Hurry Up and Wait!!! Post # 18

I had been in Mobile for about two weeks when I went to the cable company to pay the bill. Les had been here for 10 weeks so our payment was due. It was no less than 95 degrees outside and my oldest, Nejla, was with me. She opted to stay in the car for this errand. Upon entering the lobby, I was dismayed to see no less than 35 people in line and only two people working. To add insult to injury, the workers seemed in no hurry, and neither were the customers whose turn it was in the line.

A woman, who appeared to be in her early 60’s, was currently at the counter and seemed to think she was at a consulting firm where the consultant was totally enthralled with going over every detail of every service ever offered, past, present and future, and which service - or combination of - would fit her needs, also past, present and future. After assessing the situation, I contemplated going “New York” on them and demanding to see a manager to inqure as to why there were only two workers at such a busy hour and time of month. Furthermore, I felt the urge to go up to the counter and ‘assist’ the sixty something woman by informing her that she can get all that information online and that, in fact, she already should have before going in.

I wondered how long these people had been waiting but didn’t want to interrupt anyone to ask. ‘Interrupt what!’ You may be thinking! ‘Standing in line?’ But they weren’t just standing in line. They were chatting; not about the fact that there were 35 of them and only two workers to wait on them, or not about the long wait. They were talking about what festivals were coming up. At the time, I had no clue how many festivals go on in this town. They told stories and jokes and the room was filled with laughter. After ten minutes of ‘Miss. Sixty’ yapping about various combinations she could get various services in, it was evident that I would be in for a long wait.

Then with shocking realization, I remembered I had left my baby in the hot car that was running. Panic ran through me like a bolt of lightening until, like the pages of a book turning full speed ahead, I realized the baby was now 18 years old and she was quite capable of turning the engine off and coming in to find me. However, I knew her enough to know she’d rather sit and pout, making the rest of our day miserable over the long wait, than come in. I decided to leave and return the next day. As I left, thoughts ran through my head as they have many times in the past.

I thought about the Bible story of Balaam, who was riding his donkey when the donkey stopped dead in the road. Balaam began beating and cursing at the donkey. After a few moments of this, the animal became pretty P.O’d and started back. “You stupid fool!” The donkey said. “Just around the next bend is an angel waiting to strike you dead!! If I had kept on going, you would be dead right now!” I often wonder when being delayed in traffic, or in a line, or whatever it is, if I will find out some day that the delay saved me from a would-be tragedy or disaster. I thought of a friend who had stopped at a gas station once. She heard someone yelling to her and looked out the window. Across the street she saw a man running towards her, pointing at something. She watched him thinking that, perhaps she had left her gas cap off or a drink on top of her car. When he got to the vehicle, he grabbed her by the head and upper body trying to snap her neck, all while screaming obscenities at her. After a few moments of struggle, she was able to pull away, shaken but unharmed. On this present day I contemplated; had she been waiting in line at the cable company, perhaps that attack would have been averted.

Then my thoughts went to a place they had never gone before when stuck waiting in line, because previously I had only viewed it as being held hostage by somebody’s poor management skills. The party-like atmosphere at the cable company made me feel as though I had missed something when I went out the door. Those people weren’t worried, nor were they foot-tapping, finger snapping, complaining, or clapping their hands saying, “Come on! Chop Chop!!!” Nobody was asking for the manager or going ‘New York’ on them. They used it as a chance to swop stories and interact with their fellow man in an age where technology and busyness can deter people from having face-to-face interaction with others for days. I was sorry to leave and wondered all day what kind of stories I had missed.

The next day, I returned, hoping there'd be more staff on duty and a shorter line. However, it was the same situation. There were less than 35 people this time though! Only thirty-two! Each person who stepped to the counter, like the sixty-something woman the day before, also seemed to view it as their very own half-hour cable-counseling session. And again this day the room was filled with chatter and laughter. People shared stories and talked about the previous nights storms and the ones predicted for that night.

After about 15 minutes of waiting and advancing by only about 5 people, an elderly man was just finishing his business when the worker began apologizing over the long wait and sharing that staff were on vacation and they would be short for the next couple of weeks. The old man smiled and this is what he said: “Why Mam! Now don’t you be sorry at all! If it wasn’t for this long wait, I never would have gotten to meet all these fine folks here!” As he said this, he turned and waved an arm through the air as though he were showcasing all of us, his new best friends. She responded by saying, “Yes sir! You have met a lot of fine folks today, now haven’t you?”

After the man left, the chatter and laughter continued and it made me see things from a different angle. All these years I had thought I was such a positive thinker by thinking about the tragedy that I had averted by being stuck in a situation, be it a line, or traffic, or a flat tire. But maybe it wasn’t about avoiding disaster at all. Maybe there was no angel around the next bend, waiting to strike me dead! Perhaps, like on this day, it was all about connecting with my fellow men, about sharing stories and laughter; about meeting some fine folks!