Busy doing what’s right

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON

“Life is not so short but that there is always time for courtesy.”

-- RALPH WALDO EMERSON

I observed several different situations lately that showed common

courtesy is not just a thing of the past.

On my morning walk, I saw a man up ahead clean up after his dog. I

have seen plenty of evidence that this is not something that all dog

owners do. The same man later picked up a cup that was on the

sidewalk.

I neared the man just as he threw the trash away, and I thanked

him for his thoughtfulness.

“We all need to do our part, don’t you think?” he replied,

smiling.

I told him I agreed and wished everybody did.

“Well, we still just need to do the right thing,” he said, as I

patted his dog.

He was right.

Then I ran errands. I went into one store and was pleasantly

surprised when a young girl held the door open, not only for her

mother, but also for me and for the woman behind me. I thanked her.

I then did some shopping, and stood in line. I came to the front

of my line and noticed a woman and son behind me with a cart filled

with groceries. I got my credit card out, and then felt a gentle

tapping on my arm. When I turned around, the young boy handed me a

pen.

“Excuse me, but this fell out of your purse,” he said.

I thanked him and his mother.

A cashier opened the check stand next to ours and said, “I can

help the next person in line” and signaled to the woman behind me.

The woman said good-bye to me and headed to the next check stand.

Before she started to unload her groceries, she looked behind and

saw a woman who only had a few items in a small basket.

“Why don’t you go ahead of me; I have so many things, and you only

have a few,” the woman said to the lady behind her.

“Are you sure? I can wait,” the other woman said.

“No, please go ahead, I’m not in a hurry and I have a full cart,”

answered the woman in front.

The women then changed places.

I signed for my groceries and said to my cashier, “That was

certainly a nice gesture. I’m always happy to see common courtesy,

aren’t you?”

“It’s too bad that courtesy isn’t as common as it used to be.

You’d be amazed at some of the things I see in here,” my cashier

said, nodding.

“I’m not surprised,” I said, “I’ve been amazed at the lack of

courtesy that I sometimes see in the parking lot. I also like that

the boy probably sees his mother model plenty of other courteous

acts. We should never be too busy to show courtesy.”

“That is a catchy phrase, I wish more people would catch it. Have

a great day,” the cashier said, as I finished my transaction.

I watched as the boy helped his mother push the cart to the car

and helped her unload the many bags. I was then busy unloading my

groceries, and could no longer see them, but I imagine the mother and

son also took the empty cart back to the designated spot.

As I headed onto my next errand, I thought to myself that we

should never be too busy to show courtesy.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at

cindy@onthegrow.com or through the mail at 537 Newport Center Drive,

Box 505, Newport Beach, CA 92660.