The era of Covid-19 forces reminders of patience and kindness usually inherent in most of us. But, sometimes, self-reflection does not extend to self-centered, intentionally ignorant citizens. I had just finished my shopping for a few food items at a local grocery store that features hugely discounted products aimed at an audience of financially challenged people. I proceeded to get in the “under 15 items” aisle so I could quickly pay and head back home. But, the arrows on the floor, although carefully spaced out, did not seem to line up with the respective cashier sites. A store employee saw the confusion among us. He walked towards us and instructed us to follow one arrow, turn left down an adjacent aisle and continue the cue from there.

As I moved up to a circled arrow towards the cashier, I noticed an elderly woman holding onto a cart that she used to keep from falling and to carry her groceries. She stood hunched at a 45-degree angle with her face facing the floor. She was mumbling incoherently. She didn’t appear to know where she was and stood still, in between the confusing floor arrows.

After I found my new place in line, I tapped her on the shoulder and asked, “Would you like to get ahead of me in the line?” She nodded and said quietly, “Yes.”

But before I could move, a tall, white-haired man wearing Bermuda shorts and a face mask who stood behind me in line said, “I think you should take a vote from this line and ask if everyone agrees with you about letting her get ahead of you.”

“You do?” surprised by his comment, I added, “Oh, sorry; I shouldn’t have made that assumption.” I looked at him and his wife, who stood by him. She was also wearing a mask, so it was difficult to imagine what she was thinking. I glanced down the aisle, and realized I wasn’t about to ask everyone in line their respective opinion. I looked back at the man and asked, “Do YOU mind?” “Well, yes, I do,” he replied. Angered by his response but not wanting to increase tension, I said sweetly to him, “I just thought she is looking a bit lost,” hoping for some acknowledgment of her state of mind. Although he was wearing a face mask, I could see the apparent lack of empathy in his eyes. I didn’t want to pursue a confrontation with this rude man. So, I just shook my head. turned my back to him and continued my wait in line.

A man ahead of me in line turned to me and asked, “Do you want to get ahead of me?”

“No thanks, you’re very kind.”

In my last few moments of waiting to check-out, I thought of what had just occurred. I felt defeated and angry at myself for not quickly thinking of a way to help that woman.