A little story to get off my chest that is unrelated to bags but belongs in here. I joined this thread talking about my accident, and as it is about to be locked, I'll leave this story with it so as not to carry that weight into the next year.
There's a tiny coffee shop near me that I frequent. I get on well with the owner and all the staff, bar one of the baristas who happens to be on duty at the usual time I stop by.
Now, my order is not overly complicated (black coffee with a dash of skim), and I am always mindful to be cheery and friendly with the staff as I'm aware of how utterly exhausting their work can be. Yet, this one barista has always made it very clear that she is offended by my broken face. She grimaces when she sees me, steps away as though I have something contagious, huffs and puffs as she pulls my coffee and shoves the cup towards me with such aggression that she has spilled it onto the counter and onto my hand several times.
The owner, seeing her behaviour, has repeatedly explained that there's nothing medically wrong to cause her to fear me, but my face is simply different due to an accident; this made no difference to the treatment I received. Anyway, I do not let her bother me as the rest of the team are lovely and I want to support a small, local business.
As it happens, the shop was shut during the majority of this year due to lockdowns but has recently re-opened for takeaways. I have stopped by twice for a takeaway coffee to enjoy on my walks and both times this particular barista served me with a smile, answered my greetings and questions politely, served me my coffee without aggression or spillage and has been a completely different person all around.
I thought that perhaps the pandemic has shifted her perspective on things. Until today when the owner greeted me by name as I walked in and I saw the penny drop for the barista who immediately returned to her previous ill-mannered behaviour. It baffled me until I figured out what had happened. I'm now wearing a mask. The past two times she was friendly and polite, it was because she could not see the indented side of my face and, as such, did not recognize me.
I've known all along that people have been nicer all around since I've been wearing masks but this was a reminder that many do judge rather harshly.
I never thought I'd say this but, as cumbersome as they are, I may actually miss wearing a mask when this pandemic is finally over. That's not to say I am not wishing with all my heart that this nightmare ends, of course. I cannot wait for normalcy!
I suppose I'm quite lucky that I've experienced an upside to mask-life, rather than merely feeling suffocated all the time.
And that's that for 2020. Fingers crossed for brighter days ahead!
well done
. Obviously I don't know this person, and I'm sure you've already worked out that it's their own fear that's triggering these inappropriate and hurtful responses. Work those boundaries and pity these feeble-minded, uneducated people to their own unresolved issues.
