Can I Help Next
Years ago, when there was a World Trade Center here in NYC, I used to go to a little coffee wagon each morning for a large coffee with milk and a raisin bagel with butter. As I stood on a line that stretched from WTC 1 to WTC 2, the woman with the heavy Brooklyn accent behind the cart would shout out "Can I help next" with an upward slide on the final word to indicate this was a burning passion for her, this ability she had to assist her fellow humans, so great was her need to be of service she was almost unwilling to let the phrase end..."Can I help neeeeeeeeeext." I was never really sure whether this was intended as a question or a statement, as it was always shouted in the same monotonic, yet archly nasal way. I've frequently wondered what happened to this most urban salesclerk when the towers fell. Of course, I pray she was whisked off to safety by an accountant on his way out of the disaster, and that they're married today with two little nasal children, neither of whom drink coffee.
But that's not the point. The point is that people in New York City who are in a position to help others too frequently seem less inclined to practice a mannered approach to discourse. The brash Brooklynite mentioned above didn't even have the time to use proper grammar in her quest to reach the next customer. Similarly, at a deli I now visit daily for a low-fat tuna on a roll with lettuce and tomato, the nose-pierced woman behind the counter bellows "Next!" before the person in front of her has had the opportunity to put away the change she's blithely tossed in their general direction. My position here is that it would be more humane to allow the person to get themself together before forcing the next person to hand their fat-free tuna around the neck of the unfortunate individual attempting to organize their change purse.
I do understand the lunch line is lengthy, but unless people have become uncommonly slow in organizing their change and stepping clear of the counter, I do believe they ought to be afforded the opportunity to walk away from the deli counter, or the coffee wagon with dignity. We've become so rushed as a society we seem to be forgetting our manners.
Cyndi Lauper, on The Tonight Show in the 1980's used to explain to Johnny Carson that she believed in the PEG principle, that politeness, etiquette and grooming were qualities she not only esteemed, but espoused.
I, too, long for a world in which people are treated with respect as they're waited on, whether at a fast-food counter, a token booth or a hotel reservation desk. I know we're all busy and the lines are long. I understand none of us is really interested in the job we're doing and we're really just thinking about the Matt Damon DVD we want to buy next, or wondering whether or not Matt Damon will be taking his shirt off in The Bourne Ultimatum at least once. But as we deal with one another on either a daily basis or for the first and only time, I think it would be life-affirming if we could strive to avoid grammatical shortcuts (okay, I'll say it, no ebonics!) and do unto each other the way we forgive those who trespass against us. Aaaaight?
Wonnerful! Now can I help next?
But that's not the point. The point is that people in New York City who are in a position to help others too frequently seem less inclined to practice a mannered approach to discourse. The brash Brooklynite mentioned above didn't even have the time to use proper grammar in her quest to reach the next customer. Similarly, at a deli I now visit daily for a low-fat tuna on a roll with lettuce and tomato, the nose-pierced woman behind the counter bellows "Next!" before the person in front of her has had the opportunity to put away the change she's blithely tossed in their general direction. My position here is that it would be more humane to allow the person to get themself together before forcing the next person to hand their fat-free tuna around the neck of the unfortunate individual attempting to organize their change purse.
I do understand the lunch line is lengthy, but unless people have become uncommonly slow in organizing their change and stepping clear of the counter, I do believe they ought to be afforded the opportunity to walk away from the deli counter, or the coffee wagon with dignity. We've become so rushed as a society we seem to be forgetting our manners.
Cyndi Lauper, on The Tonight Show in the 1980's used to explain to Johnny Carson that she believed in the PEG principle, that politeness, etiquette and grooming were qualities she not only esteemed, but espoused.
I, too, long for a world in which people are treated with respect as they're waited on, whether at a fast-food counter, a token booth or a hotel reservation desk. I know we're all busy and the lines are long. I understand none of us is really interested in the job we're doing and we're really just thinking about the Matt Damon DVD we want to buy next, or wondering whether or not Matt Damon will be taking his shirt off in The Bourne Ultimatum at least once. But as we deal with one another on either a daily basis or for the first and only time, I think it would be life-affirming if we could strive to avoid grammatical shortcuts (okay, I'll say it, no ebonics!) and do unto each other the way we forgive those who trespass against us. Aaaaight?Wonnerful! Now can I help next?
posted by Sam at 5:15 AM
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