A funny thing occurred to me recently as I was standing at a fast food counter, ordering up the latest combination of non-food filled with flavor.  The restaurant was packed, hardly a table, and the vibe was one of annoyance.  The stressed faces of the staff, the customers, my family.  The funny thing that occurred to me was, I was the only one smiling.  I’m  not sure of the other bodies present, but when I stumble into a restaurant right at noon, I expect to wait for my food, I expect the din of a busy lunch time, but I also expect to be treated fairly, pleasantly, and with good manners.  My smile, made me look like an idiot!

What is it that has led our society down this path of arrogant, ignorant, and just plain rude behaviour that seems to be running rampant in the service industry?  Is it the customer who expects too much, or is it the 17 year old kid who was raised without please and thank-you in his vocabulary?  Why is it that the pleasant, smiling, mannerly person is the odd one in the bunch?

My only goal with this piece is to get you, the reader, to ask this simple question… Do you smile when you catch a person’s eye, or do you look away quickly, pretending not to have noticed?  I smile, and it’s usually a shocked look I get in response.  Do you thank the person who brought your lunch to your table, or are they ignored or worse, chastised for interrupting your conversation?  Are you, the reader, the one standing behind the drive-thru window, laughing with your friends while your customers coffee sits on the counter getting cold?

I don’t want to be the smiling idiot anymore, but there is something in me that won’t let me do away with that side of myself.  For those of you that smile back, thank you!  Thank you for having the nerve to be the odd-man out in this self-obsessed world where nothing is good enough and manners are buried right next to faith.