Hi Friends!
Today's "WTF" © by stevenn beck
It's been a very strange day...I must have awoke in a separate universe or a parallel dimension. Everything was…strange (for lack of a better word). And different. VERY different, No one behaved the way I expected them to. behave…and it was all pretty disconcerting…
It started at Starbucks this morning when I stopped in on my way to the gym. The line was way too long; there were just two people on duty working (one taking orders, the other making the drinks). They were working really hard….no chit-chat, not checking text messages….earning their pay. And the customers - why the hell were so many people at Starbucks at 8am on a sunday morning anyway? - were waiting on the line calmly. Nobody cursing or muttering under their breath; no one acting out. A few were engaged in pleasant early morning conversation with the people standing near them. Others were...reading: a book, a newspaper…then - a young woman pushing a baby carriage came into the store and took her place at the end of the line; she bent down and started talking and joking with her baby. WHAT??? Suddenly she pulled out her cell phone. (I relaxed, it was going to be OK!) That is - till the woman pulled back, snapped a photo of the child, smiled - and returned the phone to her pocket...and resumed her interaction with the infant….WTF?
At this point another worker appeared; turned out he was the manager. He apologized to the people waiting, stating that two car-pooling workers had been in an early morning accident. Someone near the back of the line called out "Hope they're OK!" The manager nodded...then offered a free small cookie to everyone who had to wait….and when it was my turn to order, the young man behind the counter addressed me as "Sir" - not "buddy" - and apologized again for the delay. He thanked me for my patience. I told him I needed to break a twenty. He didn't respond with a "no problem" - or give me a dirty look - he just completed the transaction and gave me my change. WTF?
Well….now I was completely confused. All of this….unusual behavior was pretty unnerving. I walked over to the gym. Starting my routine, I noticed a personal trainer a few feet in front of me working with someone. Her complete attention was on the client…no side conversations with other trainers or prospective clients; no texting or checking the internet in between sets...a few minutes later I walked over to the water fountain for a second, returning to my machine to see a guy standing there. "I wasn't sure if you were done here" he stated, "So I waited until you came back." Later on someone happened to be working out on another machine I use. "Let me know when you need it" she said. I think she meant it.
And, returning home, I passed a car who actually made a full stop at a stop sign, a cyclist who obeyed traffic rules, a father who held his son's hand when crossing a busy intersection (instead of walking a few feet ahead or behind the child), some teenagers walking next to me and talking without using one expletive to punctuate their conversation - and some other kid who gave up his seat on the subway to a senior citizen (uhhh, no - the senior citizen was NOT me).
"Bizarro World" from the "Superman" comics? (Up means down; right means left; good means bad, happy means sad etc.) I felt I was in the famous episode of "Seinfeld"…flushing with sudden optimism, I thought: Hell it's only noon. Who knows what can happen before the end of this day? A politician actually taking a stand - and placing the needs of the country above his/her own self-interests? A corporation putting principles above profits? The government addressing problems in a proactive (rather than reactive) manner. The gun lobby coming to their senses? Americans engaged in peaceful discourse on the important topics of the day…treating one another with respect, oblivious to nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation….HOLY COW: PEACE IN OUR TIME? Lost in my thoughts I started to open the door to the apartment building; a man and woman pushed passed me, curing, screaming, almost hitting me in the face with the door.
Back to normal. DAMN.
WTF?
See you all soon….be safe-
Stevenn
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