Rude People
How right.
Rude people, my biggest pet peeve. My mother always made a point for me to be a polite child. We had rules to follow in public.
One, always say please and thank you. You don't deserve what you're getting if you don't. My local grocery store gives free cookies to kids, and if we went up there and didn't say "Can I have a cookie please", my mother made a point to remind us how rude it was to ask like we were entitled.
Two, hold the door. I still hold the door for people, every day of my life. I even do it for middle-aged men, who really should be holding the door for me, as I am a young lady, but I still do it. And I always say thank you on the rare occasions someone holds the door for me.
Three, if you make someone's time more difficult, apologize. If you bump someone in a store, apologize. If you drop something you were giving to someone else, apologize. If you do the awkward foot shift where you don't know which way the other person you're trying to get around is going, apologize.
Four, stay on your side of the isle/walkway. It's like traffic. You're on the right. My mother always flipped out over "walls" which were when kids walked next to each other and blocked a good portion of the walkway. My sisters and I were very good at that.
Now, I can easily forgive anyone under ten for not following these rules. Little kids are just like that. I wasn't, but then again, my mother is out of her mind. If a kid doesn't thank me for holding the door, it's no problem, but if their parent doesn't, I will be offended.
A child doesn't know the rules yet, but a 48 year old woman in a nursing outfit should. A week or so ago, I dropped the door on a woman fitting that description, apologized, held the next door for her, apologized again, and the woman never even looked at me.
This may seem ridiculous, but rude parents raise rude children, and rude children raise bad kids.
I thanked a woman who held the door for me yesterday, and she stopped, looked at me and said "you're welcome". I do not look polite, let's be honest. I have scene glasses and huge tangled hair, and I wear Converse and skinnies, and most adults look at me like a shoplifter. She looked so tired and frazzled and I honestly believe I made her day better, just by giving her a pleasant surprise.
So, to all you over 10, start following the rules. Make someone's day better. I don't want to finally snap when you don't thank me, and throw a fit.
