I don't know if you ever felt disrespected, but for some reason it seems to happening to me a lot lately. Sometimes I feel like Rodney Dangerfield the patron saint of "No respect." and other times like "Mr Cellophane" from the musical Chicago, because people seem less inclined to notice me or appreciate my input. It's like that old joke:
A man goes to a psychiatrist and complains "People don't listen to me doctor, they always seem to be doing other things, and when I try to speak up it's like I was never there…"
"Next patient." The psychiatrist replies.
To illustrate my point here's what happened recently. I was with my mother who is a senior citizen, and we drove over to CVS pharmacy to get her a toothbrush. My mother is handicapped and walks very slowly.
To accommodate her needs we parked in a handicapped space, and I got out of the car to help her walk. Now we weren't able to park right next to the pharmacy because another car (not handicapped) was parked perpendicular to where we were and was effectively blocking two spaces.
As I got out of the car I noticed another woman walking over to the offending car who starts screaming at them.
"You should be ashamed of yourself! don't you know that there are two senior citizens who can't get into the store because of you."
"One," I yelled. "One senior."
The woman apparently didn't hear me or chose not to, but the illegally parked car did do the right thing and drove away, and when the woman who assisted us came by I gave her my thanks, but inside I was thinking "Fuck you. I just turned 50. I may qualify for AARP but I'm no senior citizen yet."
My mother wasn't even able to get a toothbrush because they didn't have the one she liked. All that trouble and no toothbrush, and even less respect.
Another time I went to DSW shoes on Long Island, but whenever I go there even if I have a big gift card it's rare that I can find shoes that appeal to me. I usually just go the my default favorite brand Rockport which have the reputation for being comfortable, but not very stylish.
To celebrate my recent birthday I received some gift cards, and went over to DSW with high expectations, but after close to an hour of shopping all I could find were three different pairs of Rockports.
I walked over to the cashier with my shoes hoping to have a quick sale when the woman looks over my purchases and replied,
"Rockports. My grandfather really likes them."
I looked up at her annoyed, but all I could mumble was, "Yes, very comfortable." Inside I was wondering "How comfortable would she would feel with my foot up her ass?"
The last story happened when I was taking an aerobics class at a local community college. While I wanted to get in shape, the real reason I was taking the class was to meet women. As it turned out I was the only guy in the class, but it's difficult to try to talk to someone when they are huffing and puffing away.
One day, during the middle class the instructor yells out vigorously, "Come on ladies work it."
"What about me?" I answered back.
"Oh, right," she replied, "Eric too."
No respect.
Life Lesson 124: When I talk to my high school students, I often offer quotes like "Respect yourself, protect yourself" or my other favorite, "It's hard to say no when your self-esteem is low."
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