Nothing to smile about
You may have noticed that Chatty occasionally has interesting experiences in the checkout line at the grocery store.
So, she feels it important to present this little anecdote, for what it is worth.
Chatty was checking out of the grocery line at her local store. The two young guys who were assisting her – the checker and the bagger - were friendly and nice. But, for the purposes of this story, the main thing is that they were young.
Chatty sort of knows the nice young man who was bagging her groceries, because when Chatty mentioned a few weeks ago that she was buying stuff for a big surprise party for The Wiz, he suggested putting the non-perishables in BROWN bags, since they are opaque, so she could store them in her car without worry – because even if The Wiz opened her trunk, he wouldn’t see anything. Chatty thought this was a wonderful idea – and one that she would not have thought of herself. He accompanied Chatty to her car and stored all the brown bags in the back of the trunk, braced them with all the OTHER junk Chatty had in her trunk - then refused to let her tip him.
That’s not important, really, except for the fact that this is a really nice young man, and that he even REMEMBERED Chatty when he bagged some groceries for her a couple of weeks later. He actually asked if The Wiz had been surprised, and if it had been a good party.
Back to the situation two days ago.
So, Chatty knew the bagger, and the checker also seemed very nice. The two seemed well acquainted.
The three of us were just talking, as you do, when a very pretty young woman walked up to speak to the bagger and the checker. They obviously knew her – they greeted her by name. They smiled, said “hi”, and then one of them said:
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
She smiled sweetly, almost bashfully, then said:
“I have to get a full-time job, so I’m here to apply.”
One of the young men, puzzled, asked:
“Why?”
She replied:
“Oh, I’ve been kicked out of school.”
“You mean suspended?”
“No. (big smile) Expelled.”
“Why?”
(She smiles again. You must realize this is a very attractive girl. Pretty, tiny - she can’t be 90 pounds wringing wet - cute haircut, nice make-up, well-dressed…in fact, going on looks and superficial demeanor, she and "April" could have been good buddies. How deceiving appearances are…)
“Oh, I got in a fight and got kicked out.”
The young men exchange glances.
She continues, still smiling broadly:
“Yeah, I got in a fight with this other girl, and I busted her face! I, like, slammed her into a table and she’s really messed up. So, I got expelled from school, and now I have to get a full-time job. My parents say I have to pay room and board now.”
The boys nod, smile.
She says:
“Well, see ya soon, I hope!”
She takes off to fill out an application at the store.
The boys had been nodding and smiling while she was there. Once she left, they turned to one another, then included me in the looks.
One said:
“Jeez! I sure wouldn’t hire her!”
The other said:
“Yeah, me neither. But if they do, I sure hope she isn’t on the same shift with me!”
Chatty listened when CNN talked about the six girls who lured a “friend” to one of their homes, then beat her while two boys kept look-out – and video-taped the whole thing because they hoped to get high ratings on U-tube.
She watched the video of a girl hitting another girl over the head with a metal chair in the lunchroom, while another girl caught the video on her cell-phone.
Chatty thought those girls were badly-brought-up, mal-adjusted – SOMETHING. But whatever they were, they were SOMEPLACE ELSE.
Not in HER neighborhood!
But, just as the recent beating of Chatty’s cousins made her realize that violent crime is all around us - wherever we live - so this incident made Chatty realize that many cute, pretty, well-spoken girls seem to be instigating violence against one another, and seem PROUD when they get expelled for fighting – or worse.
No remorse – none!
Chatty wonders how long it will take to sink into this young woman’s consciousness that she shouldn’t be smiling?
Because, really, what business will want to hire a girl who has been expelled from school in her (Chatty is guessing) senior year for busting up another girl’s face? They will want to know why she is applying for full-time work without graduating – and what will she tell them?
And then, Chatty supposes the young woman hasn’t yet realized that the girl she “busted up” – or that girl’s parents – will not be leaving this alone, either. Chatty is betting the young woman will be surprised when she gets sued – or her parents get sued.
On the bright side, the two young men who seemed so happy to see her when she walked up… had a very different attitude by the time she walked away.
Maybe there’s hope there.
So, she feels it important to present this little anecdote, for what it is worth.
Chatty was checking out of the grocery line at her local store. The two young guys who were assisting her – the checker and the bagger - were friendly and nice. But, for the purposes of this story, the main thing is that they were young.
Chatty sort of knows the nice young man who was bagging her groceries, because when Chatty mentioned a few weeks ago that she was buying stuff for a big surprise party for The Wiz, he suggested putting the non-perishables in BROWN bags, since they are opaque, so she could store them in her car without worry – because even if The Wiz opened her trunk, he wouldn’t see anything. Chatty thought this was a wonderful idea – and one that she would not have thought of herself. He accompanied Chatty to her car and stored all the brown bags in the back of the trunk, braced them with all the OTHER junk Chatty had in her trunk - then refused to let her tip him.
