Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Chivalry
Sometimes it is hard to be a guy, especially a polite guy.
About a week ago, I stopped by a local coffee shop for a morning cup of joe and a snack.
As I walked to the front door of this coffee shop, a woman happened to approach the door at the same time. I politely opened the door for the woman, as I commonly do.
The woman said “Thank you sweetie” and proceed directly to the counter.
For the next ten minutes, I was forced to stand behind the woman as she asked the coffee shop guy about every single thing on the menu.
“What’s in that? Can I get skim milk with that? How big is the “medium”? What about the large? I’ll take the small. Are these the freshest pastries you have? You’re making more now and they’ll be ready in ten minutes? I don’t know if I want to wait that long. When were these pastries made? Do you have any with blueberry? What’s in the mocha, caramel latte? Can I get that with skim milk? What kind of brewed coffee do you have? I’ll take a large one of those. Actually, make that a small. Are these the freshest pastries you have? I’m not hungry. Thank you sweetie for letting me go in front of you.“
Sigh. “Sure.“
With coffee in hand, the woman paid and moved along.
I approached the counter.
“I’d like a medium coffee and a blueberry muffin please.“
I paid. I moved on to the counter with all the coffee extras like sugar and cream. The woman was already there, adding every single thing to her coffee.
“Where’s the half and half?“ she asked the coffee shop guy.
“It’s in that silver container labeled ‘half and half’,“ responded coffee shop guy, indicating the large container just to the right of the woman’s coffee cup.
“Thanks hun.“
After stirring what would have to be the most disgusting combination of sugars, cocoa powder, cinnamon and cream, the woman replaced her lid and moved on.
I added cream to my cup, said good-bye to the coffee shop guy and left.
And that’s how my 5 minute trip to the coffee shop turned into a 30 minute ordeal.
Thanks chivalry.
Slices of Life;
