Once upon a time, in the land of make believe, lived a young, beautiful girl, who just happened to be lucky enough to be raised with good manners. She was taught very important things, like brushing her teeth, bathing regularly, saying please, thank you, yes ma’am, no ma’am, and to eat all her limabeans. For many years life was fairly uneventful, and the young girl lived a happy life, full of happy thoughts, with a smile on her face.
Until one day, while foraging for food for her poor, hungry family, she entered a dark and scary wood. Although she was trepidacious, she knew her little puppy was hungry too, so she gathered all her bravery, and stepped into the ominous trees.
The going was rough, due to the darkness and fallen trees all over, but otherwise uneventful...........at first. The young girl felt that she had been walking for miles and miles, and was becoming very tired, when suddenly light began to shine through the trees. Feeling that she must finally be coming to the other side of the dark wood, the girl walked a bit faster. Breaking through the darkness into the light, the girl came upon a small field of sagebrush. She pushed through the sagebrush, scratching her arms and catching her clothes, but finally she made it to the other side. When she looked up she could see a huge archway, with a gigantic door inside it, a big red cowboy hat on the front, with A R B Y ‘ S written inside. “What could this be?”, she thought. The door was so large, so large that she thought there would be no way she could open it herself, as she was small of frame, and weak in muscle. That’s when the smell of curly fries, roast beef, cheddar-melts, potato cakes, and chocolate turnovers touched her nose, and suddenly she knew she must get in! She took a step back, appraised the door to decide the best angle in which to open it, and then started to reach for the handle.
Just as she had a good grip, and was ready to pull with all her might, she heard a noise from behind her. Looking in that direction, the girl saw an older woman heading toward the very same door the girl was about to open. The woman looked frail, and downright sickly, and the young girl knew immediately what she should do. Gritting her teeth, and digging her heels into the ground, the girl pulled on the door with all the strength she could muster. At first the door wouldn’t budge, but then with a loud squelch, the door began to swing open, slowly at first, and then faster, it’s own weight pushing it open. After what seemed like forever, the door was finally open wide enough to walk through. The young girl stepped to the other side of it, propping it open with her own body weight, and turned to smile at the older woman, as if to say, “Please, you go first!”
At first the woman didn’t say anything, just stood looking at the young girl. But then she began to move, at her own lazy pace as people her age do, and started to head into the open doorway. The young girl pushed back on the door, which was very heavy, but kept smiling, holding it open for the older woman to walk through, knowing that she was doing the right thing by helping the woman. As the woman got closer, the young girl could see that she was not frail at all, nor was she sickly. This woman had obviously had a rough life, and her wrinkly face told a story of too much drink, and too much sun. But having been taught from a young age to be kind to everyone, no matter who they may be, the young girl just kept smiling away, pressing all of her weight against the heavy door to keep it open.
Just as the older woman stepped just inside the doorway, face to face with the young girl, she stopped, turned and with a grumpy face, and a sour tongue, said to the girl, “Finally, people your age are starting to do things for everyone else.”
The young girl could not believe her ears. Was she smiling? Check. Were her feet out of the way so the woman could pass? Check. Was the doorway wide enough for the woman to get through? Check. Well, alrighty then.
The young girl looked the older woman dead in the eye, and said, “I was raised to be kind. I was raised to be giving. I was raised to help those less fortunate than myself.” The older woman raised her eyebrows and started to say something else, but before she could, the young woman interrupted her and said, “However, I was also raised not to put up with anyone's crap, no matter who they are, and especially if I did nothing to deserve it. So, because you suck, you can open your own damn door.”
And with that, the young girl straightened herself, released the door, and walked on through. Head held high, with a smile on her face, the girl heard a cry of pain and disbelief from behind her as the door slammed into the only thing blocking it’s path.
Moral of the story: Be grateful. Be gracious. Be humble. Honor other people. Be kind whenever possible, and always say thank you. Don’t judge. Never forget everyone is an individual. Get to know them, you may be surprised. And don’t be all shocked and dismayed if your rudeness is thrown back in your face. You earn what you get.
~ A Little Sarcasm
Yesterdays Blog post was written By my dear friend Sardnicism, and today my Little Sister Sarcasm had something to say about an experience at Arbys. Some people can;t be happy, unfortunately for this old she encountered "A Little Sarcasm".
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