Have you ever been in line at the checkout of the grocery store, department store, giant box store and had someone remark?
You know...about your shoes, what’s in your basket, how nice the weather is, what lovely eyes you have, how the world’s gone crazy and my, have you seen the news today or when in doubt, eat a banana?
Remark, remark, remark.
I love chatting with people. They can typically talk to me about anything they’d like. Go ahead. I am totally fair game for a good grocery aisle checkout convo. Throw in a few props for effect and it’s a win/win situation all around. You know those carts that get shoved up your rear end when you’re not pay attention because you were talking too much to the cashier? That’s happened more than once. To me, to you, to them. It’s okay. No biggie. Some other person’s cart pushed in front of the pay system from behind is always a kicker, too. Excuse me ma’am, I still need to pay for my groceries before you get yours scanned and paid for. One day I’ll just start pushing my cart away before being allowed to pay and just see what happens. Something that occurs that is just comical and also of little consequence.
And in between the cart pushing, people just have their opinions. All the time. And what of it? The more we realized how unimportant an average opinion should be the better off we all would be, indeed, the better off I would be because caring about what people think too much has been a long term bad habit of mine. I’m not sure what’s worse...being an alcoholic or being constantly drunk on the opinions of others. And what’s an opinion?
I know this is well covered territory. Hearing and giving opinions.
And drama is what drama does so avoid it. Just avoid it. And keep the push back to yourself, smile and move on. Push on. Push on out those lovely, electric, burgeoning, sliding glass doors right to that trunk of your very old, new, beautiful, beat up, dirty, ugly, just refreshing car. It’s easy. Or it should be that easy.
There are remarkers, opinion makers and then there are stand up on yer soap box and preachers. And sometimes that is absolutely necessary, hopefully while abstaining from all abnoxious tendencies in tone and manner. Preaching is just so vital on today’s streets, ya’ know? I mean...we’ve got trouble! Right here in River City! It starts with a capital “T” and that rhymes with “P” and stands for pool.
Pool as in pool table in the pool hall and in this character for The Music Man’s opinion was adding up to a whole lot of possible trouble stirring up in the small Iowan town. He was a’preaching!
Butcha’ know it ain’t a’fitting to preach as in preach your life away.
And I grew up with and by and from a preacher. I was preached at, with, among, around, upon, for against, behind, below, above and beyond. In letters, from the pulpit and in full fledge face to face contact. Then I heard the preaching from day to day. Usually against something, somebody. Preaching against. Hearing preaching against daily.
The example took hold of me. I felt off, always did, but the example took hold, complete and total hold over my childhood.
Hearing, seeing, witnessing, filtering, wait I didn’t know much about filtering, I was just a kid, preaching, all the time, every day in some way, fashion or ‘nother. It’s inbred. Kinda’ like my blue eyes and wavy hair.
Remarks are unremarkable and should be in most cases.
Preaching has a droning sense of duty to its hearers no matter the seemingly urgent cause and it’s effect can shut down the soul of any unwilling spirit to listen. Shuts out, shuts down, closes in the hapless mind of those who briefly witness its many utterances.
Preaching has its place. I’m sick of injustice and intolerance. I’d like to stand up in the middle of a crowd and scream nicely, can we just love each other?! Kids who are bullied right in front of you...it’s time for preaching. It should be done.
Remarking was fine about the weather, your shoes, your hair, your kids...oh, you have how many? Just a remark. Statements made in passing, off the top of the head passing statements, not well thought out usually.
Preaching has a strategic scope to its logic. It knows and has known what it wants and what it thinks for some time and in effort to coerce unwittingly it has edged its way into a conversation, a situation. Correcting, pointing out, rising to the forefront your thoughts, brought to the attention of intended audience of one or many.
It’s fine if someone asked for it. Hey...what do you think about doulas? Well, then. A little preaching might slip out. But a target of uninterested folks? Nah.
All that to say...I’ve preached, I am preaching, I do preach. It’s inbred. Don’t wanna’ do it no more unless I have to.
No comments:
Post a Comment