When you say YES Ma’am… Be ready to live with it!

 

     This past November the wife and I did a group tour to Israel.  It was a bucket list thing for us.  I would recommend going if you get the chance but the tour guide makes all the difference (Thank you Johnny Mafia).  I could go on and on about the places we went and all the interesting things to see (maybe in a later post).  For now I would like to focus on one incident, a 45 minute period at the end of our time in Israel.

A little setup is required so sit back and enjoy.

    Our group had just arrived at Tel Aviv International Airport to catch our flight back to the United States.  There was the standard airport protocol, security lines.  Standing, leaning, sitting and waiting for what seemed like hours.  Meantime the tour company was working arrangements for two ladies in our group that had come down with what I would describe as the SUPER FLU.  The sick ladies were put into wheel chairs but they needed someone to help push them through to the departure gate so my wife was commandeered.   This left me with two large and very heavy suitcases.   Not a problem, I’m a MAN and I’ll handle it in a Manley Manner.  I inched my way up the security line to the first checkpoint.  I placed my suitcase on the conveyor for the X-ray machine.  As it passed through it was tagged clear.  Then I sent my wife’s bag through “Agnnnn”, inspection required.  I was directed to a second check point where they would physically go through the luggage.  Again not a problem other than thinking to myself, “How am I going to get this bag closed again, it took a team effort to get it closed last time”.

(This is where things began to go south)

The check point was attended by two young ladies (to me they looked to be about 15 years-old).  They began asking me the standard airport questions.

1^st Attendant: “Is this your bag?”

Me:  Yes Ma’am (thinking to myself technically I’m a part owner)

1^st Attendant: “Did you pack it yourself?”

Me:  Yes Ma’am (again to self, I sat on it to get it closed)

1^st Attendant: “Did anyone give you anything?”

Me:  No Ma’am

About that time the 2^nd attendant unlatched the suitcase follower by an abrupt springing open of the lid.  She looked up at me with a somewhat curious and disbelieving look upon her face and asked again “Are you sure this is YOUR bag?” as she slowly turned it towards me so I could see around the lid…

    There it lay, a pile of distinctly feminine attire… OK, this is where I should fumble around and try to explain how my wife was commandeered and had to leave her suitcase with me.  Did I do that? NO, I was committed; I already said this was my bag, twice.  Plus I saw an opportunity for a little self-inflicted giggle.

         

Looking the young lady in the eyes and with a dead straight face I said

They make me feel pretty…

           

Her eyes widened, her jaw slightly dropped.  She slowly lowered the lid of the suitcase and pushed it towards me as she motioned me to proceed through to the air terminal.  

As I stood on the lid and attempted to close the latches I looked up at the two young ladies with a slight grin on my face and said (with all the southern draw I could muster) “THANK YOU MA’AM's, it’s my wife’s cloths”.  Then off I went to catch my flight, leaving them both with grins on their faces now.

     You may be thinking you’ve just read a short story about a little long forgotten incident that occurred in an airport involving two young ladies and a goof.  What you’ve really just read was a reminder on how we should address people in everyday situations.  Yes I use sir, ma’am, please, may I and thank you. I use these terms every chance I get.  I could be at the local McDonald's placing an order with the 17 year-old kid behind the counter I would say, “Sir may I please have a Big Mac” and then “Thank you sir” when he gives it to me.  It didn’t cost me an extra cent to be courteous and it most likely made him feel a bit more valued.  Try to work a bit of this under applied courtesy in your everyday situations.  You just might brighten someone’s dayJ

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY TODAY

                      The Tomcat