Closing Time

Tonight, I went with a friend to order a chicken salad sub from Jersey Mike's. (A craving born while pregnant with Brady) We arrived at the closest location at 7:45 PM by my watch, which is set ahead to trick me into being more punctual. As we approached the store's entrance, I noticed that the "Open" light was definitely on, but most everything else gave off the aura of "Closed." Tables were turned over, the lights were dim, and an employee regretfully made eye contact with me as he was turning off the television. I felt in my heart that the only reason he didn't flip the switch on that "Open" sign was because he was sure that I had seen him see me. Sure enough, as we entered the store, the silence of the three employees spoke volumes about the emotions they were feeling towards our restaurant choice this evening. I asked if they were closed, though I had read the hours of operation plainly posted on the door. A girl elbow deep in soapy water she was using to wash the deli meat slicer forced a smile and responded, "We close at 8:00." I looked at my watch again just to be sure I was in fact entering before standard "washing the meat slicer" hour. In fact, I was. I knew that my choice of chicken salad was not going to upset her deliberate attempt to clean the machinery ahead of schedule, but I knew my friend's intention to order a club sub would not be met with gratefulness. Would you believe that my friend and I actually felt guilt at that moment? I proceeded with my order, apologizing all the while, as the employees making my sub had to unwrap cheese and tomatoes and dirty several utensils in its creation. Meanwhile, my friend abandoned her hopes for a sub so as not to upset the apple cart. (The Chinese restaurant two storefronts down was open until 10:30 PM and was perfectly willing to prepare her some sesame chicken.) I paid for my sub and exited the premises a solid five minutes before actual closing time, feeling sheepish and unwanted. It wasn't until a few minutes later that I started to feel deservedly annoyed by what had just happened. I've had my share of part-time jobs, both in food and retail. I know well the anticipation that comes from staring at the clock and wanting to go home the moment the store closes. However, I also know that a closing shift almost always requires at least fifteen extra minutes to fully "close" everything down. If a store's hours are 8:00 AM until 8:00 PM, then by golly there should be no washing of the meat slicer at 7:45 PM. If your business is sliced meat, then that's the last thing you clean. Why should I have to apologize for going to a location ahead of its closing time and expecting service? This was a business faux pas, and I feel that it must be rectified. At the moment, I'm feeling a craving for a club sub coming on...at right about 7:45 PM next Sunday night. Please, do join me.

Virtually Revealing

If you have a Facebook account, you may have noticed status updates that just list colors. I'm a little more out of the loop now that I am not teaching teenagers, but it didn't take much research to discover that these status updates are the colors of the bras worn by the updatees. (I know that's not a word.) Bra colors, people. Yes, now we are so self-absorbed we think our friends and acquaintances (let's be honest about the fact that no one can actually be close friends with 300 people) care about our underwear. I am sorry if this is offensive to you because you thought it was fun to let everyone know what color underwear you have on. Notice: it's immodest and lame. Unless you are getting on a plane with a bomb in your underpants, no one really needs to know about what you have on under your clothes. I realize it is equally self-absorbed of me to think that anyone would care about my opinion on this matter, but I wanted to share a link to a blog entry on this subject that I thought was educational and persuasive. If you don't agree with me about all of this, that's okay. However, I encourage you to at least be informed that this is more than a tactless game. Copy and paste the following link into your web browser if you are interested in learning more. http://www.blogher.com/name-awareness-fb-color-meme

Wanted: Civility

I was in a McDonald's bathroom the other day when I witnessed something strange. Before you jump to conclusions and assume it was an employee actually washing her hands, let me explain. A young girl was following her mother out of a bathroom stall with a jumble of things in her arms. As she tried to juggle her coat, drink, book, etc., her cup slipped out of her hands and landed on the floor. It did have a lid on it, but some sort of grape colored drink still managed to leave a small puddle on the floor. She quickly retrieved the cup, but I found myself, sadly, amazed when her mother went back for a wad of toilet paper to clean up the spill. After all, this was a McDonald's bathroom. What sums up the American way more than not cleaning up after yourself in a McDonald's bathroom? I felt compelled to tell this woman she was a good citizen for cleaning up after her daughter. She may have thought that a strange thing for me to say, but she didn't look foreign to this country, so chances are she understood completely. In another case, I watched a woman in Wal-mart searching for a place to throw away the towelette she had used to sanitize the handle of her shopping cart. I watched her circle all over inside the doors and around the greeter's station looking for the trash can that was actually located right under the stand from which she had plucked the towelette in the first place. It wasn't long before she lost interest in her search and threw the thing right on the floor. No look of guilt. Not even anger, really. She didn't care if anyone saw her, because I was probably staring, quite frankly. She just continued on her way, her thoughts now consumed with how many cucumbers she was supposed to buy. Not to sound like a commencement speech, but one way Webster defines civilization is "progress in education." Is there an antonym? Because I would like to use it to describe the group of people who leave fast food bags in parking lots for others to step on when they get out of their cars or those that seem to have misplaced their old couches in a farmer's field. It seems to be a huge strain on many people to throw away their trash, push their grocery carts ten yards to access a cart corral, or open the other half of a set of double doors (surely you've had the experience of someone barreling an entrance through a door you are using as an exit, even though there is a perfectly functional other half of the doorway). These things are not difficult. Even Clifford is adored for his manners, according to my three-year old's book on the subject. I am perfectly aware that there have always been people lacking common human courtesy, but it seems to me that those people were once referred to as outlaws who would spit on the sidewalk in one second and shoot you in the back the next. I must admit, I don't travel out of the country or back in time, so I can't verify that the same lack of human civility has not always been present or is not the same all over the world. What I do know is that our progress as a civilization seems to be taking the shape of campaigns formed to persuade others to clean up after themselves and signs educating us on how we should behave in public. If we as a "civilization" would adopt some manners, perhaps no one would have to adopt highways anymore.