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Monday 4 March 2019

Poetry Monday: Distance

It's Poetry Monday, and this week's topic is DISTANCE. Thank you, Delores, for a thought-provoking (and teeth-gnashing) topic! ha ha

Join us as we get out our binoculars and zoom in on this topic. You can leave a poem in the comments on either of our blogs, or if you prefer to post on your own blog, please leave a comment to help us find you.

*****

I was really struggling with this week's topic until I happened to go out shopping for a short time on Sunday. I was enjoying my little shopping trip, and was waiting to pay for my purchases when this happened . . .



To The Person In The Store Lineup Today

Your voice was loud and rough
As you called the cashier stupid and blind
And said he should wear the flowery dress he went off to price for a customer

Since that customer was not you
You were enraged by the wait
Sputtering what you thought were well-deserved and clever insults
But they were neither
They were the words of a sour, self-centred person

No one wanted to challenge you
In case we became the next target
And we all carefully kept our distance




*****

Sometimes I write serious stuff. 

I actually debated about using this incident or even mentioning it, given that writing about it causes me to remember it more clearly and records it for far longer than it would survive just in my brain.

But I decided to use it because I was desperate. 

Suffering for my art . . . ha ha



To wash away the bad taste in my (and maybe your) mouth, let's have some funnies:

 































And that's a wrap for today.

Next week, we'll talk about . . . MUSIC . . . 

Have a good week, and thanks for reading!







41 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nasty type, and we have all come across them. Not sure whether the squirrel crossing the road or smug dog in the last photo made me smile more.

dinthebeast said...

Tonight I am comforted by distance, namely the distance between Lee county, Alabama, where the tornadoes killed all of those people, and Huntsville, Alabama, where my friend Sara lives.
She was scared of earthquakes when she lived here, and her folks have an underground tornado shelter in their back yard.
So add the distance between here and "tornado alley" to the distances I am comforted by just now... My whole family (except me) is from Oklahoma and I've seen quite enough of those, thank you very much.

-Doug in Oakland

baili said...

hahha

oh dear Jenny you just cherished my early noon (12 pm) here :)))

so enjoyed the single that made me smile and laugh :)))

bad experience during shopping ?

well that is good that it came out with your beautiful poetry

sharing makes our hearts LIGHT and i think you felt better therefore you brought some really fun images and chuckles here

waiting sucks then work or shopping ,it just get on nerves sometimes but this is nice that you put into your lighter side
your poem :)

sending lots of positive energy ,love and hugs!

Charlotte (MotherOwl) said...

Such persons always make me feel so sorry for the cachier. I hope you smiled extra much at him/her after this incident.
Normally I'm not much for pet memes, but the "shelfie" had me sputtering.

PS: My Distance

LL Cool Joe said...

Not your normal fun poem, but still a good one. We've all experienced someone like him. I lived with someone like him, although him was a her.

No one wanted to challenge you
In case we became the next target

Oh how I can relate.

Marie Smith said...

The last photo is perfect.

Store clerks take a lot of abuse for minimum wage. Ridiculous!

only slightly confused said...

Oh Jenny...what a awful awful person in the lineup. And I can't help but wonder what was worse, that customers behaviour or everyone else 'keeing their distance'. We all do it dont't we? Great poem this week, adorable funnies and what a topic..music...I shall apply myself. (Is Diane EVER coming back do you think? She'll be so proud of us.)

Red said...

Sometimes we have to take on those clowns to shut them up. Silence to them means that we support their rude behavior.

Steve Reed said...

Some people seem to forget they're in public and say things out loud they ought to think in private (if they have to think them at all). I love the squirrel joke -- that is SO true.

jenny_o said...

Glad to give you a smile or two :)

jenny_o said...

Earthquakes and tornadoes would scare me, too. It's very sad about the lives lost in Alabama. I'm glad your friend is safe.

jenny_o said...

I was really bothered by this incident and the funnies were an attempt to scrub it from my immediate memory. Thank you for the positive energy and love - sending you the same!

jenny_o said...

I would have smiled extra at the cashier but I was in a different line, and it was my line - right behind ME - that the angry man joined when the other cashier left to get a price. I was only wishing to get out of there and away from him, in case he exploded over something else and my face was in the way!

jenny_o said...

I really was cowed by this fellow. I can only imagine how hard living with such a person would be. Nobody wants to be the next target. I'm glad you're no longer in that difficult situation, my friend.

jenny_o said...

Indeed they do, Marie. It's not fair or right.

jenny_o said...

