Living in the world today

My story happened a few years ago in Walmart. It was a Sunday afternoon when the Dallas Cowboys had just lost a football game. I was in the produce section and a little old white lady (I was a large black man) came from behind and exclaimed “did you see him drop that ball”? I was quite amused because I did see him drop that ball, which would have won the game.
(My description of “the old white lady” - I was 60 she closer to 80. Now I’m 80.)

Sorry about your unpleasant encounter with a fussbudget.

I'll never use the self-check services at stores again after my last experience several months ago. The checkout itself went OK, but the last screen display asked me if I wanted to leave a tip!

I'm 66 and generally avoid public interaction with other human beings, if at all possible. We're a very disappointing species, IMHO.

Jordan Love looks like the real thing. He played an excellent game and took it to the 'Boys pretty good (Mike McCarthy's had some bad luck against his old squad).

Jordan also played well against the 9erz until the very last minutes of that contest, when he succumbed to a bout of Favre-itis.
GO PACK !!!

I am really tired of people trying to “police” others. I would suggest if you see behavior you don’t approve of, keep it to yourself. This is how deadly encounters can start.
You can’t know why someone is speeding. Don’t block the passing lane. Don’t question the use of handicapped parking spaces. People don’t always look handicapped. Stay out of other’s pet care. My 80 year old sister has been scolded about letting her dog stay in the car briefly. He is like her son and there could not be a better cared for animal! Be kind to everyone. Be kind to everyone. You don’t know what they are going through.

@dloos
I agree with you that one wrong word or action can lead to a deadly encounter over the most minor issue. Aside from making it a practice to be kind and having compassion for others, I always encourage my son and others to seek to deescalate every situation whether you are right or wrong because you never know when you're dealing with someone who is about to snap. Great example:

I was in a busy supermarket at the height of the pandemic. In CA, we were required to wear masks in all stores and stay 6 feet apart. The checkout lines were busy and with everyone so far apart, the lines could be confusing. Sure enough, a woman with no mask didn't know where the line ended, pulled in front of me and inappropriately, even in a non-pandemic world, put her cart side-by-side with the woman in front of me and was standing practically touching shoulders with her. It was weird and invasive. The unmasked woman was coughing a little as well. After seeing nightly store battles on the news, I thought this was going to turn into a confrontation for sure. To my surprise, the justified woman turned to the intruder, smiled and said in the kindest voice, "It looks like you have a few less items than I do. Would you like to go ahead of me in line?" The intruder, "Why yes, thank you." Problem solved through kindness and patience. After the invader checked out, I commended the woman in front of me for handling the situation with such grace. It was truly inspirational!

Perfect example!

Hello to all

Well the work week for some comes to an end and I find myself finishing up a walk at the mall… got a chance to wave to some of the merchants and get some moderate exercise with my trusty cane ready to come to my rescue in the event of a vertigo spell…last night was a bad PVC night for me…they started around the time for dinner.. I had a few potato chips then sat down and iced my knee..it seems that from a long history of these disturbing arrhythmias that I could take it better.. but they are most uncomfortable when acting up….for they are scary. GERD and Hiatus Hernia and Vagus Nerve seem to play a part in mine… something seems to compress everything causing these guys to act up.. I managed to get some sleep though and this morning they had left…for awhile.. I love ❤️ to walk…I never take it for granted now…sometimes I forget to include that gratitude for my regular rhythm of the heart….
wish all who come here a nice safe weekend 🙏pvctom

@pvctom2021 You certainly have many members in your corner here, all of us with examples of how to navigate the world today. Like you, it is difficult to keep my mouth shut when I see something going on that shouldn't be. I try to think kindly, but it doesn't always work. Everything is pretty black-and-white to me. A phrase that sometimes is uttered is, "some people's children!" since we are all children of somebody.

Several weeks ago I was in a store, and an elderly lady was confused where to go to the checkout line. They opened a new one, so I led her and her basket to it, putting her in front of me. Oh, heavens it was going to take a long time to get her goods onto the conveyor belt. So, I turned to the young man behind me, there with his mom, and asked him to help her. Oooh, if looks could kill! But he did it, and I thanked him. Then when she was getting checked out, I had him help bag her groceries up. No, I didn't know him, or his mom. I felt the mom should have stepped up and insisted he do it; by the way, this young man was about 25! I told him he had earned his angel wings for the day. They could have refused, and I would have stepped up to do it, dragging my cane with me, but they didn't. We never know what anyone is going through.
Ginger

@gingerw
Thanks Ginger

That’s true…and really all I wanted to do was leave…the young employee that I had to raise my voice to in order to get his attention understood fine..instead of myself, it could have been anyone for anything..God knows, the roads are the same way with road rage 😡 in maniacal mode…yes, that woman could have been as upset as I get worried sometimes…Tom

Correct, there is too much rudeness today. I love self checkouts but haven’t been to a WalMart in a long time. At least at the self checkouts where I shop, there are store employees to direct people. The cashier lines, I can’t count the number of times I’ve been hit in the feet or legs with the cart behind me. I have a handicap parking tag which I seldom use, because the “don’t look like you need it” comments got out of hand. If my hair is covered ( it’s now silver/white) I do not look like my age and don’t dress like it either. I find a snappy comeback can help too, if I can think of one quickly. One “lady” remarked how we seniors need help, she said she was ‘at least your age’, I told her I was almost 77 , she freaked out and said she was 65 ( she looked more like 77). I especially dislike people who, when I open a door to walk out of a shop, try to walk IN and expect me to hold the door open for them before I get out. I usually comply then say loudly “you’re welcome “. The reverse is true too, recently an elderly man held open a door for me, I thanked him by saying, oh how nice, you are a polite Polish gentleman, so rare these days. It was an old Polish market I used to visit as a child with my Mom. He literally beamed when I then thanked him, in Polish. A little kindness goes a long way.