This entry has nothing to do with Halloween. For me, Halloween is just the last day of October, signalling the start of November and moving me closer to the end of the year.

It's not that I have anything against Halloween, quite the contrary. It's just that living in a 34.5' RV and staying in an RV Campground limits the number of trick-or-treaters that normally would come 'round asking for candy.

Last year, we were at the campground in Charlotte, NC. I actually saw a few families with small children. So, I went out and bought two bags of Tootsie Pops, some white dinner napkins, and ribbon. I made "Ghost Pops". It took me and my girlfriend, Patty about 2 hrs to complete all the pops. I had about 50 I'd say. Guess how many trick-or-treaters I had?

THREE.

And they were from the same family.

How sad is that?

So, this year I have resigned myself to not buying a ton of candy that won't get passed out and instead will sit there tempting me to eat it.

I just realized that I DID indeed write about Halloween. Sorry to have fibbed to you, dear reader.

My experience at the Post Office is definitely Diaryland worthy. In fact, after the incident took place, the first thought that crossed my mind was that it'd make an interesting entry.

So, I went to the post office to mail a few letters and to buy some stamps. I walk into the lobby area and notice a lady already at the counter. Since there were no signs indicating where the line was to start and to end, I stood at the end of the island in the center of the room. (You know, the one that has all the different envelopes and labels you may need.)

I'm standing far enough away so that I'm giving the lady at the counter plenty of privacy. I'm one of those people that UNDERSTANDS personal space. A lot of people find this to be a foreign concept. Not me!

I've stood there about a minute or two when I hear click, clack, click, clack. It's an older woman walking heavily across the tiled floor and her heels are clacking loudly against the tiles. Her arms are full---she's carrying about 100 envelopes. She walks right past me as though I'm not standing there at all and "gets in line" behind the lady already at the counter. This older woman, in her late 50's or maybe early 60's, does NOT have any concept of personal space. She is standing at an exact 45 degree angle to the lady at the counter, but there is only inches separating their bodies. If I had been that woman at the counter, I would have felt very uncomfortable.

The cashier notices that the older woman breezed right past me and gave me a knowing look. When the lady at the counter has completed her transaction Older Women nearly pushes her out of the way and demandingly tells the cashier she needs a roll of 100 stamps. Before she can finish getting the words out, the cashier explains diplomatically that I had been waiting in line first. Older woman says, "She was standing so far back that I didn't think she was in line."

I'm thinking to myself, "But did you ASK me if I was in line??? Nooooooooo, you didn't!!!"

Instead, I respond to Older Woman, "That's because I like to give people their privacy." I don't think she got my point.

I make my transaction and pay with my debit card. The cashier apologizes because the paper ran out in the receipt machine. Of course, I'm not upset and tell her calmly, "No problem." Inside, I'm laughing at Older Woman because this means that she has to wait even longer before she can be helped at the counter.

The frustrating part to this whole encounter is that this seems to happen to me a lot. I think because I'm short and young looking for my age, that Older Women & Men think I'm just a kid and somehow that gives them the right to push ahead of me in line. Of course, that's not true for me. If a teenager is in line ahead of me, he/she gets the same respect from me as someone older. It's just the way it is.

Line etiquette. Being polite.

A lot of people in our world could use lessons on both!

Thought Of The Day:""Man is the only animal that learns by being hypocritical. He pretends to be polite and then, eventually, he becomes polite."--Jean Kerr (1923 - ____) US humorist, author, playwright

Thought Of The Day #2:"Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use."--Emily Post (1872 - 1960) US etiquette authority

Until next time... peace, love & HEALTH!!!