What kind of treatment do I want to give this hostile, this irritating, this Clueless oh, this endangering....?

 

The clerk rudely said, I'm holding it for you! James....

 In Mackinaw, in what was once a very upscale Outdoor Store, now a $10 per item outlet for tourist stuff, there was an expensive pair of pants 50% off that were one last piece of important gear that James had not replaced since the fire in Mississippi. He gladly grab the item, but Nature Called very insistantly and none of the stores in Mackinaw seem to have restrooms, relying on a few public ones. James needed to go, and approached a clerk and asked if she would hold the item while he went to the restroom. She took the item and looked at him blankly. Very pleasantly James said, is it okay if you hold it? I'm holding it! Gratuitous rudeness.

No one's favorite response, including James. But he was so glad with his inclination. How sad that she's been treated so badly in her life, was his reflexive internal reply. He was so glad, very glad, Upon returning, to try and show a little bit of the kindness that the individual so badly needed. Maybe it didn't make any difference to anyone, except James.

You'll never ever encounter an individual. Only the group that they influence. How you treat them matters.

This could save me.