Mastering the Art of Idle Chit Chat

I have yet to master the art of chit chat.  You know, the kind of chatter that strangers do when brought together in a common area, like at the grocery store or on a bus.

I notice how easily it comes to some people, especially when we are all crammed together on the trolley on our way to our day jobs.  With just the slightest bit of prompting, people will chatter to strangers about everything under the sun.  Sometimes their chatter will last my entire ride, which is about 40 minutes.

How did all that chatter come so easily for them?  How do they know what to say? Do they practice at home in front of the mirror?  Do they refer to cue cards with banal sayings scrawled across them that they keep in their purses for just such an occasion?

I've been in situations where I've been forced to chat with a stranger.  I never initiate it, but am often called upon to think of a response to a strangers insipid comment about the weather or price of eggs.

Just this morning while riding the trolley, an older man commented on my t-shirt.  It was a t-shirt I bought during a recent trip to Rocky Mountain National Park.  He asked if I'd ever been there.  My first reaction was to be a smart-ass and give some flippant response, but instead I simply said, "Yes."  He then stared at me as if expecting a longer answer, so I lamely added, "It's beautiful there."

He followed up with a story about his parents having a ranch near Estes Park and that he still has a home there, but lives in San Diego part time because of the nice weather.  We were sitting across the aisle from one another so it made chit chatting difficult, but he continued to talk.  I had no idea what to say, so I nodded a few times while he prattled on.  When he paused to take a breath, I said something along the lines of "that's nice" and turned to look out the window.

That was rather rude on my part, but I didn't know what else to say.  It was at that moment I realized partaking in idle chit chat with complete strangers is difficult for me for several reasons.

The first being I am a private person.  I have no desire to share pertinent information about my life with people I have just met and within earshot of people whom I've never met.  Sometimes when I've been forced to chit chat, I will make shit up like a fake name or talk about my kids (I don't have kids), or be a college student, albeit an older college student, majoring in basket weaving.  Basically I lie, but the other person never has a clue.

My husband and I had a fabulous time on our road trip through Rocky Mountain National Park, but there was no reason why I should share details with this strange man.  I didn't need to talk for the sake of talking and most likely he probably wasn't that interested in my vacation.  He just wanted the opportunity to talk about himself and he did just that.

Secondly, I have trust issues.  Sometimes I am even reluctant to share things with those who I am actually friends with and/or related to, so why would I want to put my business on blast in a trolley crowded with strangers?

And lastly, I avoid chit chatting with strangers because I simply do not care about people or what they have to say.  That reveals a lot about my character and attitude and it's not very flattering, but it is the truth.  It's not narcissism.  It's more of a lack of empathy towards and connection with my fellow man and/or woman.

I'm not on the trolley or at the grocery store to mingle and make new friends.  I am there for a specific reason.  I want to get from Point A to Point B with as little disruption as possible and when strangers want to waste my time with idle chit chat, well, I find that a major disruption.  It's hard being me and any kind of interference, regardless of how small or mundane, can turn my day into a major catastrophe.

I also relish silence.  I like to hear the wind, the birds, the music playing in my head.  When someone wants to blab on and on on about their most adorable child who plays soccer, baseball, football, or where they live, or work, or where their most adorable child goes to school, it interferes with what's already going on in my head, which is a lot.  I never stop thinking.

After writing this, I started thinking (go figure!) that isn't my blogging a form of idle chit chat?  I share private information about my life with people that I don't even have the courtesy of sitting across from on the trolley.  It's blind Internet chit chatter.

It seems selfish, but my blogging is entirely one-sided.  I share with my readers, but they don't get to share with me.  Maybe I have mastered the art of idle chit chat after all.  Isn't that what chit chat is all about?  One person talks and the other person listens or in this case, reads?

I suppose in the end it doesn't matter, because either way I will refer to to Why I Don't Chit Chat Reason #3.  I simply don't care what people have to say and I would rather listen to the voices in my head, because frankly, I find them much more interesting than the strange man across from me on the trolley.

Happy! and Still Working for The Department

I was reading over my blog and noticed I had mentioned in several of my entries that I was planning on retiring in March 2012, but haven't followed up with any kind of update.  At that time I hated my job  and was very stressed and miserable.  My husband and I decided it would be best for everyone if I retired.

