I held my breath as the revolving door swooshed past my face. ”That guy`s a jerk,” I thought to myself.
I stopped and wondered what it was like so many years ago when people would actually go out of their way to be courteous to others. Being in my 20s, I feel I have missed out on all of the courtesy lessons (or perhaps everyone else has).
Recently, however, the most curious thing happened. I was on my way home after an unusually tedious day at work. Upon arriving at the train station, I noticed an elderly man holding a door open about 15 feet ahead of me. I asumed he was holding it for someone who was leaving the station. As I neared him, I realized he was holding the door for me.
”Thank you,” I said, a bit confused.
”Oh, that`s OK,” he responded. ”You know, not many people do that anymore.”
”That`s right,” was my reply. Not many people hold doors.
”Ain`t that right?” he asked again.
”Absolutely,” I said a bit louder.
”What`s that?” he asked once more. I felt like shouting, but instead I decided to walk silently away.
It wasn`t until later, when the train was click-clacking at full speed, that I realized the old timer had a valid point. Not many people will hold doors for others. But that is only the beginning. Everyone knows the woman who won`t let you onto the highway, or the kid who doesn`t know you are next in line, or the man who cut me off at the revolving door.
I wished I knew more about the nice, elderly gentleman. I wanted to know where he was from. It was unlikely, but I had hoped that ”common” courtesy still existed, at least somewhere else.
Then the sad truth hit me: The kind old man was not from a different town, but from a different era.
