Member-only story
150 words or less
The Angry Woman
“I’m in a hurry!”
I was in line to have a balloon blown up for my grandson’s birthday. I paid the cashier, who handed my balloon to a cheerful woman beside the helium tank. But the woman in front of me, pretty and expensively dressed, complained, “Why can’t I pay you? I’m in a hurry!”
“You can pay the cashier. I only blow up balloons,” said the employee.
“I can’t wait! Fuck!” screamed the well-dressed woman, her balloon bobbing.
The line was short, the party store almost empty.
I thought of words in 1 Peter 3:8: “Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless-that’s your job, to bless.”
I fall short too often. Like the irate customer, I grow impatient. But small, positive interactions bless others. Kindness spreads and the world becomes a little better.