I had begun making plans for my retirement.  I obtained a security guard card and had an interview scheduled with the San Diego Zoo for a security guard position.  We were getting our finances in order and things were looking good.

It was a Friday night.  I had gone to work with the intention of getting together the paperwork I needed to set my retirement.  I logged into my work email and there was a message from Personnel.  After 7-1/2 long years, my transfer to Court Services had finally come through!

Personnel: Are you still interested? 
Me: Hell yeah!  

And that is where I am today.  Happy and content sitting in a court room at the downtown Court House.  I am on a 'normal' schedule, working days with weekends and holidays off.  It's been six months since I transferred from the jails to the Court House, but my husband noticed my attitude change immediately.  Gone were the mood swings, the anger, the bitterness, and the head and stomach aches.  Not only was I happy, but now I was healthy.

However, I still have a bit of work to do on my people skills.  I've spent the last 20-years working with inmates, so I'm a bit harsh (?) and cynical when speaking to the average citizen.  I'm not as compassionate as I suppose I should be, but I'm sure that will come with time.

I am happy and with happiness change comes a lot easier.

Another beautiful sunset in San Diego, CA.

The Lost Art of Sending Christmas Cards

When I was a child during Christmas time the wall in our living room was covered with dozens of Christmas cards. As kids we always knew Christmas was just around the corner when that first card came in the mail. Usually they started arriving shortly after Thanksgiving and by the end of December, my mother had quite a collection. They were from relatives, neighbors, friends, and co-workers of my parents. Even from the mailman and newspaper boy!

I moved into my own apartment when I was twenty-two years old. Every year I bought a load of Christmas cards and sent them to just about everyone I knew. I never sent the same design two years in a row, so I always had several boxes on hand. I’d hit up the after Christmas sales and buy more boxes for the following year. Christmas cards were everywhere. I also had one of those cloth Christmas trees tacked to the back of my front door. It filled quickly with big cards, little cards, cards covered in glitter (that usually got all over the floor when I opened the envelope), pop-up cards, and even a few of those photo cards of families wearing matching snowmen sweaters.

Fast forward to 2011. We are less than a week away from Christmas and I have only one card sitting on my TV stand. It is from my parents. Up until about three years ago I continued to send out dozens of Christmas cards. However, it reached a point when I would send out a handful of cards and I would get maybe one or two in return. It’s not that I send cards to get cards, but it’s nice to see that red or green envelope sticking out of the mailbox. I always got that little twinge in my tummy before I turned the envelope over. Who is it from? It was a nice surprise, because it meant someone was thinking about me and acknowledging my efforts to send them a card, but now that gesture goes unnoticed.

Rarely does anyone make the time and effort to hand-write a bunch of cards, address the envelopes, stick on a stamp, and take them to the post office. Now, I get the ubiquitous “Merry Christmas” message on my Facebook page or an e-card in my email that’s been forwarded to a hundred people. Sending Christmas cards has become a lost art. And with that Christmas has become incredibly impersonal.

I wasn’t planning on sending out any Christmas cards this year, but then I thought, “why not?” I still have plenty of cards in my desk drawer. Maybe if someone sees that little colored envelope in their mail it might just put a smile on their face. I know I’ll be smiling as I drop all those envelopes into the mailbox and I’ll feel better knowing I made the effort to make Christmas personal again.

I Love You the Best

It has been two weeks since my best friend passed away. She was only 18 years old, but that’s forever in kitty years. I do not expect those who do not like animals or have never had animals to understand the pain I feel. Poka was not just a cat, but a companion and friend. Whenever I felt sad, all I needed was to hug her, to feel her furry face against mine, to hear her purrs of contentment. Now she is gone and it feels as if my heart has been ripped from my chest. I have been told that I will heal in time, but it does not seem likely. My heart hurts. The hole created by her passing is too deep.

Poka, whose full name was Heyoka, came into my life when she was just five weeks old. She had the biggest blue eyes and a little rat tail. She was beautiful. I named her Heyoka after reading Hanta Yo by Ruth Beebe Hill. Heyoka is the Lakota concept of a jester, satirist, or sacred clown. It is a name that often needed an explanation and always to be spelled. It probably wasn’t the best choice, but it sounded good at the time. Over the years, she’s taken on a number of different names: Poka, Pokey, Smokey, Boo, Poody or whatever little rhyming name I thought of.

