Story from the Bookstore
So, missdiane is always telling me when I start something with "OMG, I have to tell you this...." that I should write about it on LiveJournal. Which I think is really just her way of not having to listen to my rambling and discursive ramblings, and AT THE SAME TIME reinforce her community. Because, inevitability the long stories don't start out as long. They are statements and then she asks the right questions and pokes and prods and then the story takes shape.
So, missdiane is my editor, the editor of my reality. If you will.
At any rate, here goes.
I was meandering around the bookstore the other day. I had picked up what I came therefore, scoffed at the lack of "Unbeatable Squirrel Girl" books, and talked myself out of a large stack. I was picking through the discount books and ephemera near the checkout whilst I tried to convince myself to leave. When a Yoga-Mom and ultra-pale kid came into my orbit.
Ultra-pale kid looks like the kind of kid who gets bullied. He was slight of build, had big glasses, was nearly translucent, and bounced when he walked. Yoga-Mom was wearing running tights, expensive sneakers, had her hair pulled back into an unforgiving ponytail and was wearing a large army-esque jacket that cost more than everything I was wearing and carrying.
Ultra-pale was clutching a book, and they were headed to the checkout. When he spotted, something. He squealed "Squishy!" and declared, that he was getting it. His mother flat out said she was NOT paying for it. He said he would pay for it with his own money, and get that instead of the book.
The Mom flipped. She screamed, "NO! There is no way. You are getting the book, put that back. I will walk out of here! That is stupid! Put! It! Down!"
The kid stood his ground, and responded calmly, "You are not being nice. It is my money and my choice."
Now, I understood the mom's point. Whatever the squishy was, it was a toy that probably would break or be lost or abandoned quickly. Was it as good a choice as a book? No. Was it the kid's choice? Yes. Now, we all had to learn that lesson at some point. We all spent all our allowance on something and quickly learned it was cheaply made. It was painful, and you felt cheated, but much like heartbreak, it makes you grow up a little.
The kid was looking for a discussion. He was digging in his heels, yes. But he couldn't understand outside of "I want this" and his mother calling it stupid. She never gave a reason for her screeching. Now, it is possible that the kid bugged his mother for hours or days until she took him to the bookstore to get that book. Maybe she was late or tired and frustrated, but as an observer, I saw none of it.
In the end, it was a coupon that won the day. She had a coupon that would give her 20% off a book, but not a squishy. So the kid got the book. And then they held up the line for 20 minutes as she tried to bring up the coupon on her phone and couldn't get a signal. Then argued with the cashier over the price as it was more than she though. Whilst the kid traipsed around peering at Godiva chocolates and giggling at the page-a-day calendars on display, she tried the patience of the employees.
Did the kid learn a lesson? I don't think so.
Did I? Yep, going back to buying books online.