Thank You Notes and Baseball
On my computer desk, between my Best of KISS cd and my pink
flamingo coffee cup is a folded little Thank You card. It's not
from a family member, friend or neighbor. I haven't even met the
person it is from. However, the sender had something special
that earned them this top placement. (After all, not everyone
can hang out with my cup from the Keys or my rockers
from...well, wherever.)
My husband and I have bought things from eBay for years: books,
Tommy Bahama tops, baseball memorabilia, dolls, etc. Recently,
we came across a first that made us both take notice. With the
book the seller had enclosed a THANK YOU card. He wrote a little
note inside simply thanking us for our purchase. It wasn't the
note, I guess, that was so surprising. It was the fact that SO
MANY before him hadn't done so; a fact that hadn't hit us until
we saw this sender's note.
Graciousness is a beautiful thing. Humanized, it'd be a cross
between Johnny Depp and Beyonce. It would have the sweetness and
goodness of Mother Theresa, and the wit and wisdom of Oprah.
Unfortunately, it's becoming an endangered trait in danger of
becoming extinct. How many times do we go through an
ever-increasingly painful department store check-out routine
choreographed by a sour cashier? How often, when going through a
drive-thru, do we have to guess when our worker in the window is
done with us. I remember when "Thank You, have a nice day" was
my cue to drive on. Half the time now I get a blank look and a
bag who's contents supposedly match up with what I said.
The great Roman Orator and Politician, Marcus T. Cicero, said,
"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent
of all the others". True, that. If one has gratitude, it's a
pretty fair estimation that many other virtues will follow:
kindness, fairness, temperment, tolerance, etc. It's one of the
things that should separate us from those who walk about upon
four as opposed to two.
Who is the last person you looked in the eye and thanked for
something they did or said? When, in the store or drive-thru,
did you last you smile at the worker and say, "Thank you. You
have a great day!"? Perhaps if more of US did so, more of THEM
would be in better humor!
Often when I'm at Kroger, (an institution on the receiving end
of all my gratitude and money) I grab extra little surprises for
my daughters - whether it's Ice Cream, Nerds, Runts, a new
magazine whatever. I usually grab these treats even before I
begin the actual shopping. One of the reasons they're so FUN to
buy things for is because they're always so grateful. They say
"Thanks!" with a smile in their voice immediately upon receipt
and never, ever fail to mention it again later in the day.
If they hadn't always been so incredibly thankful, I doubt I'd
be such a walking Willy Wonka expert right now! It's just
rewarding to do things for people who appreciate it. Everyone's
a winner, everybody feels good.
I've seen far too many kids who, when given something by a
parent or grandparent take it as though it's the least the adult
could've done. They're countenance says, "I had that coming."
Were I the adults in question, my countenance would have plenty
to say in response!
Once at a baseball game I couldn't hold my tongue. Okay, truth
be known, I didn't actually try, so I don't know whether I could
or not. A player left his stretching routine to come over and
sign a ball for an obnoxious autograph-seeking 12 year old. The
player smiled, said "How you doing, buddy?" and signed his name.
The kid (nor his mom!) ever uttered a word, the boy just watched
the ball and the mom just watched the young man in the uniform.
After he gave the ball back to the kid, the mom and son turned
to leave. I said, "What should you say?" to which the kid
muttered a "Thanks" over his shoulder. The mom just looked
bewildered (can't blame her I guess, it was a really tough
question). The player and I exchanged looks and he said, "They
hardly ever say thank you." How many shades of wrong is that?!
Not only should we, as adults, be more gracious, we need to
start demanding it from our young people. Otherwise, the future
will be full of ungrateful, unthankful, sour-faced individuals
who think the world owes them rather than thinking they owe the
world.
The thought should keep you up at nights.