As I was coming back from the store the other day, there was a large delivery truck parked in front of my neighbor’s house and I couldn’t get by. There was car ahead of me that also couldn’t. Two delivery people came out of the neighbors’ house, moving an old refrigerator. They then unloaded what looked like a new one from the back of the truck. I sat watching, being in no particular hurry. But the car ahead of me was, apparently, because the driver started honking the horn. The truck driver, having no place else to go, just looked at him. So, the car nudged around, coming with inches to spare between the delivery truck and the guardrail, slithered by. It went down into the gully at the end of the street, turned around and came back, once again edging by the delivery truck, pointing an angry finger at the delivery men. I thought to myself that the car was on an exploratory trip to see what was at the end of our street, and didn’t really even belong here. Yet the occupant was fuming that they had to wait. As soon as the delivery people had brought the new refrigerator into the house, the driver moved the truck down a little and I could get by. I waved a “thank you”. Do people make you curious? Yes, constantly.
Her Ladyship had to have a tooth extracted earlier this week. The oral surgeon’s office is not handicapped accessible – one knows not why in this day and age. We couldn’t get her wheel chair up the portable ramp they got out and put down. I knew from previous experience that they had an office in a neighboring town, and I asked if that office was more accessible. Yes, they told me, there was an elevator. They could do the extraction there the next morning and they’d meet us there. Great, so off we went. The next day we arrived, and for some reason, the power had gone off and they couldn’t get the elevator working. The surgeon and his staff were very apologetic, but quickly made arrangements for us to go across the street to the office of a colleague for the procedure. We did, and they were all very nice thoughtful. We sent some treats to their main office to thank them for their courtesy, flexibility, and for going way out of their way to accommodate us. Someone in the office called to thank my wife, and seemed both pleased and a little surprised. I rather think that they were expecting either something nasty or a letter from our attorney, because that seems lately to be the American Way when something is inconvenient.
Why is it that we find patience so difficult? Is it a human thing, an American thing, or just that people’s levels of stress, or expectation are increasing to the point where they find any kind of delay unbearable? Part of it is that things around us seem to happen so much faster. Emails and texts happen in seconds or minutes. Then, when we make a phone call, and we hear “all of our operators are busy, but your call is important to us and will be answered in the order . . . . “ As the minutes slip by, our good humor fades and we know that one of the two human operators on duty won’t receive our complaint with the gracious warmth with which we’d set out. Our first bit of communication will be “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting?” in a tone that would make a HAMAS official blanch. Maybe it’s that we can’t actually see how busy the operators are, because we aren’t at the other end, and thus our we see ourselves as their top priority. Amazon too has upped our expectations, with purchases arriving next day, or at worst over the weekend. If they can do it, every vendor should. That should have been an end to “seven to ten business days”.
We see evidence of our impatience everywhere. Long lines at the airport when weather events have cancelled or delayed flights. Can you believe it? Weather, like hurricanes, floods, and wildfires have the impertinence to slow us down, to make us wait. Businesses and medical practices have figured out how to “remind” us of something upcoming. I had an appointment with my doctor this morning, and I had three text reminders in the last few days. The final one so I could “check in” remotely the day before. They all require “confirmation”, so we can’t ignore them, or they’ll send out more. Our wireless phone carrier sends a paper bill, but also text reminders to our phones, so we won’t forget them. One insurance company sends out premium notices three months ahead, so I’ll have plenty of time to write the check. Nothing is left to chance.
We seem to be impatient everywhere. In the grocery line, where people go from cashier to cashier to see which one is moving faster or which bagger has speed and efficiency. Or they’ll stand behind us in line, making snide comments about how long it’s taking. It’s unfortunate, but we all do that when some dear soul ahead of us pulls out a checkbook and asks for a pen. (Helpful hint: Cashiers don’t have pens anymore. They just have highlighters, so they can circle the links to the surveys about how well they did.) Do you have any idea how many tens of minutes of our lives we waste filling out surveys? Do any of us believe it really improves service? I’m thinking . . . . . .not.
Lines of traffic waiting to get through a construction site or an accident. Most of us take it in stride, but an impatient few will try to break free in the breakdown lane, or cut ahead. To figure out which lane is moving the fastest, so they keep changing lanes. Every so often, a motorist hits a flag person or a police officer because they were in a hurry when told to stop. There was a news item a few years back where a lady got out of line and actually hit an officer – because she was late for a hair appointment! It leaves us shaking our heads in disbelief, and yet people do it. Once the traffic is moving again, there are those trying to replicate a scene from a James Bond movie, zipping in and out of lanes (often without using directionals). I think of all the nano-seconds they’ll save until a traffic back-up, and then they’re stuck next me. I wave at them and smile, hoping that will drive them nuts. Or the multitasking drivers, because, as we all know, just paying attention to one’s driving is not a full utilization of one’s time. I’ve seen drivers reading the newspaper, eating breakfast, putting on makeup in addition to checking phone messages and responding to texts. I even saw a drummer preparing for a gig once in Boston traffic. He had the music perched on the steering wheel and sticks in hand. The car looked a bit beat-up, and I think I know why.
Yes, we are an impatient people. Our house/car insurance went up a little, so I thought I’d take a look at another insurance company for comparison. There’s one right around the corner from me. I met with an eager young agent (is he even out of high school?), who took all of my information, telling me he’d send me a quote. The next day, he emailed me that he was still checking on discounts, but told me he’d have the quote to me by the end of business that day. I responded in thanks, which I thought would encourage him. That was a week ago, and I haven’t heard from him since. How un-American is that? Aside from being a very poor business practice.It’s unfortunate that, when it comes to elections, politics, the economy, and world events, our impatience is spilling over. The brunt of the pandemic has only been over for a couple of years now, so everything should have returned to pre-pandemic conditions. Consumer prices should have dropped back to where they were in 2019, or even better, 2000. We were spoiled by interest rates that were almost in negative numbers, so we’re not coping well with high interest, inflation, and high housing costs. Some of us will even embrace a leader that reacts poorly to election results, and isn’t particularly interested in either the truth or the democratic process if we think he’ll somehow bring down the price of eggs. We elect people to govern, but if they haven’t turned things around, or improved our personal lot in life in a month or two, we’re calling for their heads on a pike. When our allies are confronted with overwhelming odds and manage to hang on for more than a year, we get bored and we’re ready to stop helping them. So, yes, we Americans are eager and enthusiastic in the short term. But in the long term, not so much. We grow impatient quickly. Instead of, “In God We Trust”, our national motto should be, “Make It Snappy.”
I'm Thinking...No! 