Member-only story
When little things annoy us in a big way
The old man and a coin purse
Why do we tend to get impatient when there is no reason to be?
I was waiting in the checkout line at a store recently. An older gentleman was at the register being checked out. A woman was next in line, followed by me.
The clerk rang up the man’s purchases and told him the amount to be paid. I watched as the old man gingerly pulled out a small plastic coin purse from his pocket. Very slowly, he extracted one coin at a time, apparently trying to find the exact change for his purchase.
Letting out a small sigh, I grew increasingly impatient at the glacial pace he seemed to be taking. It felt like an eternity for the man to pull out the necessary coins. First a quarter, then a nickel, then a penny, then another penny. Then he paused, staring at the coins lying on the counter, then glancing in his coin purse again, trying to determine if he had the right amount.
I glanced at the woman ahead of me, trying to determine if she was just as annoyed as I was. It was hard to tell, since all I could see was the back of her head.
I was silently losing my shit. ‘Why can’t he just use a credit card like everyone else?’ I thought. ‘Get with the times. Just get the coins out of your pouch and finish buying your stuff…
