Nimby, California

I don't usually engage in much small talk at work with the customers. I do enough not to be rude and because I try to be a nice guy and I'm not deliberately obnoxious. I admit to not being very nice when I shut a grifter down. Who could possibly purchase 10 bottles of laundry soap week after week by accident and then try to return it the following week without a receipt when it is no longer on a 2-for-1 sale? I have no patience for that type of stuff.

It could be my upbringing making me sensitive to matters of ethics, humanity, morality and human rights but usually when I get into a prolonged conversation with someone it invariably turns bad and I recall why I don't really care to spend my time yammering with the locals.

My chats usually have negative results and make me want to go home and shower. For example, this conversation I had with a customer the night before Halloween.

"Looks like you are getting enough candy today."

"Yes! Halloween is so busy for us."

"Really? Where is that?"

"Bird Rock area. Honestly, I think they bus people in."

"How so?"

"We get hundreds of visitors on our street on Halloween and you can tell they don't live there. It's a nice neighborhood and everyone is really generous. So it stays pretty busy until the patrols start at about 9 and clears them out."

"The patrols?"

"Private security patrols. Between the patrols all over the area and us manning the fire hoses we keep everything under control."

"Fire hoses..."

"Hee hee!"

"I...see. Well, you have a wonderful Halloween."

People are a continual disappointment to me.