Why is everyone so mad?
I ask this because it’s only been a few days since the holiday season and I’ve heard at least three stories that have me wondering.
My daughter Sarah was in line at a Chipotle waiting for her order when a woman came storming back into the restaurant and proceeded to yell at the clerk because she forgot her guacamole sauce. Now I know how important a little guac can be but evidently this woman was really letting the clerk have it and DEMANDED the phone number for corporate. The restaurant was busy with a line of people.
Sarah said the girl at the counter was young, maybe high school age, probably just working for gas money and was obviously upset and near tears. That’s when Sarah turned to the woman and said, “Look, you have a cellphone in your hands so why don’t you just Google corporate if you really have to and let this girl get back to work! Oh and Bless your heart.” There’s a way they say that down south so it really doesn’t mean “Bless your heart.”
Now I can understand that it was a Friday and maybe that lady had had a bad week and maybe she has had her order screwed up before, but do you really have to make a scene and embarrass the girl in front of everybody? I can remember a time or two when I got the order home from MacDonald ‘s and they forgot the toy in the Happy Meal. “Good God man! What were you thinking?!” So I drove back to the store and asked for a new one. It’s a dad’s job.
After she got her order, Sarah went back to her car and had a woman accuse her of parking in a handicap parking spot. She looked around for a sign, then looked under her car to see if the logo was painted there but it was not. The woman pointed out that the space next to Sarah was a handicapped spot and Sarah’s rear tire was touching the white stripe! Yes, just touching the white line.
Sarah: “Did someone have a hard time getting out of a car because of that?”
Woman: “No.”
Sarah: “Did someone try to park and then go to another spot?”
Woman: “No.”
Sarah: “Are you handicapped and couldn’t park there?”
Woman “No. I’m parked next to you.”
Sarah: “Oh so you’re the person who can’t park straight so that I had to park a little crooked. I never park in a handicap spot because my father is handicapped and we see him struggle to get in and out of a car. We NEVER park in a handicap spot unless he’s with us. I’m going to say a prayer for you because you’re so angry. Oh and Bless your heart.”
This was the same day that my wife was working as a paramedic and got called to a highway accident. I won’t say where or give many details because of privacy issues. I should probably change names (to protect the innocent), so my wife “Vanessa” got called to an accident and the woman she met up with was just RUDE. She was cursing and demanding this and demanding that. She got her license back from the state trooper but then claimed she never got her license or bank card back and they stole her money. Prisc….ah “Vanessa”….said, “Let’s get in the ambulance,” and she said, “Don’t tell me what to do!”
When I hear these stories I usually stop and wonder, “What made this person so miserable? Something must have happened to you for you to be so angry.”
Did you have a bad day? A difficult childhood? Bills piling up? Relationship gone bad?
I’m going to let you in on something: not everyone is out to get you. People make mistakes, like forgetting your guacamole. There are some people who just try to help you, they’re not going to steal your stuff, they’re just doing their job.
If you find yourself always angry and you think everyone is out to screw up your life and take your stuff, I really feel sorry for you. Get some help. You’re missing out on so much in this world to be happy about.
I always thought those signs that say, “New Year, New You” were sappy, but maybe for some it should be, “New Year, New Attitude.”
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