Lazy? Or What?
For even worse than laziness of body is laziness of the mind and heart. ~May Sinclair, British novelist, poet, and critic
A few days ago, I went to WalMart to pick up some things I needed, and I came out so disgusted and angry I was ready to throttle somebody.
Anybody.
Here’s what happened — and I’ll be interested in hearing if you (as intelligent, well-meaning readers) feel the same way, or if I’m way off base:
I’d finished shopping and was searching for a place to check out.
The self-service lanes were only partially open, and most of the associate-operated lanes were three or four carts deep, but finally, I noticed an empty lane.
Pulling in, I found a young associate playing on her phone.
She looked up, glared at me (that I’d dared interrupt her important business, I guess), and proceeded to ring my items up.
Not a word crossed her lips.
No “Hello.” No “Did you find everything you were looking for?” Not even a “Isn’t it hot outside?”
Nothing.
When she’d finished (basically cramming my things into bags that should’ve been separated so I could carry them), she mumbled the total.
And then she practically tossed the receipt at me, saying, “Here ya go.”
No “Thank you for shopping with us.” No “Have a nice rest of your day.” No “I’m having a rotten day, and I’m sorry to take it out on you.”
Nothing.
Now I haven’t been living in a cave for the past two decades. I know things in our country (and world, actually) are pretty sorry for a lot of people.
Too many folks are out of work (or under-employed). Too many folks don’t seem to know how to relate to others anymore (blame it on the pandemic … or social media).
But this girl looked well fed. Well clothed. And she had a job.
Maybe it wasn’t the job she wanted — or thought she deserved. But, handled properly, it was a job that could keep her off the streets, living in a tent with a shopping cart of her things nearby.
WalMart employees earn about $18 an hour. Which doesn’t sound like much, but if she’d wanted the Big Bucks, she’d have gone to college or technical school.
Perhaps she wasn’t completely and properly trained. Perhaps she never should’ve been hired in the first place. And there must be a place in Heaven for employees with a positive attitude, eagerness to learn, basic friendliness, and industriousness.
Am I stretching too far to see a connection between society’s constant reliance on cell phones and an increase in laziness of mind, heart, and spirit?
Some school districts seem to think so and have banned mobile devices during school hours. Shouldn’t businesses do the same?
