Between the bump, bump, bang coming from the room above mine and the premature scanning of items at a Kroger self-checkout, my tolerance is ebbing.
It started the first week back from winter break. With nothing to do that first day and all the time in the world to sleep, I was woken at 8:30 a.m. by the couple upstairs. From the noises seeping through the ceiling, I can only assume copulation to be the source.
Perplexity at being woken unexpectedly—my first emotional response—morphed quickly into annoyance as their boisterous lovemaking gave the impression of rabbits more than of humans.
Allow me to clarify that individual sexual preferences are not up for inspection here. The issue is courtesy.
Some may argue that the two were in a private residence and were therefore entitled to act in a manner of their choosing. However, I counter that courtesy for one’s neighbors does apply in said incident; after all, it’s in my vein of opinion that the law sides—I cite “disturbance of the peace.”
I might also add that if I could hear the commotion from above, it’s more than likely that their next-door neighbors were also disturbed, because it was their wall against which the headboard was slamming.
If this were the only instance of discourtesy on my neighbors’ part, I might be more inclined to oversight; alas, it is not singular in form. They have many times before made use of my patience, blasting music, arguing overzealously, and hosting rowdy parties.
My neighbors, however, shock me less than who I’ve come to know as the “Kroger lady.” While checking ourselves out at the Carrollton Kroger, my friend at one machine and I at another, a woman and her significant other came up behind us in line. The woman, the “Kroger lady,” became more and more annoyed, voicing her agitation at having to wait in line so all could hear.
After a few minutes, when my friend was loading her bags into her cart, the woman came up to the machine and began scanning items, practically pushing my friend out of the way. The Kroger personnel forcefully told the woman to wait her turn, to which she gave a sassy retort. The manager was quickly brought into the dispute, though the resolution is unknown to my friend and I because we swiftly exited with our groceries.
The Kroger lady’s behavior shocked me, as well as all the other witnesses, including her friend who voiced his displeasure at her actions during and after the event.
These two scenarios may differ—one far less drastic than the other— but they both expose a lack of courtesy, a corrosion of civilization. If the Kroger situation is unacceptable, so should be the neighbor circumstance.
Whether on a large scale or on a small, whether in public or private, courtesy should be practiced and held in community standards as a must.
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