The word "courtesy" is defined as excellence of manners or social conduct; polite behavior; a courteous, respectful, or considerate act or expression.
There are several ways one can act in a courteous and polite manner. Be gentle, not forceful or insistent; be nice; be honest; be graceful and show elegance.
This might seem like an easy enough character trait to possess, however, there are many people in this world...in Rhode Island...in the Providence Place Mall parking garage, for example...that are facing 180* in the wrong direction when it comes to being courteous to others.
On Monday, I was walking to my car after a long day in the office and, as you know from my previous blog posts, I walk in the drive-out exit. I know...I know...it's dangerous but this allows me to witness the most ridiculous behavior Providence has to offer, like people dancing, arguing and picking their nose while waiting for traffic to ease up.
Anyway, as I took a turn to walk into the garage, a family began walking along the sidewalk in front of the exit. They looked like tourists to me. They were looking at the architecture of the buildings and reading the signs to make sure they were headed in the right direction...to the Cheesecake Factory, no doubt.
Unfortunately, their sightseeing was interrupted by an impatient knucklehead trying to leave the lot. (Don't worry - he didn't run them over but he did give them something to talk about while at dinner.)
Shouting loudly out of his window for all to hear, "Jesus! I'm being courteous letting you even cross! The least you could do is move faster!"
Keep in mind, this is the same walkway that Providence's finest frequent to allow pedestrians to walk without the danger of being run over by idiots not paying attention to where they're going. Many times, a cop will stop the vehicle traffic for several minutes so a large swarm of pedestrians can cross the road without incident. For this guy to flip out about these five people, well, it's just crazy to me. Man, I'd love to see his face if a police officer was nearby...not that his words or tone were a crime but I trust the cop would've given him a stern look and, hopefully, a good talkin' to.
I just had to shake my head at him because who is in that big of a rush? Who would embarrass themselves because of something so foolish? What's an extra 30 seconds? Perhaps this "long" wait saved him from getting into a car accident on 95 South. You never know! Things happen for a reason.
As I turned my head to face forward, something caught my eye that explained why he acted in such a manner. He was from Connecticut.
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