I don’t expect a big reward when I hold open the door for someone. It’s just common courtesy, and a simple smile or a thank you is enough for me. But what I don’t expect is to have to pay a price for being courteous.
Today, while visiting the post office, I was about to walk in when I saw a woman approaching the door while carrying a large box. I held open the door for her, she walked through, then paused in the foyer while I hurried around and held open a second door.
Okay, no problem so far, but because I held open the doors, now she’s in line ahead of me. Wouldn’t you think that if some guy helped you through a couple of doors, that you’d at least let him go first in line? After all, he was there first before you came along! Well, not this woman, who proceeded with several lengthy transactions while I waited behind her with one simple item on my agenda, which took all of 30 seconds to complete once she finally cleared out.
Yeah, I get it, it’s a small aggravation, but returning courtesy with rudeness is enough to make me want to let people open their own damned doors from now on, no matter how much stuff they’re carrying.
But of course I won’t do that. I’ll play the sucker again, maybe as soon as tomorrow. I’ll be the guy with the word “DOORMAT” printed across his chest, and knowing that is enough to drive me batshit crazy!
ROAMIN' GNOMIALS 
We do have to watch out for the bat guano. When that happened to me some time ago (not in quite awhile, seeing as how this is Texas and folks are generally friendly down here), I flashed the woman a smile and said, “You won’t mind if I go ahead of you, will you? I only need to mail this one package.” And she did.
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I surely wouldn’t want to be behind you when you’re mailing a package!
Sent from my iPhone
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Let no good deed go unpunished.
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Some people rule, everyone else is conquered!
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It’s possible that since you had already shown you were a gentleman, she felt you meant for her to go first in line because she was carrying that large (presumably heavy) package. Most likely, it never even occurred to her to offer to let you go first.
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Yeah, probably true, but that doesn’t prevent me from griping about it!
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Certainly not. We’re all entitled to gripe.
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Thankfully you can count yourself as one of the few gentlemen left! More than once I have been the one carrying the heavy package and had the post office door shut in my face. On the other hand, I have had several gentlemen help me carry groceries down the stairs from the subway platform. More chivalry is definitely needed!
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Henri must have been very jealous when he heard about it!
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Did she at least say thanks twice?? It’s ok, you got extra Karma. She lost some.
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She might have said it once.
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If you’d open the door for me, I’d let you go in line ahead of me 🙂 I’ve held doors open for folks who don’t acknowledge me once they pass through, this doesn’t faze me. The one that irks me is when I’m walking through the door and the person ahead of me doesn’t hold the door and it (nearly) slams into my face. This is when I imagine that I run up to that person and hit them with my handbag but I always manage to convince myself that they don’t deserve my emotion.
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The world is a better place because of people like us!
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Oh dear. Some people. As they say – what goes around, comes around. Continue to be a gentleman – the majority of people do appreciate it 🙂
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I’m sure I will continue to act gentlemanly. Can’t let one or two ruin it for everybody!
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This would annoy the shit out of me! In the words of Stephanie Tanner: How rude!
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