Can I get a little common courtesy?

It seems the more time passes, the more people forget about the principles our society was built on. I don't know if they still have charm school or not, but it taught something missing from today's world. When did common courtesy wither away? When did kindness go missing?

I think in part technology is to blame. The more technologically advanced society gets, the more detached we become from people. I wasn't old enough to see the days but remember when people had to connect to a switchboard operator to make a phone call? Speaking of phone calls, when did they become a side activity to what we were actually doing? We (I include myself because I do it too) talk on our cell phones while we're driving, watching TV, walking, exercising, even sometimes when we're sleeping. You know those late night calls when you fall asleep talking to someone... Anyway, the other day I was driving down MacArthur Blvd. here in Dallas and a car next to me was trying to turn from a turn-only lane into mine. I thought I'd be the kind soul and let them in, which I did. But then they just jetted off without so much as a wave. Now I understand we all have busy lives and we're trying to get somewhere and in this case, it's a big city with lots of people, but when did it become hard to lift your arm and give a courtesy wave? Now I know I'm being silly because there's millions of people who don't get a courtesy wave everyday and it's nothing unique, but common courtesy has to begin somewhere. Maybe they just weren't brought up right. Seems like there's more and more people who just don't seem to "get it." Like the people I saw one day whose I'd say 8-year-old son was thugged out in baggy jeans pulled around his ass, a tucked out plain white shirt, a "trendy" alternate color Yankees hat and a gold chain around his neck. Seriously? Who in the hell teaches their kids that crap? The same people who don't exchange pleasantries or thanks to others, that's who.

Gates came in today from his first day on the job and it seemed to go mighty well, which was excellent. Then he tells me there was a long line into where his orientation was being held so he kindly held the door open with his foot while everyone passed through. The kindly thing to do right? See at least he was raised right. He then tells me he got a lot of "thank yous" from people but there were also a lot of people who just walked right on past without so much as a glance. I mean come on, Gates went out of his way to make someone's life 2 seconds easier. Think about that. He saved them two seconds. What's that in the grand scheme of things? Not much. But, it was the fact he was willing to save them two seconds that really shows his good manners. I saw the same kind of thing at Best Buy when I went in for my interviews. The security liaison person, who stands at the front of the store and greets people while at the same time watching security cameras , was helping me get to where I needed to be. As I waited for the bosses to come get me, I watched as John greeted every single person walking into or out of the store with a "Hey, hows it going?" or "Have a great day." More than half of the people who walked into the store didn't so much as recognize his presence. They just kept walking (and many talking on their cell phones) because apparently their lives were too busy for a "Hello" and a smile. After several people walked through without responding I asked John, "Does it bother you? All the people coming in and not even saying 'hi?' " He told me it used to bother him at first but now he's used to it. And see that's what our lives have come to. We ignore people so much that even the kind spirits give up and become systematic. I envy people like my grandfather who can walk into any place and talk to people like they were long time friends. Hell, there's times when his long time friends come up to him and he has a 10 minute conversation with them and afterwards he'll turn to me. I'll say, "Ghee, who was that?" to which he'd respond, "Hell if I know." But the important thing is he always made whoever it was feel important. Bottom line: isn't that what everyone wants? To feel important? My grandpa has people skills and a long time ago that's all it took to be successful.

Not only has common courtesy gone out the window but generosity has declined a lot too. How many times have you helped someone out in a time of need? Moreover, when have you helped someone who didn't need help? The example that springs to mind is Tuesday, August 28. Gates and I had been in Dallas about a week and since his favorite baseball team (the Chicago White Sox) were playing my favorite team (the Texas Rangers), we figured we'd ring in the new home by going to the game. Well we end up getting to the park about five minutes late and a little ways into the first inning but that was alright we just wanted to have a good time. So we're walking up to the ticket window when a lady's voice beckons us back. "Do you two want tickets?" Gates said we'd love to. She then proceeded to GIVE us two tickets free of charge. "I'm sorry they're not better," she said. We said it was fine, we just wanted to be at the game. We exchanged thank yous and she, her husband and daughter left. I looked down at my ticket, which didn't look like other tickets I'd had at Ranger games. It had a picture of Gerald Laird in the background with a Texas Rangers logo in the foreground. My eyes went to the ticket price and imagine my surprise when it read "$45.00." I couldn't believe it. Here we were about to spend $12 tops for tickets and a kind soul offers us $45 tickets for free. When we got to our seats we were directly behind the Rangers dugout, 11 rows back. I could see Sammy Sosa and Kameron Loe and Brandon McCarthy and Jarrod Saltalamacchia without binoculars! They were easily the greatest seats I'd ever had. Later on in the first inning the woman and her family sit down next to us and said with a smile, "I guess they were better seats than I thought!" We expressed our thanks again, but I'm sure she could see the happiness she had bestowed upon us. How could anyone not be happy with that? And all it took was someone deciding they would give their extra tickets away to make someone else's day. I will never forget what she did and I hope to some day repay her, if I ever find out who she is.

THE VIEW FROM OUR GREAT SEATS
GATE: HP. SEC 33. ROW 11. SEAT 11.














It's people like the Rangers woman who give me hope for our world. They recognize they have the ability to make a difference, no matter how big, in someone's life. Too bad our world isn't full of people like her. There'd be a lot happier Ranger fans.