Manners in public

[DancesWithWife]

One thing I have always done is open and close the door for my wife when we go somewhere. 

 

We were at Joann Fabrics store when I opened the car door and closed the door for Debbie. All the sudden I hear a woman saying "excuse me" a few times. Honestly, I thought she wanted money. She said it's been a long time since she saw a man open and close a car door for a lady. 

 

We were at Grocery Outlet the other day and let a few other shoppers go ahead of us as they only had a couple items. Again they were surprised we let them go ahead of us. 

 

I often think how how such actions could lead to a witness.

 

 

[LeolaRootStew]

One of my managers accidentally called my house and my Mother answered (we work at the same job). They had a very brief exchange, basically apologizing for the error and my Mother saying it's no problem.

 

A few months later this manager enters the Zoom room of the department my Mother works in and says hi to everyone, then remembers the conversation she had with my Mother. She exclaimed over and over how nice my Mother was, how gracious, etc. 

 

We have no idea why it made a particular impact, but we are taking it to heart how much simple kindnesses can make a big impression on others. Maybe we take cordial behavior for granted because we are Witnesses, but other people might not have those experiences regularly, so they notice and appreciate it more.

[Qapla]

I have held the door for people when at a store. Most of the time they say Thanks ... but I have had a few of them get upset and express that they are capable of opening their own door. Sometimes, at convenience stores where they have two doors at the entrance, I will hold one door open, and the person will use the other door while giving me a disgusted look.

 

We have to face it ... we live in a world where good is bad and that often applies to manners, too.

 

[Mike047]

This also happens a lot when driving. You give way for someone to pass through between parked cars, and there is no acknowledgement, and even sometimes a glare as if they had a perfect right to storm through.

 

A while back we were sharing in H2H, and saw a car key still in the door of a mans car (old style car of course). When we rang the bell, a man opened the door, saw who we were and immediately closed it. We rang again, and the door flew open. I held up his car keys and simply said these were in your car door. He took them from us and closed the door, saying nothing. Maybe it was just a bad day.