Anger and Confusion

I stopped to pick up some dinner on the way home this evening. I was perusing the salad bar, when I noticed a very elderly, stooped over, frail gentleman.

We approached the soup area of the salad bar, at the same time, so I let him go first. I watched carefully, thinking that someone would come along behind him to assist, but, they never did. We chatted a second, and, he kept looking across the room, as if he were expecting someone.

When it became apparent that this gentleman was going to carry a hot bowl of soup across the room, I intervened. When I asked if I could give him a hand, he just asked me to get him some crackers. But, I told him that I didn’t mind a bit if he wanted me to carry his soup to the table, and, he reluctantly agreed.

I was wearing my work name tag, and, he remarked, “Oh, our sitter works there, sometimes, too. We love her.” I wasn’t quite sure what he meant until I got to the table. There sat his wheelchair bound wife, no dinner plate in front of her, with a young woman dressed in scrubs, yacking on a cell phone. This was their sitter.

I got him settled at the table with his soup, and, she looked up, at me, a stranger doing her job, barked, “Thanks”, and, continued to talk on the phone. I glared at her until she hung up the phone, and, went on my way.

While I waited for my food, I mentioned this to the young cashier so that she might keep an eye on them, and, they might actually get to eat. Another girl at the cash register piped in, “Oh, that’s awful!”

My hope in our youth of today was renewed, until she went on to say: “Man, that reminds me of my Uncle Larry. He’s old and stuff, and, his son beats him and makes him eat out in the garage, and, stuff.”

I replied, “That’s terrible!”

Then, she said, “Well, he’s not really my uncle, I don’t really know him”.

Um, OK. I guess her sentiments were in the right spot.