Why?
There are many questions with no answers.
I thought that since we just finished the holiday of Passover, a holiday that comes with many questions and some answers, it might be relevant to explore some of the more challenging questions that life gives us. Don’t worry, none of those “Is there life after death” or “What is the real meaning of our existence” queries. I am talking about the real, hard-hitting, and challenging experiences that come our way. The ones that make us step back, scratch our heads, and say, “What the what????”
Before I begin, my boys have pointed out to me that I am too negative. Thanks for pointing out the obvious. And now, let us begin…
The baggage claim. It doesn’t matter how many times I go to an airport, the baggage claim always makes my blood boil. There you are, going to pick up your luggage that you now have to pay to check, and you are standing next to the metal conveyor belt that is to bring you your precious cargo. The conveyor is very long and curvy and there is plenty of room for you to stand in order to see if your luggage is coming and then shlep it off the belt and be on your merry way.
But, alas, nothing is that easy.
Why, please tell me why, there are five people standing directly behind you also waiting to get their luggage? Why can’t they also be standing next to the conveyor belt? Because when you see your suitcase, which weighs exactly 50 pounds in order to avoid an additional charge, you have to swing it and inevitably smack the shins of the person standing directly behind you. And then they bump into the person behind them and then that person trips over the carry-on that the person next to him has just plopped down on some random spot on the floor because no one has any regard for anyone else’s personal space. That is my question. Why in this day and age of technology, hasn’t anyone figured out how to work the baggage claim? We are an intelligent society. This should not be so difficult. And yet, every time I am at a baggage claim I want to scream, “ Come on people!!!!! Stop standing so close to me!!!”
Babies on airplanes. I only feel I can delve into this one because I never flew with any of my babies. I know that babies do need to fly. That being said, why do screaming babies communicate with each other on flights? Do they think they sound melodic? Are they saying to each other, “Hey, that old guy sitting next to you looks like he is about to fall asleep. Let’s scare the bejabbers out of him!” Or “Look at that couple. They look like they are contemplating becoming parents. Let’s give them a dose of reality…” Why are the fathers wearing headphones when the mother is shoving cheerios in one kid’s mouth and trying to find a sippy cup for the other kid?
Truthfully, the only positive about sitting behind a baby is that he doesn’t push his seat all the way back. How’s that for a positive spin?
Getting off of the airplane for a bit, let’s discuss the question of restaurants. Why, if your website says that you are open until 9 p.m., and the window of your store says that you are open until 10 p.m., why, when a family walks into your establishment at 8:15 p.m., do you say you are closing and can make you only one pie? And then when Larry, the owner (not his real name), gives your kids four slices that are covered with parsley and you say your kids don’t eat pizza with “green stuff” on it, says to you, “What kind of mother are you that your kids don’t eat green stuff?” Really Larry? Please don’t mess with the big, scary woman who hasn’t had carbs all week because her son who finally decided to come home from Israel has put her on a diet…. And yet, with Larry’s attitude, people still frequent his establishment. Why?
If you don’t like people, like me, you become a writer, not a restaurant owner. Feel free to let me know any questions you might have. Right now, I am trying not to shoot dirty looks to the screaming baby. But only because my kids said that I need to behave.
Banji Ganchrow of Teaneck actually is very relaxed right now, having just spent a week with her family in the Sunshine State. She would like to publicly thank her in-laws for making that happen. See, she can be positive!
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