Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Another Quotation: Ruminate, My Friends

mountain stream


"The world is full of contention and contentious people. They will not tell you the time of day or day of the month without their little display of hostility. I have argued with Meyer about it. It is more than a reflex, I think. It is an affirmation of importance. Each one is saying, 'I can afford to be nasty to you because I don't need any favors from you, buster.' It is also, perhaps, a warmed application of today's necessity to be cool. ...

"If I were King of the World I would roam my kingdom in rags, incognito, dropping fortunes onto the people who are nice with no special reasons to be nice, and having my troops lop off the heads of the mean, small, embittered little bastards who try to inflate their self-esteem by stomping on yours. I would start the lopping among post-office employees, bank tellers, bus drivers, and pharmacists. I would go on to checkout clerks, bellboys, prowl-car cops, telephone operators, and U.S. Embassy clerks. By God, there would be so many heads rolling here and there, the world would look like a berserk bowling alley. Meyer says this shows a tad of hostility."


- Travis McGee in, "The Empty Copper Sea" © 1978 John D. MacDonald

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cool picture! Great quote!

The first paragraph is very similar to a comment I read regarding how politicians are acting to their constituents!

benning said...

True, Anna, and it's something I see far too often. These days, it seems, everybody is deathly afraid of being sued - employers, that is - and so they don't boot the jerks who work for them who are rude. I figure if the employee can't deal with people - "I'm a 'People person'!" Oy! - then he/she needs to be away from the sales/service floor. Otherwise, get rid of them.

I hate standing at a counter and being ignored while the clerk or salesperson chats with a co-worker or talks on their cell-phone to their 'peeps'. You get about 5 seconds to at least nod, or I drop whatever I was carrying and leave. I can depart the premises of a fast food place in a loud and cross manner, too.

We all need to treat folks well, and want to be treated well, too. It is behavior that can be learned. Now, we need a lot of employers to teach it! ;)

Brooke said...

It should be remembered that a little common courtesy never killed anyone!

:)

Sisiggy said...

Ow! I used to be a bank teller...put down your sword! I was a kinder, gentler bank teller...

benning said...

Hehehee! sisiggy! You back from your trip? All moved in?