No good deed...

A SUPER annoying guy tried line jumping in front of me this morning when I stopped for coffee. I call him SUPER annoying because I saw him get in "line" right next to me instead of behind me (hence, the whole line theory?) while looking right at me. "HMPH!" I thought, and I stepped forward one step...my silent protest to his advanced rudeness. I saw him glance at me out of the corner of my eye and thought "oh, good! Maybe he got the hint."...but then...he started talking to me.

Guy: They aren't going very fast today are they?

Me: No...heh. ("Ughhhhhhhh" I thought "Don't talk to me...just get in line!!" but he clearly wasn't gifted with the power of telepathy...so I looked up and gave him a courtesy smile while I tried to give him a non-chalant flash of my wedding ring. It didn't work...he continued...)

Guy: They need to have a separate line for people who want just regular coffee...those fancy coffee drinks take so much longer.

Me: (thinking "you're going to feel like a total ass when I order a latte Mr.") Yep. This is true.

Guy: ...but you're in front of me...

Me: No that's OK...I'm getting one of those fancy coffee drinks. (laughing)

Guy: Oh, I've offended you already.

Me: (giving another, more obvious flash of my wedding ring) No, it's fine...coffee is faster, you go ahead...(hoping that he would just leave me alone and step ahead)

Guy: Well, thank you!! I usually wouldn't care, but I showed up late and I have these people waiting for me...

Me: No, it's no problem...really. (and really, by this point, I didn't care...if I were just getting a 30 second cup of coffee and had to wait in line for 15 minutes for other people's lattes, I'd be annoyed too. The decent thing to do is to let him step ahead of me, so I motion for him to go ahead and make peace with my decision.)

Another register opens and he shoots right up to the front of that line and orders his coffee...

Guy: (to register guy) I'll have a medium coffee...and...*looks back and points to me* whatever she wants...

Me: ... (*blushing*)

I tried protesting, but he wouldn't hear of it...and at that point, super annoying coffee guy turned into super decent coffee guy. So I ordered and thanked him, and we went about our separate morning schedules, *la la la*, never shared another word. How random.

Not a monumental event in my life, for sure, but a nice little reminder that some people actually do appreciate a nice gesture now and again. Sad that it's so rare these days, in a world where road rage has become a regularly used term, but awesome when you actually stumble upon a gracious person. Maybe we each could try to be the gracious person a little more frequently, to breathe a little life back into that old cliche that no good deed goes unrewarded. I'm not saying that you have to buy something for someone who does something nice for you, but how about making a point to say thank you a bit more frequently, or give a nice wave of thanks to the driver behind you when they let you squeeze in in front of them...you know, small things. Certainly couldn't hurt...might make someone's day. It's worth a try, no?