Hissy Fit Time

I went to Walmart a couple of weeks ago, and had one of 'those' moments. Those are the moments when you are caught between "Should I keep my mouth shut?" "Should I ignore the whole situation?" "Should I pitch a good one?" I chose the latter.

I was near the dairy case looking at dates on yogurt for my grand-daughter when I heard someone say, "Where are the eggs?" I glanced toward the voice, and saw a large very light Caucasian man looking at a smaller Oriental looking man. He repeated himself to the smaller man, "I said, where are the eggs?" The smaller man said something in another language, smiled, shook his head and put his arms out helplessly in a gesture that said to me, I'm sorry, but I don't understand you.

At that point, I could feel the man's embarrassment, and turned to the larger man and said, "They're in the case right behind you." After thanking me, he started ranting about "those damn foreigners! Can't even speak the language. I bet he uses food stamps and lives off the government."

After almost a year of being out of work and living off a $700.00 social security check, I have had to use food stamps. I have had to 'live off the government' for a time. How dare this man, who knew nothing about the man shopping assume so much about him?

I felt it necessary to ask the man if his parents spoke English when they got here. He assured me that they were Americans from Missouri. I then felt it necessary to tell him that my relatives spoke German, Swiss and French when they got here. I felt it necessary to tell him that the only native language in America was Crow, Navajo, Cherokee, Mohawk, etc. I felt it necessary to tell him that the only people speaking English when my family got here were the soldiers sent by King George III to claim America for England.

Thoroughly ashamed at myself, I just turned and walked away. He just stood there with his mouth open. As I finished shopping, a phrase kept going through my head, 'If you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem."

God spoke to me through my pastor. We have a large African population attending our church. He told me that it had been on his heart to see about starting an ESL, English as a Second Language program at our church. He asked if I would be interested in checking it out.

I did, and soon hope to be a part of the solution.

The Bible says to "Be angry and sin not." I got angry, and my attitude was sin. I hope that next time, I can give a little Oriental man the tools to say, "It's right behind you."