for 29 DEC 07: WAIT FOR IT, WAIT FOR IT

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find this item humorous, serious, or a little of both - but we offer these thoughts from time to time, as we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.)

Instant Message to everyone who kept Christmas: Have you calmed down now? Is the shopping deadline pressure off - not to mention the pressure of attending parties and pageants, sending all sorts of cards, and smiling at relatives you might not care for very much.

I've noticed over the years that December is a time which tries many people. It struck me twice this year, beginning at an unlikely place -- the line to pay electric bills. Something told me the man in front of me was antsy about waiting, and he was going to talk to me about it. To borrow from an old rock song: if you can't vent to the one you love, vent with the one you're with.

"I can't believe this," the man said to prove me right. Two people were at teller windows, and one seemed to be going back and forth to the drive-through windows. Other windows were unstaffed - so maybe Georgia Power really has cut out all the excess it can.

It was early afternoon, so I suggested some tellers were taking late lunch breaks after serving through the noon hour. "I never used to get a lunch break," the man in front of me said. I've had jobs the same way - and in fact, I've known bosses who ordered me to take one. Do all the work, but don't you dare work overtime to do it.

A woman sat down at one of the unused teller windows, but started working at a computer instead of opening for customers. "She's not doing anything," the man in front of me complained.

"Maybe she has to log on to the computer first," I suggested. We proved earlier this year that Georgia Power business customers can leave bills for anyone to take [17 Sep] - so I'd rather not have any old staff members taking my check.

"I would have been fired, if I had treated customers like this," the other man grumbled again. It was time for me to attempt to teach a lesson - to be semi-preachy, without becoming downright fundamentalist and calling this customer a sinner.

"Isn't it interesting how spoiled we are?" I said. "We can get electricity at the flip of a switch, so we expect everything else to be the same way."

The man only half-agreed with me, but didn't quite get my point. He was sounding and acting impatient - and perhaps he really had other things to do, on a busy schedule. But venting to a total stranger wasn't going to move things along any faster. Especially since he wasn't miked so the second-floor executives could hear him.

At last the man was able to go to the window and pay his electric bill, as did I. But as I left, that man was running his mouth again - this time with a small group of people to the side of the windows. I heard him say something about "moving so far outside Muscogee County...." Maybe he went to Georgia Power after renewing his license tags.

To be fair: I went inside to pay my electric bill because the line of cars in the drive-through lanes was long. So yes, I also wanted to save time - but also money, by not burning gasoline while waiting on other drivers. Time is money, and now time is also green.

The waiting tables were turned on me several days later, in the grocery checkout line. I pushed my cart behind a woman who was being helped - but then things started happening.

"I've got to get another meal," she said - and she left the line with all her groceries to head toward the back of the store. And since this was a Wal-Mart, "another meal" could have meant picking up ingredients on several aisles.

This customer was buying a lot of items, so the attendant went ahead and started handling the rest of them. As I stood and waited, I quietly considered how the rules for this had changed. Once upon a time, people who had to leave the checkout line went all the way out - but now they keep those spots like they're parking spaces next to the door.

After what seemed to be three or four minutes, the woman returned with a package of corn meal. She talked with the attendant about what happened, but not really with me. She was taking care of business -- but then again, she wasn't minding mine.

Almost all the items were scanned for this woman -- but then she remembered something else. "I'll be right back," she said as she walked away again. This was starting to seem familiar -- but I didn't start looking around for the Candid Camera.

This time the attendant was waiting with me. But neither of us said anything about the wait. I even resisted one sure sign of impatience at a supermarket checkout -- by taking a tabloid out of the rack and reading it.

After about three more minutes, the woman in front of me returned. This time she had what appeared to be a bag of dog chews. The attendant was closing her checkout lane after me - or otherwise that woman might have wanted to pass the chews around to other waiting shoppers, to calm their anger.

After that woman went on her way, the Wal-Mart attendant starting handling my groceries. "Thank you for being so patient," she said to me. "You'd think she would have apologized to you."

To which I answered: "That's the way of the world, I've found." A world expecting others to be patient toward them, but often in too much of a hurry to check whether they're testing the patience of others.

So how patient have YOU been over the past few weeks? The apostle Paul wrote in the Bible that God is "a God of patience" - and he goes on to tell believers in I Thessalonians 5 they need to "be patient with everyone." This applies everywhere from the grocery store to the highway. Even doctors sometimes have to show patience with their patients.

If you're not patient enough yet, be thankful God is. After all, He used to strike people dead on the spot for violating His rules. He's giving you a bit more time - and in this case it's an even swap. Use your time well now, and God offers a lot more - an eternity where time doesn't matter, much less money.

This blog has thousands of visitors each month, from people in Columbus and around the world. To advertise to them, offer a story tip or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail comment and offer a reply.

BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 1754 (- 211, 10.7%)

The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author -- not necessarily those of anyone else in Columbus living or dead, and perhaps not even you.

© 2003-07 Richard Burkard, all rights reserved.