Naughty and Nice

by Leslie

My holiday shopping is officially complete. Every item for the party and every gift for under the tree has been purchased. Whew!

This year, however, my consumerism yielded more than Christmas goods - it provided me with a few unforgettable experiences.

Here’s one of them:

Last Saturday, my mom and I stopped at a restaurant for a bite to eat while out shopping. Our meal was interrupted when a man got up from his seat to close a blind on a nearby window to block the sun from hitting his wife in the face. Just then, an older man dressed in a red Christmas shirt, sitting right next to the window jumped up and yelled, “Hey! Don’t close that!” He opened the blind back up and shouted, “Why the hell would you do that? What’s the matter with you, you idiot?”

The shouting man’s wife asked him to please sit down, which he did, but he kept right on screaming. “Well that’s just rude. No one does that to me. I’ve gotta watch my truck. There’s something important in there.” His wife covered her red face with her hand and hissed something at him through gritted teeth, but that didn’t stop him. His tirade continued, getting louder and nastier as he went.

By this time, he had the attention of every person in the place, most of whom were laughing. He looked around and shouted, “I don’t know what’s so *!@$@ funny!”

We took that as our cue to leave along with about 75% of the other patrons. The guy was still going at it as we walked out the door. As we walked to the car, we took note of the only truck in the parking lot that was visible from the man’s window: a pick-up so dirty I’m not certain of the actual color that had a Christmas tree in the back.

And here’s another:

Last Wednesday, I seemed to wake up behind. I had a million things to do, which included churning out a Buckeye order for Dave to deliver at work. By the time I finished the Buckeyes, I discovered I didn’t have enough boxes for them. Frazzled, I loaded Julia up in the car and headed out for the only place I know that carries my boxes - The Party Package in the next town. On the way, I called the store to check their hours. The woman that answered told me they closed at 6 p.m. It was 6:05 p.m. I must have sounded pretty desperate when I said, “Oh, so you’re already closed,” because she asked me what I needed.

I told her and she paused for a moment, then said, “Okay. I’m going to be here a while working on the books. Knock on the door real loud when you get here and I’ll let you in to get them. You’ll have to bring cash, though. The credit card machine is down for the night.”

I thanked her profusely and stepped on the gas to get there as quickly as I could. When Julia and I arrived, the lady was waiting for us near the front of the store. She unlocked the door and gave us a warm welcome. She asked if I knew where to find the boxes and told me to take my time and do all the shopping I needed. I quickly gathered up my items and took them to the counter with my cash in hand. She talked to Julia while she added up the total: $4.28. I gave her a ten dollar bill and told her to keep the change. After all, she’d really done me a favor. But she wouldn’t have any part of it. She counted up my change, caught me at the door, forced it into my hand and thanked me for my business.

“Merry Christmas!” she called after us as we left the store and I believed that it would be.

Posted in Mommy's Stuff |

Comments

6 Cool Kids Came To Play

Daddy Forever on December 21, 2006 2:19 am
Hey, I know that guy with the pickup. Several years ago, we were at a restaurant and the sun was hitting us in the eyes too. I walked over to the window and closed the blind. They guy at the next table over got upset, told the waitress, and she opened the blind even though we told her the sun was hitting us in the eyes.

The woman at Party Package proves nice people still exist, ay?
kelley on December 21, 2006 8:56 am
That is an awesome story about the woman at the Party Package store. Nothing restores my faith in humanity more than people who go out of their way to help a stranger. Being nice for the sake of being nice - it’s a concept that many don’t seem to grasp…

And that’s an equally awesome story about the restaurant guy (for entirely different reasons). His poor wife!
Laurie on December 21, 2006 11:22 am
Those two stories go great together. That’s the world we live in and a person can dwell on the blind guy…I mean…the guy with the blinds…or the party store lady. It’s their choice and that choice affects their whole lives
Joshua Xalpharis on December 21, 2006 2:00 pm
Nothing like a bit of amusement, especially when it’s nonsensical.

It’s good to know that some people are willing to think of others.
Mommy the Maid on December 21, 2006 5:44 pm
Those stories are great! What a sweet lady to help you out like that. I wish there were more people out there like that. I am going to tell my daughter those stories. I really want them to know that there are good people out there and that she should strive to be one of them.

On a side note, I am a little jealous that you have everything done. Theblizzard snowed us in pretty good and I still have things I need to get. Doh!
Faith on December 24, 2006 8:37 pm
Both of those stories are great for different reasons. The fact that the woman not only helped you out but also wouldn’t keep the extra money (and really how many people wouldn’t?) is just amazing.

That guy was ridiculous though, sheesh I feel so sorry for his wife. I would of killed him, flat out killed him. You know once there was no witnesses. I’m very surprised management didn’t ask him to leave.