Where Is My Thank You?

I started to write this blog on the train to London: Lyn had dropped me off and on the journey to West Malling Station there was traffic ahead so Lyn took the opportunity to let a lady cross the road. She mouthed a ‘Thank you’, waved and, I swear, she curtseyed. 

“A wave is fine!” I said. Lyn laughed and followed that up with a comment along the lines of ‘You’re never happy’.

Lyn’s point is valid. The phrase thank you is disappearing from our vocabulary and it’s causing me some worry. 

Here is a scene for you. You are driving along a road and you let someone pass out of the goodness of your heart and they drive by you. There is no acknowledgment. I find that frustrating! But if that someone I’d given way to said ‘Thank you’, waved and nodded. Well, that would frustrate me just as much. I only need the one acknowledgement. Although, damn it, if that one acknowledgment is only a single index finger raised from the steering wheel, well, that is wholly unacceptable.

I KNOW!

I consider myself to be both polite and considerate. In the interest of fair play I also consider myself, no, wait, I don’t need to consider this I can confirm for a fact that I am both facetious and stubborn. 

So if there is someone I have given way to, be it in a vehicle or in person, and I don’t get my ‘Thank you’ I will always give them their “You’re welcome!” in return. Always. And it’ll be loud, clear, confident and full of sarcasm.

Years ago I was onboard a beautiful little ship called the Marco Polo. The doors from the aft deck into the buffet were heavy so as I let myself in I glanced behind me and saw an older lady headed in my direction. Now I was far enough in front of her to let the door go without fear of any recriminations but remember I told you I am polite and considerate? Yep, I waited, for seconds and this elegant looking lady walked passed and said nothing, no smile and certainly no wave.

“YOU ARE SO WELCOME!”

Remember I told you I was facetious…

“What did you say?” She asked in a tone that immediately took me back to the frequent occasions when I found myself in front of the headmaster.

Thinking on my feet I replied, with charm this time,

“I held the door open for you, you walked though it, said ‘Thank you’ so I said ‘You’re welcome’.”

“I did NOT say ‘Thank you’!” She rebuffed and waddled off. If she’d said thank you my description of her walk might have created a nicer image.

I don’t see my children nearly enough and I fear that I am not having much of an influence on them, but as I made notes for this blog I remembered a story about my daughter Lucy.

We were shopping in Sainsbury’s. It could have been any supermarket, it won’t affect the story at all but I am still hopeful that this blog will gain momentum, will get people talking and Sainsbury’s is the nearest supermarket to me and I am not adverse to sponsorship or freebies!

Anyway back to Lucy and me. Lucy was in the seat of the trolly which is a hint as to her age when this occurred. It was a busy aisle and we held back to let a lady pass. There was zero sign from her that she has witnessed this moment of kindness. She said nothing! There was no wave, smile or curtesy!

I paused. I wanted to reply with my standard ‘You’re welcome’ but I was with Lucy, I am her father, her guide for how one should react in a situation. DO I? Don’t I? The pause was only a second long but more than enough time for me to hear, clearly, the tender young innocent voice of my little girl…

“You are welcome!”

To say I was proud would be an understatement. I high fived her, kissed her and told her so!

I laughed hard, both back then and today as I typed.

We live in a world that is in a rush, a world that is anxious and petty. But there must always be time to say thank you, to smile in acknowledgement, even wave.

Blimey it is well documented that I don’t and never will bow at the end of a show but I would never leave the audience without thanking them in some way. 

One way.