That’s not important, really, except for the fact that this is a really nice young man, and that he even REMEMBERED Chatty when he bagged some groceries for her a couple of weeks later. He actually asked if The Wiz had been surprised, and if it had been a good party.
Back to the situation two days ago.
So, Chatty knew the bagger, and the checker also seemed very nice. The two seemed well acquainted.
The three of us were just talking, as you do, when a very pretty young woman walked up to speak to the bagger and the checker. They obviously knew her – they greeted her by name. They smiled, said “hi”, and then one of them said:
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
She smiled sweetly, almost bashfully, then said:
“I have to get a full-time job, so I’m here to apply.”
One of the young men, puzzled, asked:
“Why?”
She replied:
“Oh, I’ve been kicked out of school.”
“You mean suspended?”
“No. (big smile) Expelled.”
“Why?”
(She smiles again. You must realize this is a very attractive girl. Pretty, tiny - she can’t be 90 pounds wringing wet - cute haircut, nice make-up, well-dressed…in fact, going on looks and superficial demeanor, she and "April" could have been good buddies. How deceiving appearances are…)
“Oh, I got in a fight and got kicked out.”
The young men exchange glances.
She continues, still smiling broadly:
“Yeah, I got in a fight with this other girl, and I busted her face! I, like, slammed her into a table and she’s really messed up. So, I got expelled from school, and now I have to get a full-time job. My parents say I have to pay room and board now.”
The boys nod, smile.
She says:
“Well, see ya soon, I hope!”
She takes off to fill out an application at the store.
The boys had been nodding and smiling while she was there. Once she left, they turned to one another, then included me in the looks.
One said:
“Jeez! I sure wouldn’t hire her!”
The other said:
“Yeah, me neither. But if they do, I sure hope she isn’t on the same shift with me!”
Chatty listened when CNN talked about the six girls who lured a “friend” to one of their homes, then beat her while two boys kept look-out – and video-taped the whole thing because they hoped to get high ratings on U-tube.
She watched the video of a girl hitting another girl over the head with a metal chair in the lunchroom, while another girl caught the video on her cell-phone.
Chatty thought those girls were badly-brought-up, mal-adjusted – SOMETHING. But whatever they were, they were SOMEPLACE ELSE.
Not in HER neighborhood!
But, just as the recent beating of Chatty’s cousins made her realize that violent crime is all around us - wherever we live - so this incident made Chatty realize that many cute, pretty, well-spoken girls seem to be instigating violence against one another, and seem PROUD when they get expelled for fighting – or worse.
No remorse – none!
Chatty wonders how long it will take to sink into this young woman’s consciousness that she shouldn’t be smiling?
Because, really, what business will want to hire a girl who has been expelled from school in her (Chatty is guessing) senior year for busting up another girl’s face? They will want to know why she is applying for full-time work without graduating – and what will she tell them?
And then, Chatty supposes the young woman hasn’t yet realized that the girl she “busted up” – or that girl’s parents – will not be leaving this alone, either. Chatty is betting the young woman will be surprised when she gets sued – or her parents get sued.
On the bright side, the two young men who seemed so happy to see her when she walked up… had a very different attitude by the time she walked away.
Maybe there’s hope there.
Nice to know some kids can gauge good and bad.
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Unfortunately, this is all too common these days. Alas, that is why we homeschool. Seriously, so many of the kids in my oldest son's class had the same mentality as the girl. It was just a matter of time before many of them turned out just like the girl, or worse, just like the kids at Columbine. Very sad, scary world these days for kids. That's what makes it so doubly great to see such good kids like the boys working at the store!! =)
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This is a hard one to read, mostly because of the "you can't judge a book by it's cover" aspect. I am shocked by the evil that lurks under the surface. I wish I could believe that all the teens at my kids' schools are what I would have considered to be normal. Yet here is evidence to the contrary - that the violence being reported is now becoming commonplace, that the expression of violence is becoming "normal." I was sickened when I read about the violence done to your family members; I am sickened again by this girl's attitude. Blech!!
Chatty, it takes courage to blog about such things. I'm glad you write about things that touch your life, even when they aren't lighthearted.
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I can't get over that she was smiling about it, like it was no big deal. Fortunately, that kind of thing isn't attractive... to employers as well as prospective dates. The girl would do well to learn that now.
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Ironic, huh? Two big guys, working hard, being friendly, doing the right thngs in the world. Then a cute young woman comes along and SHE'S the thug? Not hard imagining her in the state pen soon, or worse.
I was very lucky, myself, to get into art when I was a teen and became obsessed with it, but all kids need SOMETHING to grab them: art, golf, football, reading, working for a paycheck, some purpose.
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