Last year she had a stroke and temporarily lost mobility in her hind legs. I contemplated putting her down then, but she still had some sensation and movement. Within a couple of days she was trying to walk again. She never fully regained her balance and had problems running and jumping, but walked well enough to get around and didn’t seem to be in any pain. And then she had another stroke, but this time it was worse.

I work night shift and came home on a Friday morning. I knew something was wrong as soon as I opened the front door. Normally, Poka is either on her cat tree or standing just behind the front door waiting for me. I could never just open the door, but had to crack it a bit and make sure Pokey was out of the way. As she got older, her cat-like reflects weren’t very cat-like anymore and invariably she’d get knocked over by the door. This time, however, she wasn’t there. I found her at the base of her kitty stairs in my bedroom. I got the kitty stairs after her last stroke to help her get up and down off the bed. She loved to sleep on my chest, so I put the stairs right near the headboard. Several times during the night I would awake to find her sitting on the top stair watching me sleep. Her face would be inches from mine.

For some unknown reason she had stopped meowing. It was more of a whispered mew; kind of sounded like she had laryngitis. I’d hear her making that little whispered mew and reach out to touch her. After a few moments of touches, she’d wander off, only to return a few minutes later for more touches. It was as if she were seeking reassurance that I was still there. It also reassured me that she was okay and the softness of her fur was soothing.

So when I found her lying at the base of her kitty stairs unable to move, my heart shattered. Her stroke happened in the living room and there was evidence she had lost control of her bowels/bladder. She dragged herself down the hallway and to my side of the bed. I believe she had been looking for me and I wasn’t home. I will never forgive myself for not being there when she needed me the most. She must have lain on the floor for several long hours, before I came home. She was cold and I’m sure hungry and thirsty, but when I called to her she answered me in that little whispered mew and looked up at me with those big eyes.

I rushed her to the vet, but knew the prognosis wasn’t good. That night I made the most difficult decision of my life, but it was the right one. My little Pokey couldn’t walk. I was selfish and wanted to keep her alive, but her quality of life had deteriorated and it wasn’t fair to her. It sounds kind of funny, I suppose, but I wanted her to pass away with her dignity intact. I wanted her to still have an awareness of who I was.

I spent an hour with her, holding her, telling her over and over how much I loved her, and singing those silly rhyming songs that made me sound like the crazy cat woman. I was not embarrassed by my devotion and love for her and wept openly. I cradled Poka’s tiny head and continued to whisper to her long after the doctor had injected the happy serum and ultimately the drug which stopped her precious heart.

Although Heyoka is physically gone from my life, she has not left my mind or my heart. I will always have my memories. I still talk to her and sometimes when I am caught in between sleep and consciousness I think I can hear her toenails clicking on the wooden floor and hear that whispered mew I found so endearing. And that gives me comfort and peace, because someday she’ll be in my arms again and together we’ll cross over the Rainbow Bridge. In the meantime, I hope she knows that I miss her very much and always loved her the best.

Reasons for Me

Sometimes I wonder why we exist. What purpose are we serving by being alive? Is there some grand plan for us that none of us knows about? I am not a staunch believer in God, but I sometimes pray for my family and friends. Sometimes for myself; asking God for patience, courage and strength to get me through difficult situations. I go to church with my in-laws a few times a year, but I don’t own a Bible and occasionally I use the Lord’s name in vain.

I started thinking about why we, as humans, exist after a co-worker told me a story about her daughter. Donna’s daughter, Kelly, is 19-years-old now and seemingly ‘cured,’ but growing up Kelly had horrible food allergies. On more than one occasion Donna had to perform CPR on her daughter to get her breathing again after she had eaten an orange or some other food that sent her into anaphylactic shock. She told me that recently Kelly started eating small portions of the foods that had previously been deadly to her with no harmful aftereffects. Donna believes that as her daughter matured and her body changed, the food allergies simply went away. Because of the hardships Kelly endured and her near death experiences, I believe she was put on this Earth for a purpose. But what?

