Lady and The Tramp
We all have our Pet Hates – whether that’s people,
or situations. In the case of irritations, like that, for us all there is a
sliding scale from a mild or minor irritation right up to the pinnacle – the
top tier, the two or three that just dig their nails into our sensitivities and
won’t let go. It’s the “PH” red zone – way above the peeve factor, into the
GRRR area.
intolerant, when we have an overload of PH.
Richard Wilson’s character Victor Meldrew in the BBC Comedy series One Foot in the Grave was hugely PH
intolerant, and for him there was no sliding scale. The ludicrous nature of his
intolerant reactions was the comedy factor, plus the fact that the sheer volume
of his Pet Hates seemed to bring him an ever increasing number of mishaps,
accidents and grief. He reaped a constant harvest from his own particular Law
of Attraction.
embedded
In the structure and familiarity of our own
particular Pet Hates there is longevity to them. They go back a long way, often
to our childhood – and this being so, every time we have experienced them we’ve
flagged them up accordingly and coded them into our memory, all lit up like
beacons.
childhood instances of being ignored or passed-over, particularly when waiting
in queues. They grew into contemptuous
put-downs due to my physical inferiority in the height department. My
personal vulnerability and insecurity and low self-esteem was then – at any
time – able to grow this purely height-related inferiority into a full-blown
personal attack.
Neurotic and paranoid – yes!
Elicits irrational behaviour – yes!
Cars
are in our ultimate “safe zone”. We are hermetically sealed from regular human
interaction – and can release all our social conditioning. Of course, this
affords us full expression of any
and all PH intolerances we encounter
while driving. Traffic hold-ups and other idiots are everywhere, aren’t they?
So we can, if we are so inclined, keep up a running tirade of invective – which
of course turns us into a driver far worse than the ones we are complaining
about!
So what am I beefing about on this particular
occasion?
Following After School Cricket Club this week I went
food shopping in my local Marks & Spencer’s. I was clad in track suit and
trainers.
lady in front of me was unloading her basket contents onto the conveyor. At
this stage of the story timeline, in my eyes, she was still “A Lady”. She was
smartly dressed, aged between the ages 55-65, and clearly shopped at M&S as
it befitted her social standing. Even the contents of her shopping basket
designated her as being of such a “type”.
Now in my view of the world every woman is someone’s
daughter and – possibly – someone’s Mum. Plus, in the panoply of human life we
are all equal, in my book.
Anyway …
aside and let her walk to the end of the conveyor with her now empty basket, in
order to put it on the “empty pile” – I held my hand out for her to hand me the
basket so I could stack it for her. She passed me her basket as if I was the
servant, her personal serf – with no word of thanks, or even a smile – just a
cocked nose in the air and a contemptuous curl of the lip.
In the days of my personal Yore, I would have
probably said something sarcastic to her – however, another of my flagged up
experiences has been that the type of women prone to this particular type of
behaviour, are impervious to sarcasm or any kind of criticism, veiled or overt.
They have obviously breezed through life, carried by a stream of minions and
doormats, whom God – and their particular God – has put on this Earth for one
purpose only.
rolling eyes.
I wondered if it was my clothing. Perhaps if I’d
been dressed in a suit or at least smart causal, she would have afforded me the
common decency of even a “knowing nod”, for my small Random Act of Kindness.
of Lady
and The Tramp? Although after reading this entry on Google I had my
doubts:
Live the journey of Lady, a beloved cocker spaniel,
and Tramp, a mutt with a heart of gold, in one of the best loved stories of all
time.
and Tramp, a mutt with a heart of gold, in one of the best loved stories of all
time.
She may possibly have been someone’s beloved Coq
Espagnol, but I wouldn’t describe myself as “a mutt” even though there are some
who think I have a heart of gold!
Life
fairy-tale story lines. It can be ugly and sordid as well as be filled with
amazing and wonderful Gentlemen AND Ladies.
you make it.
If you choose to Tramp through life believing all
people are amazing and unique; enjoying your time here while wearing a pleasant
disposition right down to your bones; finding the fun, the humour, the joy, and
the beauty wherever they may be; you’ll find it quite straightforward to accept
all the brickbats and bouquets that this buffet of cosmic catering can serve
up.
If you choose to “Lord” or “Lady” it through life believing that most people are
irrelevant except when they are serving your purpose; when your frown and
curled lip are a constant testament to your endurance of a world that is made barely
tolerable by Random Acts of Trampling; you’ll find it very difficult to accept
that this particular mortal coil was made for many honest and genuine people
beyond the myopic strictures of your inner coterie.
The
Conclusion of Damocles
momentarily crossed that of a sad Lady. Although he may, at the time, have uttered
under his breath, “You’ll get yours soon enough, Madam,” it was more of an observation
than a wish.
The sadness is in her insecurity, and from her
insecurity comes the need to behave in the way she does.
Rather like Damocles,
she has climbed onto the throne of Dionysius II believing all
that great power, authority and wealth would give her. Then comes the day in
Lady’s life when she realises Dionysius has hung a sword over her suspended by a
single horse hair.
over whom some fear always looms.
to both Lady and The Tramp!
In any queue, anywhere, you never know who is really in front of you OR behind
you.
I love supermarket queues.
They offer such wonderful opportunities for people watching and for modelling unexpected acts of kindness.