I love Costco. I do. Mister likes to say it’s one of the things that makes America great. I do not disagree.

 

Costco sells a lot of things. More than I know, really. But that’s not the point of this post. The point is this – I was in the Costco parking lot last week, locked out of my car. It was Mister’s car, actually, and I had taken it in for service and so the electronic key wasn’t attached to my ring. Instead, it was in the car, where the service guy had left it. When I got out of the car, I’d used the interior lock mechanism instead of the exterior. This makes a difference because the exterior mechanism is electronic, meaning one cannot lock the door from the outside if the key is inside the car. But since I used the interior mechanism – which is manual – I was able to lock the doors, no matter where the key was. That’s not the point of this post, either.

 

So I was standing by my locked car in the Costco parking lot, waiting for AAA to come bail out my sorry butt. As I was standing there, a lady pushed her laden cart past me and dropped some trash on the ground. She stopped, looked down at the trash, then shrugged her shoulders and walked to her car. Which was right next to mine. That’s right – this all happened a mere 2 feet in front of me.

 

I have many assets flaws, y’all. One of them is my big mouth. So, as you’re probably guessing, I opened said big mouth and blurted, “You’re gonna pick up that litter, aren’t you?” The lady sighed audibly and said, “Yes! I was gonna pick it up!” She stomped the 2 feet to where she’d left the trash and retrieved it. She then finished unloading her shopping into her car. She then got in her car, backed out of the spot, put the car in drive and started to leave the parking lot. But just after she began inching forward, she leaned out her window and yelled, “Bitch!” She then sped off pretty dang quickly.

 

I have many flaws assets, y’all. One of them is my big sense of humor. So when that lady yelled at me, I did the only thing I could: I guffawed so loudly and with such gusto, I actually bent over and slapped my own knee. I was still laughing as she peeled around the corner, trying so desperately to get away from me, lest I come after her or something.

 

After my laughter died down, I thought about that lady and her witnessed behaviors. And I realized I had been unfair to her. For she was only being true to her nature. Think about it. She knowingly littered. I mean, she may have accidentally dropped the garbage, but she knowingly chose to leave the trash on the ground. She chose to litter. And if that behavior was a part of her nature, it should have been no surprise that she might then choose to yell an obscenity at a stranger in a public parking lot. That lady is what she is.

 

And another factor was probably at play: I don’t care what kind of person one may be, no one relishes having their shortcomings pointed out. By anyone. And certainly not by someone who’s having a happy, joy-filled, all-I-can-seem-to-do-is-laugh kind of day.

 

But that is my nature. Just like my big mouth and my optimism. And my love for Costco.

 

Yes, they sell a lot of things at Costco. But you can’t buy everything there. For as I clearly learned in their parking lot, they obviously don’t sell class, grace or decorum. You’ve either got those or you don’t.

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