I wondered about Donna and Kelly’s existence. Does Donna exist because her daughter exists? Without Donna, there would be no Kelly. Does Donna exist to help Kelly realize her potential? To help Kelly fulfill her destiny? Do we exist solely for the benefit of one another? If so, how is my life connected to that of a complete stranger?

I watch the inmates I am responsible for and wonder what their purposes in life are. They steal, cheat, lie, and cause harm to other people in many different ways and on varying levels. Their actions negatively affect their families, friends, strangers, and their community as a whole. Many refuse to take responsibility for their actions and blame everyone around them for their mishaps. In my opinion, those that continue to be selfish and hurt other people are worthless, are a drain on society, and have no business breathing the same air as I do. Yet, the door to the jail is a revolving one and my job security is never threatened. I wonder why these kinds of people exist when they contribute nothing positive to the community.

Which leads me to ask why do I exist? Do I exist because inmates exist? Do I exist to help balance out the numbers of good and bad? I am almost 40-years old and really have done nothing of any consequence in my life. I am a responsible, law-abiding citizen, but mostly I work, eat, and sleep. I pay taxes, but don’t belong to any charity groups that help children in need or build houses for the poverty-stricken. I never give money to the bell ringing Santa Claus outside of Wal-Mart at Christmas time and rarely do I buy cookies from Girl Scouts. I drive an eight-year-old SUV that burns through fuel and causes green-house gas emissions.

So why am I on this planet taking up valuable space? What am I destined to do in life that is so special? So many more questions than answers, but I suppose only in time will those answers be revealed. In the meantime, I could probably start using my time more wisely. I can volunteer and support a cause that I am passionate about (animals) and in the process maybe my destiny will come to fruition and I will finally understand the reasons for me.

Book Signing Like a Rock Star

We gathered together like a herd of sheep in a pen too small to contain us. Shoulder to shoulder we swayed and fidgeted as one. The air crackled with electricity; a tingle ran down my spine; my underarms grew damp; our nervous chatter was hushed. I wished I had applied a little lipstick. We had all come to see, to meet one man.

“I see him,” someone said.

Our heads bobbled to the left, to the right, back and forth as if we were performing some kind of bizarre ritual. The source of our excitement was close. We felt him; we smelled him. He was here, somewhere among us, blending in with the crowd.

“I don’t see him,” someone sighed with disappointment. Collectively we sighed.

I pulled up the sleeves of my sweatshirt, wishing instead I had worn a cute little tank top to show off some too pale skin. I glanced at my watch. It was time. He should be here. He was.

“I see him!” someone screamed. Collectively we screamed.

As one we surged towards the bespectacled, balding man dressed in a black t-shirt and flip flops. All three-hundred of us crowded close, but fell just short of mobbing him. We jockeyed for position; all of us wanting to touch him, to take his picture, to hear him speak, and later to tell our friends that we had been one of the lucky few, okay one of the lucky three hundred, he had actually talked to.

You’d think Paul McCartney, the Pope, or even Miley Cyrus, had sauntered through the double-doors of Barnes and Noble, but it was only Sam. Only Sam? No, not ‘Only Sam,’ but Sam “The Cooking Guy!” Step back and recognize!

***

I clutched Sam’s book, Just a Bunch of Recipes, to my chest and practiced what I would say when it was my turn to have him sign my book….

Hi Sam. You’re so great! My husband and I are big fans!
Hi Sam. I’m going to a BBQ this weekend. What do you suggest I make?
Hi Sam, you’re so cute! Hee hee hee

Twenty minutes later I still hadn’t decided what I would say, but I had time. I pulled my yellow card from my pocket, #167. He hadn’t yet reached #20. I had a long ways to go, but towards the front of the store there was a commotion. Barnes and Noble had just sold the last of Sam’s books! People grumbled, a woman cried, I thought a fist fight might ensue. Many of those people had already been issued numbers, but had no book to sign and this was after all, a book signing. Their loss, however, was my gain. A man handed me his yellow card as he went out the door. #143! I giggled crazily with anticipation.

