Patience is a Virtue

I’m trying my damnedest to be more tolerant as I grow older.  I force myself to be more open-minded and disallow prejudice to rear its ugly head.  Yesterday in Kissimmee I was sorely tested.  We had a need for a few groceries so Erin and I opted to do the honors.  The total of my items were barely over a dozen so I sidled up to the express checkout where anyone having less than 20 items was welcome. There was a woman in front of me who must have misread the sign. She had a buggy full of items. In fact, her total bill had come to $217.39.  The reason I know this was she decided to pack all her groceries prior to paying the cashier. The young girl behind the counter shyly smiled and me and shook her head since there was nothing she could do. I stood there patiently, watching the lady in front of me pack, while admiring the soil stained track pants that had adorned her ample ass. In fact, she had two of them. The one I was looking at, along with her front ass.  I’m sure this was a result of the many boxes of Hostess goodies that her packing hands busy.  Her young son, looked at me, turned to his mother, and said, “Mommy, the man behind us is waiting.”  To that she responded, “well, he’ll just have to wait”.  I smiled, holding my fury inside, knowing that somehow my tax dollars were paying for most of her purchases. And all the while, the young checkout girl stood sheepishly looking, feeling both sorry for me and somehow responsible for the delay.  And then to my amazement, almost when she was finished, her cell phone rang. Not only did she answer it, she started a conversation.  Patience is a virtue I kept telling myself. Luckily the conversation only lasted a minute, the longest minute I have withstood. And then she finally reached for her purse. What was this? An immigration card, some sort of ID I didn’t recognize, and currency I had never seen before.  I knew all too well that in fact I was paying for her groceries. I envied her purchase of half a dozen rib-eyed steaks.  But now I have HOPE.  A change is coming.  The government of Mexico is about to default within the next six months.  Hopefully there will be enough rib-eyes to go around when the masses come.  Just don’t get in any express lanes.
GL