is true……”if you want something in life, you have to go and get it for yourself.”
Next…. September 14, 2008
We had been in line for over half an hour and were finally next in line at the DMV. My son had passed his driving test and we were in the “New Licenses” line. Up ahead at the window was what appeared to be the most unfriendly, ornery, overworked and underappreciated woman who was obviously dealing with an imbalanced hormonal system (i.e. five o’clock shadow). We cringed as she impatiently reprimanded the person in front of us for asking what she must have considered a foolish question.
“Yikes,” my son whispered to me. “I hope we don’t get her…”.
“Just smile and be nice”, I suggested. ”Maybe she’s just having a bad day.”
“Next!”, the bearded lady barked.
I stood back a bit as my son approached the window, with the biggest grin I’d seen in a while. “Goooood Afternoon, ma’am,” he chimed. “How are you doing today?”
The scary lady paused and looked up from her paperwork. (I held my breath.) Her whiskers shifted as her mouth turned upward in a noticeable smirk. “Well I guess I’m ok, young man.” she replied as if she was surprised by the question. (Perhaps she doesn’t encounter many happy people in her work.) “And how can I help you today?”
“I passed my road test and am ready for that piece of plastic that proves it.”
“Well, good for you, young man! I guess we best not keep you waiting any longer!”
As I observed this encounter, which involved her telling my son a joke and showing him a picture of one of her family members, I was reminded of how important it is to judge people on your own experience of them. The old addage, “You can’t judge a book by it’s cover” (even if it does need a shave..) really is true….
My, How the Time Flies…. September 10, 2008
Remember me? The one who said she’d be right back in a week? (he…he….) Sorry. I got a bit delayed. I’ll spare you my excuses, but a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. One of the biggest things that happened was in response to my Dear Mr. Ghosn (pronounced Ghone) blog http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=nK4WWmDqPQA . About 16 hours after I sent the video off to the Executive Offices of Nissan, I got a call on behalf of the CEO and President, Mr. Ghosn! The Nissan People were very interested in helping me “resolve” my issues with the car, and have since done just that. (Personally, I was hoping they’d just go ahead and give me a new one…) My problems “resolved”, I am told that they are anxious for the follow-up video. (Gulp….)
One more project that will keep me from finding a “Real” job.
Maybe Earlene could be the new Nissan spokesperson? She’s better looking than those Geiko cavemen…..
