Cute/Funny or Rude?

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We went to a familiar orchard in search of some of those warm cinnamon doughnuts. Always a favorite this time of year.

When we walked in, there wasn't a doughnut in site. There were apple pies, apple butter, and caramel apples, but no doughnuts. So I asked the lady behind the counter if they had any.

I couldn't believe her response. Without a smile on her face, she said:

"Do you go into McDonald's and ask them if they have hamburgers?"

I must have looked stunned, so she continued, "We have them here in this warmer."

So I ask you, was she being cute/funny or rude?

We bought some of her doughnuts--which weren't the best--and then went to a different orchard where they had better doughnuts and staff.

Sorry, I'm just venting about my First World "problem." For some reason, I really take issue with service people who don't know how to interact with customers. I always try to give them a break and assume there is something going on that makes people act the way they do, because I know there are days when finding a smile may be pretty hard to do. After all, we're all human.

Besides, maybe I was the 5th person that day who asked her that same, apparently dumb, question, and she just got tired of hearing it, so she found a defensive way to respond.

Still, here I am venting about something that is really quite unimportant in the scheme of things.

Or is it?

I could have been the one having a hard day and maybe I needed a nice encounter with my fellow man. The fact is, we need to be nicer to each other, no matter what we are doing, because we just might make a difference in someone else's day.

Since I have had time to think about it, I find myself recalling Jesus' arrest and the whole thing about the soldier's ear being cut off. I'm reminded that Jesus was not one to retaliate when others treated him unfairly, which was often the case. The turn-the-other-cheek lesson really stands out, but I wonder how much we really take it to heart and practice it.

Eventually I dismissed the internal retorts I could have used that would have given me the upper hand for sure, and came to the conclusion that I had to be Christ-like and let it all go.

Can any of you relate, or is it just me?

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.com

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