***

The line moved slower than a snail taking a nap. Actually, it didn’t really move at all, it just seemed like it did with people bouncing from one foot to the other to keep their legs from falling asleep. Absolutely everyone wanted their picture taken with Sam, to hug him (at least the women did), to tell him how good his recipes were, and to tell him how great he was. I was no exception, but I would have to wait my turn.

Finally, the moment I'd been waiting for. It was 10 p.m. and I’d been standing in line for a good 3-hours. I went over everything in my head. I decided I would tell Sam what big fans my husband and I were and ask him what I should make for the BBQ. He flashed his lovely smile and as I gazed into his twinkling eyes all cognizant thought flew from my head. I couldn’t speak. I merely held up my camera and the man in line behind me took a picture of us, then I thrust my book at Sam to sign. At last I found my voice. “You look tired,” I said. Good going Rae! Basically I told the man he looked like shit, but I got my cookbook signed and all was good in the world again.

I'm Neither an Outcast Nor a Mother

I don’t have children nor do I want any. I have absolutely no maternal instincts unless it’s to shelter an orphaned kitten. I have no regrets and don’t feel like I’ve missed out on anything. I never realized, however, just how segregated from society my choice has made me until I attended a coworker’s barbecue. Some quick introductions were made when my fiancé and I arrived, but for the most part we were left on our own to mingle. I work with most of the men that were there, but I didn’t know any of the women except for one.

Situations like this make me very uncomfortable. I hate having to make small talk with strangers and intended to stay close to my fiancé. He, along with all the other men however, quickly migrated to the garage leaving the woman folk to socialize in the living room. I was in a dilemma. Should I venture into male territory and cause a ripple in the testosterone level or suck it up and hang with the ladies? I decided to stick with the girls and plopped down on the sofa to chit chat with complete strangers.

The one woman I knew, Melissa, had her three-week old infant with her. I acknowledged he was a cutie-pie, which he was, and made the obligatory goo-goo gee-gee noises and poked his little belly, but beyond that what else was there to say? Apparently there was plenty. After a few minutes my urge for a very strong drink became unbearable and I thought my head would explode. Gross things were being discussed in such detail that I almost vomited. Twice. A conversation about Sue’s water breaking and how she thought she had just wet her pants lasted nearly ten-minutes. Then Melissa plopped out her boob and started nursing, although she had the graciousness to cover herself with a blanket once the baby was in position, but still…Yuck! A discussion about the benefits of breast feeding soon followed.

I had no idea what these women were talking about since I have never experienced anything remotely associated with pregnancy, child birth, or child rearing. At first I tried to be involved, adding a ‘wow’ or ‘really?’ in all the right places, but it was awkward. I even thought about telling the story of how I fell off the porch when I was a toddler and caved in my forehead, but changed my mind. It didn’t seem like it would be appreciated among this group of strangers. There was absolutely nothing I could add to the conversation. I tried hard, but when the topic turned to diaper changing and all the crap (literally) that comes out of babies, my mind began to reel. I couldn’t stay focused enough to contribute an ‘ah’ or even an ‘ew'.

There must be another woman who I could talk to that didn’t have children, but as I looked around I realized I was the only one. There was no escape. Kids were everywhere – cuddled in their mother’s laps, sucking on a boob, crawling on the floor, running around in the backyard. I had nothing in common with these women and felt like such an outsider. The mothers sensed my distress and further isolated me by not including me in their conversation of all-things-children.

If I had had kids I would have easily bonded with these women. I too could be laughing about sleep deprivation, debating the use of disposable diapers versus cloth, complaining how quickly kids outgrow clothes bought just a couple months prior, and experiencing all the joy children bring to the world, but I couldn’t and it made me angry. Angry, because these women made me feel like a pariah, because I had purposely chosen not to add to the already overpopulated planet. And then I felt sad. Not for me, but for those seated around me. After listening to them prattle on and on about their children, I realized they had absolutely no lives of their own.

They couldn’t discuss the latest movie, because they hadn’t been to a movie in years unless it had talking penguins. No one traveled, because it was too much to carry around car seats, strollers, diaper bags, and everything else that accompanied a small child. They didn’t have time to watch sports or television in general, because they were too busy shuttling their kids back and forth to school, dentist appointments, dance class, etc. and when they were able to watch television it was Barney, Blues Clues, Sesame Street or some other children’s program. Their hobbies were their children’s hobbies: soccer, Little League, ballet, swimming. Their world revolved around their children. I wondered what would be left of them once their children were grown and moved away. They could be soccer moms for only so long.

