Monday, August 03, 2009

The Rule-Follower Gets Busted

Hello Friends.

We went to the county fair last Friday and had a great time. The weather was perfect and the funnel cakes were hot! The fair had a dinosaur theme this year which was great for Noodlebug. They gave him a little "passport" that you used to collect stamps throughout the fair and then redeemed for a little plastic dinosaur. Being the goal-oriented person that I am, I dutifully gathered all the stamps to the amusement of my family members. To be honest, Noodlebug was more impressed with the food than the plastic dinosaur.

I especially enjoyed seeing all of the crafts and handiwork that people had submitted to the fair. My co-worker's five-year-old son put together a Lego boat and won a First Place ribbon! So cute! It made me look forward to the day when Noodlebug can submit something to the Fair.

Now, for the downside...

I am a notorious rule-follower. To the point of ridiculousness. I always follow speed limits. I read signage to make sure I am following the rules. I cue up in lines and wait my turn and never carry more than 10 items into the express lane at the grocery store. My rule-following is a little neurotic I admit but I figure there are reasons for rules.

Well...

At our county fair, they have horse-racing. I bought my family reserved seats in the grandstand because my mom has never seen a horse race before. There are A LOT of stairs to get into the grandstand and we had a one-year-old and a stroller. When we walked into the stadium, the man selling racing forms told us to head around the corner and take the elevator since we had a stroller. We dutifully followed his directions and headed to the elevator. A woman was sitting on chair next to the elevator and said, "Are you handicapped?" Well, obviously none of us were. I told her we had been instructed by the gentleman up front to come to the elevator. She yelled at me, "Well, I'm in charge here and you can't use this elevator. You guys are probably the type to park in handicapped spaces too, huh? You think the rules don't apply to you!!!" I was shocked, embarrassed and hurt. People were walking by staring at us as this horrible woman was yelling. As someone who always tries to do the right thing, I was extremely offended. It was just so unnecessary!!! We skulked around the corner and my husband carried Noodlebug up the stairs while I folded up the stroller and schlepped it up. I have to admit that I let the experience ruin the race for me. I was in such a bad mood afterward. I'm still debating if I should complain about this person. What do you think?

P.S. I'm almost finished with HUGE by James Fuerst and will post a review soon!

3 comments:

Literary Feline said...

I would have been really upset too. Like you, I tend to be a rule follower. It sounds like the woman at the elevator was either having a bad day or perhaps some serious issues. Not that that's any excuse.

Genevieve said...

yes, you should have complained. that's ridiculous. She should have seen you had a stroller and that was reason enough to take the elevator.

Marie Cloutier said...

that sounds awful. I would be mortified, especially considering you were just trying to do the right thing. I would probably have burst into tears or something. there was no call for that woman to behave like that.