It was all women in the lineups just then, so I think we were all just trying not to rock the boat. The cashier was a big man, and chose to ignore the angry guy as well. I was in the lineup right in front of the angry guy, and was rather frightened of him.

I hope Diane joins us again soon!

jenny_o said...

This guy looked like he had bigger problems than just rudeness, whether that was PTSD or drugs or alcohol - something had to be wrong for him to be so enraged. As I've commented above to several other readers, he looked like a bomb waiting for a place to explode, and I didn't want to be in the front line.

jenny_o said...

I've had squirrels do that; it's a horrible feeling because you can't stop fast enough and it's just luck if they don't end up under the wheel.

I think there was something else going on with this guy. See above for my reply to Red :)

jenny_o said...

P. S. For other readers: Uglemor's poem is at the link in her comment - check it out! She has posted it in two languages, English and Danish. Well worth the read!

Diane Henders said...

Too bad about the jerk in the store - people like that make life miserable for everyone, including themselves. But the funnies made me laugh, especially the squirrel. So, so true (and frequently deadly for the squirrel). And the "good puppy" is adorable! :-) Happy Monday!

jenny_o said...

Isn't that puppy cute? What a great shot someone got (and we get to enjoy)!

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

I have no patience for rude people. Nobody wants to wait their turn; everybody is in a hurry; and manners are replaced with bad behavior. We can all get impatient at times but there is never an excuse for demeaning another person who is trying hard to do their job.

I just love that ‘good boy’. He is a great way to end your post.

jenny_o said...

The world would be a better place if we were all more like that dog, wouldn't it? :)

John M said...

Nice photos, sorry about the shopping incident.

e said...

Having escaped my own nasty types, I'm glad you were not there for long. Loved the feline and canine funnies!

Susan Kane said...

Rude people--do they even see it in someone else? I bet they do and respond in the same voice.

Kitties seem very happy and superior. As well they are.

jenny_o said...

It was an eye-opener. We don't see that much in our relatively small town.

jenny_o said...

I couldn't wait to get away from him, e.

Glad you enjoyed the furry ones!

jenny_o said...

I was wondering what that man would say in response to someone calling out his rudeness. But I was too worried for my own well-being to be the one to try it!

messymimi said...

Such sad people, and they are equally nasty when the cashier has to leave and find a price on one of the items they have chosen. Best to get to the funnies fast, and i appreciate that you had them.

My poem was a lot more pragmatic.

jenny_o said...

Yes, thank goodness for laughter and lighthearted memes! Glad to know you liked them.

For other readers, Mimi's poem can be found by clicking on her name, above, then clicking on the link to her blog and finding today's post. Thanks for your poem, Mimi - I really identified with it and I bet others will, too.

River said...

I'd be keeping my DISTANCE from that customer too. love the cartoon about bringing a horse.

My Tata's Cottage said...

I am new following you and came over from Aw...Mondays. I love poetry and enjoyed your share. Self centered meanness is getting to be the norm for so many. Sad, sad, sad but I like the words you wrote. THank you and hope to see you around blog world soon. HUGS

jenny_o said...

That one got me, too :)

jenny_o said...

Thank you for reading, Anne, and for your kind comments!

Martha said...

What an awful experience for that cashier. Moments like that a manager should step in. Sometimes even police is necessary if it gets really bad.

I really enjoyed the funnies. We need that when things gets hard!

jenny_o said...

I think the manager was too busy getting ready to close - it was just before closing time and there were lots of customers to still get out the door. But I would have liked to see someone in charge deal with it. The cashier was doing a good job of just ignoring him, though, and going about his job.

Funnies are not optional! lol

kylie said...

In my dreams I am the person who pulls the obnoxious ones into line. In my dreams.

I like the photos. I want to tell the cat who didn't know they could knit that they can't :)

jenny_o said...

Hahaha! But you can't tell a cat ANYTHING :)

In my dreams I do that, too. Sometimes I even punch their lights out, if they get too close for comfort. But I am under five feet tall, so what I punch is their knees :D

37paddington said...

i like you serious stuff! my daughter was in a poetry group with five of her middle school friends for years, even into high school. Their teacher was a petite pink haired, doc martens wearing hipster and she taught them to delve deep, and above all when it came to what they wrote, never apologize, never explain. I love that. I am taken with your poem, and your interpretation of the prompt.

jenny_o said...

Thank you - that means a lot to me. I sometimes feel "I'm sorry" and "let me explain that" are my middle names . . .