Crumbs From the Corner: Adventures in Woolgathering

Monday, February 11, 2008

Lending a Hand



"A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference."
-Winnie the Pooh

The wait at the checkout yesterday was horrifically long. Not because the assistant was incredibly slow- she was that- but we spent all our energy attempting to avoid catching the eye of the bored assistant at the next checkout. She was alone and she had no customers. Why, then, did we not hurry over to her with our cart, scrambling for the only vacant place in the store and allow ourselves to dash out of the store much sooner?
We had heard, a moment earlier, a sound that I can only describe as a splash. As we waited, we had heard it once again. We turned and it was obvious that the assistant had sneezed. Wetly, loudly and goodness gracious me, with a splash. She wiped her face with her hand. The customer she had been serving finished their business and left, seemingly carefree. Spouse and I did not know where to turn. She was clearly doing her best to catch our attention without calling out to us. Had she cried out for us to come to her- which I believe would have happened in another moment had a speedy customer not intervened and taken advantage of the lull- we would have had to be bizarre and politely decline the offer. I am not certain what she ought to have done; no doubt the sneeze was involuntary but wiping the face with her hand seemed to us a trifle off kilter.
One must be careful when possible, even at the risk of appearing rude.
My mother, who works in a supermarket, tells that customers frequently stand before her with their credit cards in their mouths- presumably to save a pair of hands while busy with other things. They slide the card out from under the tongue and hand it to my mother. Repulsed, she does her best to take the card by its very edges and let the customer know in no uncertain terms that it is a dreadful thing to do to somebody who might not get a chance to wash their hands for many hours.
We could all just try a little harder to be thoughtful.

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