I must be easy to talk to ’cause people tell me things. All the time.

Today, my cashier complained that one of his coworkers bosses him around, even though she most certainly is not his boss. I wanted to make him feel better so I said I knew how he felt. In one of my jobs I was the boss, yet one of my employees decided to yell at me, in front of other people.

I went on to say that I didn’t yell at her, but I did take her to the side to discuss the inadvisability of yelling at your boss.

He said, “Yeah, that’s always the best way. If Kavanaugh would have kept his cool maybe someone might have believed him. On The View today they said…(insert The View’s rants here).”

While the cashier shared The View’s views, the bagger began bagging my groceries.

With a friendly smile on my face I said, “Funny how the whole innocent until proven guilty thing was ignored. I’m glad Kavanaugh stood up for himself. I’ve been accused of something I didn’t do. It’s a difficult position to be in. Think about it. How do you prove you DIDN’T do something?”

That’s when the bagger tossed my groceries back on the conveyor belt and stomped away. But she didn’t go far, only about 10 feet. There she began a whisper campaign with a fellow coworker.

You know the type of campaign I mean. Whisper, whisper, whisper. Point and nod toward the crazy person in the checkout line. Whisper, whisper, whisper. 

The cashier finished bagging my groceries, ’cause the bagger certainly wasn’t going to do it.
After I paid, the cashier and I wished each other a nice day, and that was that.

But I was left with the thought that in Seattle, “I don’t like the customer’s political views” seems to be a perfectly valid excuse for not doing one’s job.

Then again, Seattle is called the Emerald City. Think Dorothy would let me borrow her shoes?

Just got back from the grocery story. While there I witnessed one of those human interactions that make you shake your head.

First, I probably should say that the store has multiple, very obvious signs posted that state that  pets, especially dogs, are not allowed. It even has one of those pictures of a dog crossed out.

I arrived in the produce section just as a woman with a child politely told a woman with a dog that dogs aren’t allowed in the store.

Did I mention that the woman with the child was polite?

You’d never know it, ’cause the woman with the dog IMMEDIATELY, and I mean IMMEDIATELY in all caps, began yelling, “Why are you attacking me! Leave me alone. Get away from me. I don’t know you. Don’t talk to me.” And then a stream of words came out of her mouth that would make a sailor blush. It was not at all subtle. I’m sure everyone in the store heard it.

To understand why this scenario struck me as…well…weird, I should give a short description of the participants.

Woman with 9-year-old boy:  Maybe 5’2″, hair pulled back out of her face, lanyard with a badge around her neck, business casual attire, mid-forties.

Woman with Chihuahua:  Nearly 6 feet tall, long brown hair with bangs, dressed in fishnet stockings, short shorts, late twenties.

See why it seems so odd? The dog-woman reacted as if she were in being attacked and in physical danger. She yelled, she screamed, she accused, she did all the appropriate things to let everyone know that she feared for her life.

But she could not have been afraid of a woman half her size and twice her age.

Maybe she had had a bad day and was angry at the world.
Or maybe she was several cards short of a full deck.

I just don’t know. She took her little dog and headed for the dairy section and I never saw her again.

What I do know is that dog-woman’s response was overblown, vulgar, and totally ludicrous.

I got the distinct impression that this wasn’t the first time she’s acted in this manner. It came too easy for her. She didn’t even look embarrassed.

Which makes me assume it’s probably her normal way of getting what she wants.

Hey, if it works for a two-year-old…

Temper tantrum, anyone?