Finally I excused myself and no one seemed to notice, because they were busy raving about ‘onesies’ and how you ‘can never have too many’. I went into the garage in search of my fiancé and found a space where I felt more at ease. Even though I was the only woman in a group of men, I didn’t feel like such an outcast. Here I could talk about current events, sports, work, and about life in general. It was great because not once did we discuss the bodily fluids that randomly spew from small children.

Bound by Whose Etiquette?

04/09/2007

There were several definitions of the word etiquette when I looked it up in the dictionary. To put it in simple dictionary.com terms, etiquette means “the practices and forms prescribed by social convention or authority.” The purpose of etiquette, I suppose, is to encourage us to follow certain rules to avoid pissing people off. I mention etiquette, specifically wedding etiquette, because my fiancé and I are planning our wedding.

At a recent family dinner, wedding etiquette was a hot topic. The main reason for our discussion was because a few days prior I had mentioned to my mother that I was thinking of wearing flip-flops with my wedding dress. I only said this because the shoes the clerk gave me to wear while I tried on dresses were too small and hurt my feet. My mother went ballistic and forbid me to wear flip-flops at my wedding. She forbid me! Just for the record I am thirty-eight years old and this will be my second marriage. Of course I couldn’t let the discussion end, because the more I talked about wearing flip-flops the angrier my mom became. I found her behavior rather amusing. Of course my mother saw no humor in it at all.

At dinner I told my brother and sister-in-law of the incident and added embellishments in all the right places. After all I was only joking and had no intention of wearing flip-flops. However, after I told my story, my father was quite serious when he said he would not go to my wedding if I wore flip-flops. His reasoning? He thought I would look like white-trash. Wow. First off, flip-flops are worn by a huge percentage of the population, not just in the white-trash communities. Secondly, I would hope it would take more for me to look like white-trash than donning a pair of flip-flops. But that is my father and sometimes his rationale isn’t always as clear to other people as it is when he figures it out in his head.

After he made this comment I quickly tried to calculate the money I would save due to his absence. After much persuasion from my sister-in-law, and a small payment made under the table, I decided I would much rather have my father in attendance. I couldn’t believe he was that serious, though, which brings me back to the original topic at hand: wedding etiquette.

When Robert and I first started planning our wedding I decide to browse through the wedding section at the Barnes and Noble bookstore to get some ideas. Every other book was about wedding etiquette, but after flipping through a few I couldn’t take it anymore. In every book some self-proclaimed wedding planning-advisor-person was telling me what I was allowed to do and what not to do. This was my wedding for heavens sake! If I wanted to wear a black mini skirt with flip-flops and dress up as a vampire I should be able to do so! But not according to these people. I should avoid black, because it is associated with mourning and loss.

Who exactly are these narrow-minded people who write these absurd books that place restrictions on how a young bride plans her wedding? I read several of the jacket covers trying to figure it out, but I still don’t know whose rules these are. According to the definition, etiquette is society based, but aren’t I part of society? Certainly these are not my rules, yet I am pressured to follow them simply because a book tells me what is right and wrong. If I go against the perception of what a traditional wedding is and want something more suitable to my personality, is that so wrong? It doesn’t sound like it would be, but when I share my ideas with others, such as having no bridal party, I am gently criticized because my ideas don’t fall within the wedding norm.

This is where my stress level starts to rise. Not from all the planning, but from the pressure to have the typical cookie-cutter wedding, because the etiquette books say it should be done that way. In my humble opinion wedding etiquette is quite stifling and the authors of those stupid etiquette books are mini dictators in the making. Duties are defined for everyone involved in the wedding – flower girls, ushers, bridesmaids, best man, ring bearer, groomsmen, and on and on. The control factor is out of control. For instance, I Googled ‘wedding etiquette’ on the Internet and came up with a plethora of useless information. Did you know that if you’ve been married before or have children you’re not supposed to wear a veil or have a train attached to your wedding dress? And don’t carry orange blossoms! Why, I don’t know, but so advise the wedding etiquette gurus so it must be law.

