by Angela Sanford
By all accounts lately, I’ve been questioning society’s ability to critically think, especially “in the moment.” A circumstance at a recent airport was what really pushed me over the edge in wondering where and when we lost this skill in general. You may not believe the following two vignettes, but both were witnessed by several others – not just myself.
As I stood by the luggage carousel about two weeks ago another couple stood in close proximity. Anyone who’s ever awaited luggage knows the close quarters and heightened anxiety as people wonder if their luggage will arrive. The husband, assumingly, of this duo, left his wife to walk around the carousel and upon his return mansplained to her that the luggage was coming down on the other side and would eventually come around to our side. I admit, I rolled my eyes and while I couldn’t view her face, I knew from her verbal response that she had more than likely also rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’d already figured that out when I didn’t see the opening,” she remarked.
I chuckled lightly, but what came next was unfathomable. The man announced, in full seriousness, “Well, I didn’t see our luggage so I thought I should find where it was coming out at,” followed by a brief pause, then his surprising discovery, “Oh! Never mind. I know why the suitcase isn’t there yet. Our plane got in forty minutes early. We’ll have to wait for our luggage to land.”
Like many others, I turned to see if this guy was joking but I assure you he was not. His wife gave him a look of consternation as he continued to treat her like she was clueless, “It’s not often planes get in so early. We are all going to have to wait until the luggage arrives and they can get it out to us.” I desperately wanted to ask if he had though this through and did he think that the airlines sent luggage on a separate plane? But, I didn’t have to. As I collected my suitcase, his wife asked him just that and while he stood perplexed she continue to explain that the luggage comes on the same plane and was now being distributed on the carousel.
This, however, is only my most recent encounter; I have one from years ago at the Yarmouth Superstore that is my favourite. Dan’s old timer’s baseball team was playing in their annual tournament, and we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some milk for my preferred mix. Initially that is all I had intended to purchase but once in the store their were having their end of season sale and I grabbed a couple of items from the tables and a bag of chips and made my way to the check out. As I approached, I quickly budgeted my total and figured it would be about $12 so I pulled out my debit card, knowing I did not have sufficient cash on hand.
The cashier rung in my items and announced that my total was 91 cents. I suggested there must have been an error, and she assured me there was not. I replied that the total would not even cover the cost of the milk, let along the entire purchase but she was just as adamant that the total was correct. Most people would not have requested the manager at this point, as I did, but would have walked out happy as a pig in poop. But what followed made my head shake and gave the other customers in line a moment of humour and wishful thinking that they may also benefit from such luck.
The manager arrived and I explained the situation. She reviewed the receipt and told me I did, indeed, owe only 91 cents. I again assured her I owed more as the milk, itself, was more than that. She reviewed the receipt a second time and said, “No, everything is good.” So, I pulled out a loonie, got my change, and ensured a pocketed a copy of the receipt because no one outside of the customers in that line would ever believe this story. As I exited the store I replicated the IKEA commercial of years ago, yelling to Dan, “Start the car!”
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