Dealing With People, Part 2

I had another fun filled day of buying crap yesterday. I went to a farmers market and purchased some veggies and looked at all their pretty flowers they had for sale along with TONS of handmade crap that I would love to buy, but I never will. It was a very peaceful shopping trip. I love going to places like that... where there's not a lot of people and it's family owned... because the people there are always SO nice and friendly and you can walk around and take your time and look at all the crap and it's outside and the birds are chirping and the weather is nice.

The clerk there did NOT talk stupid to me. No, I was evidently more of an inconvenience than a stupid person. He never even looked at me. How DARE I go there and shop. Not once did anyone there that was working, even bother to look up and be thankful that they had a customer (I was their only one at the time )and smile at me and welcome me to their store, or at the very LEAST, act as if I were not almost invisible. When I walked out from making my purchases I did a smell check of myself, because I'm starting to get a complex. I'm not used to being treated like I've been treated the last two days. Granted, I went and got my oil changed afterward and had a very pleasant experience with a guy who went out of his way to talk to me and make nice and answer my questions. A lot like yesterday with that old, balding fart at Tom Thumb and then the nice lady at the Tax office.

I'm baffled. I know I don't venture outside of my home that often, but it's not like I've just emerged from a time capsule and 50 years have passed. It just seems as if my Texas neighbors just aren't the friendly people they once were. At a time when anyone in the public service business should be grateful for a customer... someone who is visiting your place of business to give you money in hard economic times should not be treated as if they were a plague carrying monster with idiot stamped on their forehead. It's just not good business.

It makes me sad, too. I've always loved living in this area. I've slowly watched my city bulldoze tree after tree after tree to make room for more pavement, more businesses, bigger roads, bigger houses. There comes a point when I have to ask myself if maybe I have extended my living in this city to a point where I don't want to live here any more. I had thought a while back that I was too iffy on the subject to make a solid decision either way. But it's stuff like the last two days... not that it would be better anywhere else... that makes me wonder where I'll be in 5 years because I truly believe it will not be in this area.