Friday, December 23, 2005

Merry Christmas please don't yell at me

Against my usually better judgment, I made a stop at Target today. I'm still beyond angry about its policy of allowing pharmacists to dispense prescriptions according to their personal belief systems. However, I needed speedy one-stop shopping, so I headed for Target. Two days before Christmas, pragmatism must take precedence over principles.

I checked out with a personable young woman of about 18. She was cheerful and efficient, and I was ready to leave in no time. As we concluded our transaction and she handed me my receipt, she wished me a Merry Christmas, but it sounded more like a question than a declarative sentence. Maybe I read too much into it, but I could have sworn that at that point, there was more than a hint of trepidation in her voice. I wondered if Target had instructed her to say goodbye with that phrase (versus the now-poisonous "Happy Holidays"). I wondered if she'd been suffering lectures in both directions: praise for using the "correct" phrase or disdain for her lack of sensitivity by not being all-inclusive. I thought about asking her about it, but that would get her into the kind of conversation that she just might be dreading.

Really, she was a kid making $6.50/hour. I'm sure all she wanted to do was put in her time and cash her paycheck.

So I said, "You, too," and I left.

Happy holidays, everyone.

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