To be Not Rude

A few days ago, circumstance presented me a perfect opportunity to be not rude. It did not go well.

It began with an IM from Jan telling me our A/C was out at home. This is much more than an inconvenience on the Gulf Coast where humidity is high and temperatures reach 97 degrees during the day but don't fall much at night. Our house was built in 1942. Its attic superheats air during the day and releases its heat into the house at night. It is not just hot and sticky; it is miserable.

Buddy, the hard working A/C guy, returned my wife's call around 6PM. He instructed me to check something on the outside unit. Exiting the side door, I walked down the driveway toward the front porch.

There was a sweaty guy holding papers on my porch. "What do you want", I barked. "Hurry up. I'm on the phone." Our neighborhood seems to be a target for scams, and brush salesmen. Already irritated, I made assumptions. It turns out; the man was a local politician. He was one of the good-guys we supported in the past.

Jan and I have done some door-to-door community organizing. I know all about the hot, sweaty work required to inform and persuade my neighbors. That experience teaches humility. So, I promised to treat people who knocked on my door with respect.

Failing utterly at my first opportunity, I demonstrated just what an ass I could be. The politician was an overheated middle-aged man, red faced and nearly exhausted. Instead of sharing a cold drink, I shared my aggravation about an inanimate A/C unit. Instead of thanking him for the good work he has done, I was terse and indifferent.

Other opportunities to be not rude will certainly present themselves. I need practice.