Time’s Up

I was standing in line at the department store, waiting for my turn at the cashier's. Right behind me was an elderly couple—gray-haired, frail looking, very senior citizens. The little old lady was clutching a pretty pair of sandals and looking impatient. I empathized with her; our line really was taking so long. It turns out the woman in front had an item that was not tagged. I shifted impatiently foot-to-foot while one of the store staff went to find a price tag.

The little old lady turned to me and said, “They are taking so long aren’t they, for a single item?” 

I nodded, “Yes, they are.” 

She clucked her tongue at her husband, shaking her head, “See this, they are wasting our time.”

I just nodded, yes, again. I smiled dispassionately at her husband, who was rolling his eyes as if to say, “I’m sorry, she usually gets this way when we shop.”

He was soon to receive his comeuppance, though. As I stood there watching, the little old lady deftly elbowed her way to the front of the counter.

Her tiny head with its gray curls bobbed emphatically as she leaned over and called out loudly to the cashier, “Hija, look at me, I am old. You are wasting time that I haven’t got!”

Exactly.
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Comments

[melissa]

Heheh Gi! Yeah age is a state of the mind, sometimes I just feel sooo old! :D

[Gigi]

Eeek -- Thirtysomething? Downhill? In the same sentence??? No way, Melissa -- it just gets better! (By the way, I love the visual of the little old lady buying pretty sandals. We're never too old, really.)

[melissa]

LOL Lee, exactly time is running downhill now for us 30+ hehehe. It was funny to me though, to witness an old person own up to time running out. Fatalism, no?

[lee]

hallo bando.. we are thirtysomething.. how much more time do we have?

yeah time wasted...