My advice? Toss the wedding etiquette books into the trash, get creative, and open your mind to all possibilities. Plan your wedding as you and your fiancé see fit. Oh, and feel free to wear flip-flops. Your feet will thank you.

Do Random Acts of Kindness Really Exist?

04/07/2007


People are rude. I see it all around me. For instance, last weekend I was driving to the mall with my mother. I attempted to change lanes, but when I turned on my blinker the car in the next lane sped up so I couldn’t merge. Did that car get to its destination any quicker because the driver wouldn’t allow me to get in front of him? Nope. As it turned out we were both headed to the mall and got to the same parking garage at the same time. Would it have hurt him (yes, it was a man) to slow down a moment to let me get in front of him? Nope, but I see rudeness like this happening all the time.

Once my mother and I got to the mall we parked the car and entered a department store through a set of double glass doors. We were only a few steps behind a woman in front of us. She opened the doors and entered the store, but didn’t bother looking back. She let the door close in my mother’s face. Rude? Definitely, but I don’t think it was intentional. The woman was simply in a hurry and not paying attention to her surroundings.

But that got me thinking. Do random acts of kindness exist anymore? I tried to think of occurrences where an act of kindness was shown to me. When was the last time a stranger held a door open for me? Or let me cut in line at Jamba Juice? I couldn’t think of any, but then I realized I was just as guilty. When was the last time I had shown kindness to a complete stranger? I couldn’t remember that either.

The following Monday I was on my way home from work. While on the freeway a car in the next lane turned on its blinker to merge into my lane. What did I do? I sped up! I was no better than the jerk I had cussed out the day before for doing the exact same thing to me. Not long after another car wanted to merge into my lane. This time I slowed down and let the driver change lanes. I was met with a friendly wave. There were no immediate benefits to my good deed. I didn’t win the lottery that night or make every green light on the way home. I half expected Ed McMahon to be waiting on my front porch with a Publisher’s Clearing House check, but that didn’t happen either.

The only thing I could hope for was that the driver who I expressed kindness to would extend the courtesy to someone else. My kindness would start a chain reaction of kindness all across the city, the state, even the world! Maybe that’s asking too much, but think about what a better existence we would have if we all showed at least one act of kindness a day to a complete stranger. I decided that’s what I would do. If nothing else I would at least feel better about myself for trying to make a difference. I was also curious to see the reactions I would get since kindness seems to have stopped being a part of our culture.

I showed my first act of kindness while standing in line at the grocery store. My cart was fairly full, but the woman behind me had only a few items, but still too many to go through the express lane. She seemed to be in a hurry so I asked if she wanted to go in front of me. Of course she said yes, but she also thanked me. She then proceeded to tell me how excited her two small children were about coloring eggs for Easter. One of the items she was buying was an egg coloring kit. We made the usual small talk that strangers do when forced together in public places, but it was light hearted and she was genuine in her appreciation for my letting her take cuts in line.

I tried the same trick while in line at Barnes and Noble. Two brothers, probably around 8 and 10 years old were in line behind me. Their mother called the oldest boy on his cell phone. I gathered from the boy’s side of the conversation that their mother was angry because, heaven forbid, she was outside in the car and didn’t want to wait any longer. I offered to let the boys go in front of me so they wouldn’t get in trouble for making their mother wait. They said thank you, but declined. Evidently acts of kindness don’t work too well on kids, but I tried and I think they understood my intentions.

My acts of kindness didn’t stop there however. Once I started showing kindness I found the opportunities to do so were everywhere and I couldn’t limit myself to just one act of kindness a day either. Once I started I couldn’t stop. Expressing kindness wasn’t some great inconvenience and it actually took very little effort. At college I took a moment to help a young student pick up her papers after she dropped her notebook. On the trolley I let an elderly man have my seat so he could sit with his wife. The more I expressed kindness, the more I saw other people expressing it as well. Maybe not to the extent that it affected the entire country, but it was a start.

When I began showing acts of kindness my reasons were not selfish. I simply wanted to see what would happen. I wasn’t expecting some huge reward in return and I didn’t get any either, unless you want to count the many smiles, thank yous, and overall good feeling I felt in my heart. So do random acts of kindness really exist? I think they do.