I had an interesting trip to Starbucks this morning for my semi-weekly hot chocolate. There are 2 on my way to work: one is the newer type that has a drive thru and the other is a more traditional, non-drive thru one. I wasn't feeling particularly lazy so, since Big A was chauffeuring me this morning, we headed to the non-drive thru one.
This location is at the end of a dead end parking lot. There is a cul-de-sac type end to the parking lot by Starbucks which has just a couple of parking spots. Big A parked away from this section where there were more parking spot choices. As I was walking up to the door from the north, I saw that an older, gray haired man (I would guesstimate late 50's in age) was getting out of the car on the opposite side and heading to the door from the south side. He had parked in one of the few spots in the cul-de-sac. Here is a picture of the area that was obviously not taken at 6:15 a.m. with the arrows representing me (the pink) and him (the orange). (Sidenote: Ed, for you that would be arrow on the right is me, the other one is him.)
As I was looking at him, I noticed that he very obviously increased his speed to the door. I could have also turned on the "after burners" and still would have beat him but I wasn't in a hurry and I was also intrigued to see what he will do when or if we meet at the door at the same time. I was about a half a step behind him as he reached the door. I then thought to myself "I wonder if he will hold the door for me." As I was thinking that, he opened the door and went in. I then grabbed the door and glanced back at Big A who was giving the "WTF?"-type gesture. He too had noticed his increased walking speed as I was approaching and his decision to not hold it for me and let me enter first. I don't mind getting my own door but stepping up the walking speed to beat me was what amused me the most.
As I reached the counter to order my hot chocolate, they had already put his regular black coffee into a cup and he headed to the accessory table to doctor it up however he likes it. I placed my order and headed to the pick up area. Maybe about 2-3 minutes later, it was ready. As I turned to leave, this guy finally got done doctoring his coffee and was leaving as well. All that fast walking and probably the "Oh no...I have to beat her" thoughts for absolutely no reason. As we were heading out, I was looking at his left hand to see if some poor soul married this whack job. There on the ring finger of his left hand was a gold band.
They seemed to know him there so he must be a regular. I'm thinking about stopping in again at about 6:15 a.m. to see if I run into him. If nothing else, I'm doing him a public service by scaring him into thinking I will get into line in front of him and getting his heart rate up with that fear and the fast walk.
7 comments:
Unfortunately, self-centered-ness tends to rule the day. I chalk it up to bad parenting on somebody's part.
Cheers.
BTW, my wife does know I've got burgandy shoes. She bought them for me.
:)
Cheers.
I have been known to step up the pace a bit before a bus load of kids enters the place I'm trying to visit but geesh, this guy is a little overboard. Our society is in such a hurry these days and yet we have less time to do the things we want. How does that figure?
My personal motto, "I have the rest of my life to get where I'm going." It has served me well so far.
P.S. Two posts in two days. It is starting to get chilly here.
P.S.S. Thanks for your colorblind friendly post though I only have problems with reds and greens, not oranges and pinks.
R - Does your wife buy all your dress shoes? :-)
Ed 1 - I have been known to do this when I see a church bus pull up in front of a Cracker Barrel but never one-on-one. I think I will swing by tomorrow morning and if I see him, the race is on!
Ed 2 - Wanna know the scary part? Big A commented on my lack of blogging. You know how infrequently he does his so he shamed me into re-committing to it. And you're welcome for the sidenote. I know sometimes you don't understand me so I wanted to make sure you got the complete picture for this one. ;-)
Wow, he obviously wasn't raised in the South... As for Randall's wingtips, I have a matching pair!
Great post. I ALWAYS hold the door for females!
Did a whole post a door-holding once, not surprisingly.
Some highlights:
"If I'm approaching a store and my ETA at the door is 3 seconds and I see a female approaching with an ETA of 7 seconds, I can slow my pace, making my ETA 5 seconds, leaving me with a less-awkward-looking 2 second hold time."
"With time, patience, and lots of practice, you too can become a smooth, polished, and experienced door holder. People will wonder in amazement at how you always seem to arrive at the door at precisely the right time."
Post a Comment